Wyoming Wants Gray Wolves Delisted
CODY, Wyo. –
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s failure to adequately manage the gray wolf has directly and negatively affected the citizens of Park County, commissioners wrote in a letter to Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton.
The three-page letter, dated June 15, served as a 60-day notice of intent to sue the service for alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act.
“Park County intends to file a civil action to require you to comply with the ESA, its implementing regulations and applicable interagency peer review guidelines,” commissioners wrote. “Park County asks that you (approve) the Wyoming plan as written and, by proceeding without delay, to delist the gray wolf.”
Late last month, commissioners opted to file as a lone intervener in the state’s lawsuit against the federal agency.
Wyoming Attorney General Pat Crank filed suit on April 22, three months after the Fish and Wildlife Service rejected the state’s wolf management plan. The government has approved the management plans submitted by Idaho and Montana.
Commissioner Tim French said he has pored over the state’s case and believes it is strong. It is only fitting then, French said, that Park County stand alongside the state.
The state’s suit accuses the Fish and Wildlife Service of exceeding its authority, ignoring science and violating the Federal Procedures Act.
The agency rejected Wyoming’s plan in January, citing concerns with the state’s dual classification of wolves ý as trophy game animals with strict protections in northwest Wyoming and as predators in the rest of the state that can be shot more or less on sight.
Nearly eradicated in the early 20th century, wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park in 1995 and 1996 and have since thrived. About 12 packs now inhabit the park and six roam outside the park in Wyoming.
Many ranchers and outfitters feel wolves are killing too many cattle and wildlife, putting their livelihoods in jeopardy.