The Center for Biological Diversity, the Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund and Sierra Club petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wednesday to restore federal protection under the Endangered Species Act to gray wolves, after Idaho and Montana passed legislation aimed at drastically reducing wolf populations in those states.
In May Idaho’s legislature passed Senate Bill 1211, allowing the state to hire private contractors to kill up to 90% of Idaho’s wolf population. It also allows hunters and trappers to kill an unlimited number of wolves, run down wolves with ATVs and snowmobiles, and trap year-round on private land across the state.
“As a keystone species, wolves play a critical role in maintaining the health of ecosystems and in reducing the spread of wildlife diseases such as chronic wasting disease,” said Bonnie Rice, senior campaign representative for the Sierra Club. “These extreme and unethical laws in Montana and Idaho aimed at killing 85-90% of the states’ wolf populations will not only reverse 50 years of wolf-recovery efforts but will unravel entire ecosystems. Endangered Species protections must be reinstated for Northern Rockies wolves now before it’s too late.”
Top photo by: iStock.com/Stock Photos | Wild Dog
Side photo by: Tracy Brooks, courtesy of Mission Wolf/ USFWS
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Idaho Chapter Webinar: Save Idaho Wolves
Tues, June 29, 7pm MT
Sierra Club Blog Post
Sierra Club Calls for Endangered Species Protections to be Reinstated for Gray Wolves