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Montana, Idaho seek wolf controlMike Stark -- Jackson Hole Star-Tribune, 04/21/2005
BILLINGS, Mont. -- With Wyoming bogged down in a dispute with the federal government, the governors of Montana and Idaho are asking Interior Secretary Gale Norton to consider handing over management of wolves in their two states.
The governors said Montana and Idaho have complied with federal requests to develop acceptable wolf-management plans. With the wolf population in the two states larger than recovery goals, there ought to be discussion about lifting federal restrictions and passing management along to the two states, Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne said in a letter to Norton.
"It's time to start getting together to talk about what makes sense," said Mike Volesky, natural resource adviser for Schweitzer.
Governors of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan also have asked Interior to discuss options for removing wolves from the endangered species list in those states.
For years, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming have stuck together in their push to delist wolves. But Interior last year rejected Wyoming's wolf management plan, which classified some wolves as predators that could be killed without regulation. The issue was taken to court, which has delayed any delisting proposal for all three states in the Northern Rockies.
With that process on hold indefinitely, Montana and Idaho officials said they're looking to make something happen in their states.
"I think we feel we've allowed them enough time to work out some kinks. That hasn't happened. It's time to move on," Volesky said.
In a March 30 letter to Norton, the two governors asked Norton for a meeting with Interior officials to discuss delisting options and possible legal responses to a federal judge's ruling in late January.
In that decision, U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones struck down a 2003 Bush administration rule that relaxed protections for certain wolves by changing their status from "endangered" to "threatened."
Interior officials are still trying to understand what the ruling will mean for wolf recovery across the nation and, more specifically, how it might affect delisting in the Rocky Mountains.
Environmental groups said the ruling would set back delisting efforts in the Rockies and could mean Interior will have to take a closer look at allowing wolves into other states.
But officials in Idaho and Montana said they don't want more delays.
"Both Idaho and Montana have done everything (Interior) asked," said Jeff Allen, a policy adviser to Kempthorne.
Lara Azar, a spokeswoman for Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, said there's no reason Montana and Idaho should be dragged into the dispute between Wyoming and Interior and have their prospects of delisting delayed.
"The governor truly wishes them well," Azar said.
It's unclear, though, whether federal restrictions could be lifted from wolves based on state boundaries rather than the more-typical "distinct population segments," which lumps species together based on the regions where they live, not state lines.
In the history of the Endangered Species Act, only 15 species have been delisted, and none of the actions has been based on state boundaries, according to Hugh Vickery, an Interior spokesman.
Ed Bangs of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who is in charge of wolf recovery in the Northern Rockies, said federal officials are always interested in talking about new ideas. He wouldn't say whether delisting wolves within state boundaries seemed viable but said it is worth discussing.
"It's kind of premature to say thumbs up or thumbs down," Bangs said. "We'll have to wait and see."
Earlier this year, the Fish and Wildlife Service gave Montana and Idaho more authority in managing wolves and loosened restrictions for ranchers, landowners and others in dealing with problem wolves.
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