Reinstate Federal Protections for Northern Rockies Wolves

Dear Secretary Salazar,

As a supporter of Defenders of Wildlife and someone who cares about protecting America's wildlife, I urge you to immediately reinstate Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies.

On March 6th, 2009, you approved the Bush Administration's discredited plan to eliminate Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the Greater Yellowstone states of Idaho and Montana -- a decision that could lead to the deaths of more than 1,000 wolves! And now, Idaho Fish and Game has just announced that beginning September 1, Idaho will allow 220 wolves to be killed in the first-ever state regulated hunt of gray wolves in the continental United States.

Idaho's announcement comes on the heels of Montana's plan to hunt 75 wolves starting in October. These numbers would be over and above the wolves already killed each year by other means of lethal control, as well as natural deaths. All these actions combined threaten the recovery of the still vulnerable regional wolf population in the Northern Rockies.

The decision to delist Northern Rockies wolves fails to adequately address biological concerns that led a Federal court to overturn the same wolf delisting rule late last year when the Bush Administration issued it. This decision also fails to address important concerns with Idaho's state wolf management plan and state regulations that undermine the goal of a sustainable wolf population by killing massive numbers of wolves.

Under current state wolf management plans, more than two-thirds of the region's wolves could be killed, threatening the overall future of wolves in the region. In fact, current state wolf management plans seem more directed at wolf eradication than sustainable management of a wildlife population that the federal government has spent millions of taxpayer dollars to rescue from extinction.

Eliminating Endangered Species Act protections for these wolves should be contingent upon two things that have not yet been achieved: 1) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needs a delisting plan based on current science that guarantees a minimum wolf population level that is both sustainable and genetically connected. The delisting plan's goal of 300 to 450 wolves in the region is far to few to sustain a healthy wolf population. 2) All of the states in the delisting area must have wolf management regulations that provide for a sustainable and well connected wolf population.

For all these reasons, I strongly urge you to reinstate federal protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies immediately.

Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to your reply.