< Grey Wolf Close to Leaving Endangered Species List

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Heard on Morning Edition

December 20, 2006 - STEVE INSKEEP, host:

In the view of conservationists, this isn't an about-face. Federal officials have promised to remove the grey wolf from the endangered species list in the states of Montana and Idaho, even if they cannot do the same in Wyoming. This has to do with where the wolf was protected and where it can be shot.

Montana Public Radio's Hope Stockwell reports.

HOPE STOCKWELL: Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer has waited months to hear these words from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services director Dale Hall.

Mr. DALE HALL (Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service): Our efforts to have partnership, those are critically based upon the ability of a partner to be rewarded for stepping up and not be held back or punished if another partner decides not to.

STOCKWELL: That other partner Hall is talking about is Wyoming. The Fish and Wildlife Services says Wyoming's current proposal wouldn't provide enough protection for wolves outside of Yellowstone National Park, where the majority live. The federal agency is happy, however, with the wolf management plans offered by Idaho and Montana. And the delisting of the grey wolf in these two states could begin as early as next month. That makes Montana cattle rancher Earl Stocky(ph) very happy.

Mr. EARL STOCKY (Cattle Rancher, Montana): If I shot a wolf here on this ranch, it would be a federal offense right now.

STOCKWELL: But if the animals are delisted, Stocky could shoot a wolf on sight if it attacks his livestock. Stocky estimates he's lost 20 to 30 calves and yearlings in the last five years to wolves, but says it's hard to prove because the wolves don't leave much evidence behind. Conservationist Susan Stone with the group Defenders of Wildlife understands Stocky's frustration, but she says the deal to delist Montana and Idaho without Wyoming probably will end up in court.

More importantly, Stone says without an approved plan in Wyoming there's not enough stability for wolves across the region.

Ms. SUSAN STONE (Defenders of Wildlife): I think the State of Montana has to be commended, and actually stands head and shoulders above the others, in that the wolf management plans there is one of the best in the country. It really took into account all of the stakeholders' needs and concerns, and that's what we want to see in all three states.

STOCKWELL: Wolves has made a comeback since the late 1970s, thanks to packs that have migrated south from Canada and the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone and central Idaho. They've grown to more than 1,200 today, more than four-times the number required by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

For National Public Radio, in Helena, Montana, I'm Hope Stockwell.

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