20 Yellowstone Wolves Killed

Hunters took twenty of Yellowstone's iconic wolves in newly returned hunting seasons.  That number is the  most killed in one season since the species was reintroduced to the national park. Fifteen were killed in Montana after crossing the park boundaries, five more met their deaths in Wyoming and Idaho according to the AP.  The Phantom Lake pack as been eliminated according to park officials after its members were killed in a two month span beginning in October. An estimated 123 wolves remain in the park were hunting is prohibited.  More will die as the hunting season progresses in surrounding states.

The park superintendent has asked Montana Governor, Greg Gianforte to close down the season and re-establish lower quotas.  Gianforte is an avid hunter and trapper.  Gianforte, obviously a wolf hater, received a warning from a state game official last year after trapping and shooting a radio-collardwolf about 10 miles from the park boarder. Montana has set a limit of 82 wolves in the area boarding to the north of the park.  So far 64 have been killed this season. Trappers are allowed to lure wolves outside the protected zone with bait.  Yellowstone's wolves draw visitors to the park from around the world, providing millions in revenue for the tourist industry,   Federal protection for the wolves were lifted based in part on assurances that states would manage their populations sustainably.

The resumption of wolf persecution in red states should alarm the current administration.  It is primarily motivated by a twisted concept of "states rights" and reactionary partisanship.  President Biden should direct the US Fish and Wildlife Service to return the gray wolf to the Endangered Species list immediately, before the progress achieved in reestablishing the wolf since the 1990's is lost.