The Biden Administration has requested for the first time in court to lift endangered species protections from the grey wolf. On Friday of last week the government filed in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to revive the previous administration's rule to strip remaining legal protection. The action is the result of years of acrimony over the status of the gray wolf, as it re-populates portions of its former, nation-wide range. Attempts to lift protection date back to the administration of George W. Bush.
The government has sided with livestock owners, hunting groups, the NRA and the state of Utah in the case. Conservationists want wolf recovery to continue without impediment. Colorado, by a vote of the people, approved re-introduction of gray wolves to the state in 2020. Re-introduction has proceeded, but not without difficulty, According to some data reviewed by AP, wolves killed or injured 425 cattle and calves, 313 sheep and lambs in 2022. Such losses can be disastrous for individual livestock owners, but industry-wide the losses are negligible--less than 1%. According to a former wildlife official who led the reintroduction in Yellowstone and Idaho, ninety-five percent of livestock owners in Colorado will not have a predation problem, while 4.5% will have an occassional problem. Wolves have become a political bludgeon used by conservatives to create cultural divisions, Rep. Lauren Boebert being a good example. Colorado, like most states who have re-introduced wolves have a compensation programs for livestock killed by wolves. in Colorado ranchers are paid the market rate for confirmed kills, currently $300. State officials plan to introduce 30-50 wolves over the next five years.
Wolves were largely exterminated by the 1930's with some remanent populations surviving into the 1940s. They gained protected status in 1975 when only 1,000 remained in northeastern Montana. Only in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are wolves still legally hunted. An estimated 7500 wolves in 1400 packs now live in the wild. A decision on the appeal is expected in February.
