( Click here to read more on experimental populations under the ESA).Ĭongress added section 10(j) to the ESA in order to lessen anger against reintroduction efforts. Wolves which are part of an experimental population therefore receive less protection than endangered species status provides. Each member of an experimental population is treated as a threatened species, which means that special rules may be made for the population, allowing things such as “take” which would not be allowed if the species was designated as endangered. The reintroduced populations are then called experimental populations. In 1982 Congress amended the ESA to include Section 10(j), which allows the FWS to reintroduce a threatened or endangered species. ![]() Within the last decade, with the help of the strict rules and successful reintroduction efforts wolf prospects and numbers have greatly increased, and there are now over 2000 wolves in the lower 48 states of the United States. The ESA requires the Federal government to help endangered and threatened species recover from their low numbers.īy 1978 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had listed the entire species of gray wolf (Canis lupus) as endangered throughout the lower 48 states of the United States, except in Minnesota, where the wolf was listed as threatened. Things began to get better for the gray wolf beginning in 1973 with the passage of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). ( Click here for more on the biological and natural history of the gray wolf). Because humans who settled the United States brought with them an intense hatred and fear of wolves, and because wolves can upset farmers by eating their livestock, human activity such as poisoning, trapping, and shooting wolves led to the almost complete extinction of the wolf in the United States. They used to live in most of the lower 48 states of the United States, but, by the early 1900s, the gray wolf had almost entirely disappeared from the lower 48 states. Like humans, gray wolves are amazingly adaptable and can live in a variety of climates and conditions. It lives throughout North America and consumes a varied diet of mid-sized animals such as deer. The gray wolf is a member of the canine family. Issues still remain as the wolf's successful repopulation may signal an end to its full protection under federal laws. Thanks to the Endangered Species Act, the gray wolf may be well on its way to recovery. To learn more, check out TWS’ issue statement on Wolf Restoration and Management in the Contiguous United States.The gray wolf was almost extinct in the lower 48 states of the United States by the mid 1900s. The Wildlife Society supports the integration of science in policy-making and continues to encourage decision makers and stakeholders to work toward minimizing and mitigating wolf-human conflicts, increasing public tolerance of wolves, and retaining wolves as a component of the natural landscape where appropriate. ![]() “The Service did not adequately consider threats to wolves outside of these core populations,” White said. The decision rested on the USFWS’ review of Great Lakes and Northern Rockies populations, which the agency used as an indicator of health for all wolf populations across the lower 48. However, USFWS’ rule was contentious, and environmental groups filed numerous lawsuits to challenge the notion that the gray wolf population no longer required federal protection.Īs a result of White’s decision, gray wolves are once again listed as threatened under the ESA, returning the canids to federal management in nearly the entire continental United States. ![]() These data led federal wildlife officials to determine the species had exceeded conservation goals, which warranted delisting under the ESA. ![]() Protections under the ESA allowed for wolf recovery, and by 2020, most populations were either stable or growing with a total of more than 6,000 wolves across the country. When gray wolves were first listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1970, the species had been nearly extirpated from the continental United States. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2020 rule to delist the gray wolf ( Canis lupus) from the ESA. District Judge Jeffrey White reversed the U.S. Gray wolves are once again listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act after a court decision.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |