Green Options

Endangered species protections have been reinstated for the gray wolf in the western Great Lakes region.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that Endangered Species Act protections are reinstated for the gray wolf in the western Great Lakes region.

However, the status may only be temporary.

An Idaho man was cited for shooting and killing a female wolf pup while standing behind his pickup truck on a public road.

According to local reports, Idaho Fish and Game wardens have cited a man for shooting a wolf in Idaho’s McCall-Weiser area, which is not an open hunting zone until October 1, 2009. He was also cited for hunting from a public road.

One of only three wolf pairs in Oregon was killed by U.S.D.A. Wildlife Services with approval from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Center for Biological Diversity announced today that Oregon’s wolf recovery program suffered a serious setback when a pair of wolves residing in the Eagle Cap Wilderness in eastern Oregon were killed over the weekend by wildlife authorities.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission has decided to allow hunters to kill 220 of the state’s 1,000 wolves.

In the first-ever state regulated hunt of gray wolves in the continental United States, Idaho residents can purchase a hunting tag for $11.75 and out-of-state hunters will pay $186 for the opportunity to kill a wolf.

The hunt is set to begin on September 1, and Montana has planned to begin its wolf hunt in October.

While 58 wolves have already been killed since Saturday, there’s hope that Alaska’s Department of Fish & Game will not reach their enormous quota. Defenders of Wildlife has taken legal action that could stop the hunt immediately.

“The Board of Game did not authorize the use of helicopters by state agency personnel as part of the Upper Yukon/Tanana wolf killing program,” said Wade Willis, Alaska Representative for Defenders of Wildlife. “What they are doing in that region right now is illegal.”

Alaska abruptly resumed shooting wolves from helicopters this weekend in hopes that shooting the wolves will increase the population of caribou for hunters to kill. The state plans to kill up to 328 wolves, sparing under 100 in the Yukon area.

Not everyone in Alaska is gung-ho about the plan. The National Park Service has been collaring wolves for a two-decade-long study tracking predator-prey relationships, and now many of those wolves are bound to turn up dead.

>>UPDATE: Defenders of Wildlife has taken legal action to stop the hunt.