Gray wolf protection program

Wildlife officials set a animal limit for this fall's wolf hunt, after the Department of Natural Resources board voted last Wednesday to set aside the department's recommendation to cap kills at , the AP reported. In Montana, the state's Republican-led House of Representatives passed two bills in March which would allow snares, wires that tighten around a prey's neck, to be set for wolves, and would extend wolf trapping season for an additional 30 days — even though there are only an estimated wolves throughout the state, according to The Associated Press.

The Humane Society of the United States has argued that Montana is waging "an outright war against wildlife. Idaho has also loosened some of their hunting regulations, The Associated Press reported. The state now allows practices like hunting at night and from the air, as well as paying bounties for dead wolves, a tactic that once helped lead them to near-extinction.

Tim Preso, lead attorney for the environmental law firm Earthjustice's lawsuit to restore protections for wolves outside of the Northern Rockies, told the AP that he was disappointed in the Biden administration's choice. The writing's on the wall. Montana and Idaho are clear on what they're intending and Wisconsin is right behind them.

Republican state officials have said they aim to reduce the gray wolf population to preserve herds of large deer, bison and elk that are prized for hunting, as well as protecting farm animals, the AP reported. Though people nearly hunted wolves to extinction in the lower 48 states, northern gray wolves have returned to the Great Lakes, the northern Rockies, California and the Pacific Northwest.

But just as the U. In , Congress ended protections in the northern Rockies, and in the Trump administration stripped wolves of their critical ESA protections across the country. Anti-wolf legislators and extremists have been on the offensive ever since. Wolves play a key role in keeping ecosystems healthy.

They help keep deer and elk populations in check, which can benefit many other plant and animal species. The carcasses of their prey also help to redistribute nutrients and provide food for other wildlife species, like grizzly bears and scavengers.

Scientists are just beginning to fully understand the positive ripple effects that wolves have on ecosystems. Now we have a chance to undo that damage: We must restore those protections and save these wolves from increasing attacks in states across the nation.

Defenders is working with ranchers across the West to develop and implement nonlethal deterrents, better animal husbandry practices and other innovative tools that minimize conflict and build social acceptance for wolves. We also monitor state and federal legislatures and wildlife agencies closely to track potential threats to wolf populations and recovery. Our experts and policy analysts engage with officials to discuss the problem and, where possible, offer scientifically-based and responsible solutions.

If these measures fail, and laws are being violated by extreme wolf policies, we turn to the courts. The U. Fish and Wildlife Service recently found substantial and credible information indicating that a relisting action may be warranted.

Wolves are threatened by conflict with humans and intolerance, and the loss of both habitat and protections under state and federal endangered species laws. The gray wolf was delisted throughout its historic range, with the exception of the Mexican gray wolf in the Southwestern states. Help us spread positive and accurate information about wolves.

Speak up for wolves and ask the Biden administration to relist wolves on the U. Endangered Species Act. If you live in wolf habitat, practice coexistence techniques. Wolves require large areas of contiguous habitat that can include forests and mountainous terrain with access to prey, protection from excessive persecution and areas for denning and taking shelter.

There are an estimated 7, to 11, gray wolves in Alaska, 3, in the Great Lakes region, 1, in the Northern Rockies and in the Pacific Northwest. Wolves live, travel and hunt in packs of seven to eight animals on average. Packs include the mother and father wolves called the alphas , their pups and older offspring. The alpha female and male are typically the pack leaders that track and hunt prey, choose den sites and establish the pack's territory.

Breeding season occurs once a year late January through March. Pups are born blind and defenseless. The pack cares for the pups until they fully mature at about 10 months of age when they can hunt on their own.

Once grown, young wolves may disperse. Dispersing wolves have been known to travel miles or more in search of a mate and new territory. Mating Season: January or February. Gestation: 63 days Litter size: pups. Wolves eat ungulates, or large hoofed mammals, like elk, deer, moose and caribou, as well as beaver, rabbits and other small prey. Wolves are also scavengers and often eat animals that have died due to other causes. Thank you! Main navigation Wildlife. American Crocodile and Alligator.

Beluga Whale. Bighorn Sheep. Black-Footed Ferret. California Condor. Florida Manatee. Florida Panther. Canada Lynx. Share Twitter. Fish and Wildlife Service Robs Gray Wolf of Endangered Species Protections Though isolated populations have rebounded since the s, the once ubiquitous species is far from fully recovered.

When We Talk About Wolves, We Talk About People Separating our human-human conflicts from wolves and placing value on wolves interacting in nature as part of a larger ecosystem is perhaps the most ethical approach we can take in navigating the human-wolf relationship. Breaking the Cycle: Getting Ahead of Carnivore Conflicts In , the partnership between Wildlife Services, NRDC, Defenders of Wildlife, and other conservation organizations has helped to fund, develop, and implement numerous nonlethal predator control projects across the northwestern United States.

Killing Predators with Cyanide? There Must Be a Better Way. Can it ever get them back? Thanks for joining the fight! Save the Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act—which has helped bring back countless wildlife species back from the brink—is under attack by anti-environment lawmakers. Learn More. Save Elephants Elephant populations are declining at alarming rates, and some species are facing extinction within 10 years.

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