Deal Reached to lift Wolf Protection in Idaho and Montana

 BILLINGS, Mont. — Facing mounting pressure from Congress over gray wolves, wildlife advocates reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Interior on Friday to lift the species' federal protections in Montana and Idaho and allow hunting to resume. 

The settlement agreement - opposed by some environmentalists - is intended to resolve years of litigation that have shielded wolves in the Northern Rockies from public hunting, even as the predator's population has sharply expanded.

 "For too long, wolf management in this country has been caught up in controversy and litigation instead of rooted in science, where it belongs. This proposed settlement provides a path forward," said Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes. Court documents detailing the proposed agreement were filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Montana. 

It would keep the species on the endangered list, at least temporarily, in four states where they are considered most vulnerable: Wyoming, Oregon, Washington and Utah. And the deal calls for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to set up a scientific panel that will re-examine wolf recovery goals calling for a minimum 300 wolves in the region - a population size wildlife advocates criticize as inadequate. 

 There are an estimated 1,651 wolves in the region following a costly but successful restoration effort. That program stirred deep antipathy toward the predators among western ranchers and hunters, who blame wolves for livestock attacks and a recent decline in some elk herds.

Read More: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/03/18/1571220/deal-takes-wolf-off-endangerd.html#ixzz1GzF5sHpv