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The Mountain-Prairie Region |
NEWS RELEASE
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
134 Union Boulevard
Lakewood, Colorado 80228
NEW U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE
REGULATION February 3, 2005 Ed Bangs
(406) 449-5225, x204 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s new 10(j) regulation which becomes effective for gray wolves in the experimental population areas in Montana and Idaho on February 7, 2005, includes increased flexibility for wolf management for private citizens to protect their livestock, livestock herding and guarding animals, and dogs. In addition, the new rule provides States and Native American Tribes with Service-approved wolf management plans, the opportunity to manage gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains population, if they choose to do so, after the necessary agreements are signed by all parties. The rule only applies to the experimental population areas within States and Tribal reservations which have Service-approved wolf management plans. Only two States, Montana and Idaho, where there are about 580 wolves, presently fit that category. At this time, this regulation does not apply to the State of Wyoming because it does not have a Service-approved wolf management plan. “These changes provide a logical transition between management by the Federal government and management by the States and Tribes,” said Ralph Morgenweck, Regional Director of the Service’s Mountain-Prairie Region. “State and Tribal management under scientifically sound wolf management plans provides effective wolf conservation and will allow the States and Tribes to gain valuable management experience in anticipation of delisting.” Among other things, in experimental population areas of Montana [south of I-90 and south of the Missouri River] and Idaho [south of I-90] it allows that:
Gray wolves were reintroduced in the Northern Rockies as nonessential experimental populations under the Endangered Species Act in 1995 and 1996. This designation allows Federal, State and Tribal agencies and private citizens more flexibility in managing wolves. The rule and other information about the wolf recovery program can be viewed at http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov/ .
The recent ruling by a district court in Oregon does not affect the 10(j) population of wolves. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. -30-
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