For Immediate Release: May 1, 2002
Contact: Nina Fascione, Defenders of Wildlife, (202) 772-3205
      Annie Strickler, Sierra Club, (202) 675-2384

Defenders of Wildlife * Sierra Club * Humane Society of the United States

                  Groups Demand Strong Wolf Protections

Washington, D.C. -- A coalition of more than 20 conservation and animal
welfare organizations, including the Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and
the Humane Society of the United States, as well as numerous regional
groups, today called on Interior Secretary Gale Norton not to weaken
Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for wolves. In a letter to the
Secretary, the groups opposed plans by the Bush Administration to make it
more difficult to restore wolves to the nation's wildlands.

"Secretary Norton is packing up her tools before the job is finished," said
Rodger Schlickeisen, President of Defenders of Wildlife. "Restored wolves
in the Northern Rockies brought with them a burst of biological diversity
that is resonating throughout the ecosystem, and a rush of tourist and
economic activity that is echoing through local communities. It would be
shortsighted in the extreme to slam the door on such a promising
beginning."

The Administration is expected to soon release a final rule on the status
of wolves throughout the lower 48 states, impacting ESA protections for
wolves throughout the West and the Great Lakes states of Minnesota,
Wisconsin and Michigan. The Administration has also indicated it will back
away from a Clinton Administration proposal to initiate wolf recovery
efforts in Northeast states.

"The wolf is a symbol of wild America and thanks to the Endangered Species
Act, the gray wolf is on its way to recovering healthy numbers in America's
wildlands.  Over the past 20 years a great deal of progress has been made
on wolf recovery, but the job isn't over by a long shot," said Carl Pope,
Executive Director of the Sierra Club.

Scientists have determined that several regions contain suitable habitat
for wolves, including northern New England, the southern Rocky Mountains of
Colorado and parts of northern California, Oregon and Washington State. The
impending rule ignores the value of these regions to wolf recovery and
conservation. Once the recovery objectives are met for the original, more
limited recovery areas, ESA protections for wolves will be removed across
the broader range of the newly established recovery zones. Because this
approach to wolf recovery is legally suspect and scientifically
unjustified, the state Fish and Wildlife agencies in Idaho, Montana and
Wyoming also oppose the plan.

"Yellowstone and the Great Lakes states should not be the final chapter in
the story of wolf recovery.  Wolves must return to many more of our
nation's wildlands before our responsibility to restore this important part
of our wildlife heritage will be met.  As experience has shown, the surest
way to meet this responsibility is through the Endangered Species Act,"
continued Pope.

"Where wolves have returned, their continued success must be secured
through increased numbers and distribution.  In those wildlands where
wolves remain displaced, such as the Olympic Peninsula and Maine woods,
recovery efforts under the ESA are still waiting to be initiated," said Dr.
Elizabeth Stallman, a wildlife scientist with the Humane Society of the
United States. "Unfortunately the Bush Administration is not taking the
steps necessary to achieve these goals.  Indeed, it seems they are trying
to distance themselves as much as possible from wolf recovery."

Conservationists are also concerned that the Fish and Wildlife Service is
easing recovery goals for the Northern Rockies wolf population. The
original recovery plan called for 10 packs each in three different areas:
the Yellowstone ecosystem, central Idaho and northwest Montana. However,
FWS is currently stating that a total of 30 packs anywhere in the region
will suffice. Because wolves in northwestern Montana aren't faring as well
as those in the other two regions, the concern is that wolf recovery in
that area will be stalled indefinitely if the recovery goals are changed
now.

The letter is attached below:

May 1, 2002

Dear Secretary Norton:

We are writing to express our concern over the pending U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) final rule on gray wolf reclassification under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA).  The administration has made it clear that
the reclassification rule, expected this spring, will be a final rule
addressing wolf recovery nationally.  The following are among our specific
concerns with the administration's current plan:

·    The final rule rescinds last year's proposed Distinct Population
Segment status for the Northeastern states, a status supported by the
majority of both public and scientific comments received on the proposed
rule.

·    No further consideration has been given by the FWS to recovery
proposals offered by scientists and citizen groups for the southern Rockies
and Pacific Northwest.

·    The final rule expands the Western Distinct Population Segment to
include most of the western states without changing the recovery goals to
achieve full recovery in this multi-state region, a move that is
biologically unwarranted and subject to legal challenge. Because this
aspect of the proposal is so inappropriate for biological and legal
reasons, five western state wildlife management agencies have officially
requested that the reclassification process be terminated.

·    The final rule will effectively turn wolf management over to ill
equipped and poorly funded state wildlife management agencies before wolf
recovery in the United States is complete.

We believe that this final rule is not compatible with the mandate of the
Endangered  Species Act  and  are  concerned because  this  document will
represent the future of federal wolf management in the United States.

The value of wolves to a healthy environment is well documented, as is the
public  support for new and continued wolf recovery efforts across the
nation.  When the FWS issued its proposed rule on gray wolf recovery last
year, citizens welcomed it as an opportunity to reshape the federal effort
to conserve this important species by building upon the program's successes
and correcting past mistakes.  During the public comment period, the FWS
received thousands of comments from both the general public and members of
the scientific community, the vast majority of which indicated that the job
of wolf recovery is far from complete. It now appears that the FWS is
intent on ignoring  public opinion and sound science and is prematurely
backing away from wolf recovery efforts.

We are especially concerned about the path the Administration appears to be
pursuing on gray wolf reclassification in light of other recent decisions
likely to be inconsistent with the intent of the Endangered Species Act,
including the retreat from grizzly bear recovery efforts in Idaho and
Montana, the abandonment of protections for salmon habitat in the Pacific
Northwest and legislative attempts to deny citizens the ability to hold
public agencies accountable when they fail to conserve deserving species
under  the  law.   We fear these actions signal a serious lack of
commitment to conserving our nation's imperiled wildlife.

Americans have made it clear that they support continued federal efforts to
conserve and recover the wolf in all of our nation's remaining wildlands.
The scientific community has warned that wolves are necessary for healthy
natural communities, as evidenced by the reintroduction of wolves into
Yellowstone and central Idaho.  We urge you to re-think the wisdom of this
new course of action on wolves and instead develop a program that reflects
the best scientific thinking and the desires of the American people for
this magnificent member of our wildlife heritage.

Defenders of Wildlife * Sierra Club * Humane Society of the United States *
  Center for Biological Diversity * Endangered Species Coalition * The
 Wildlands Project * Sinapu * RESTORE: The North Woods * California Wolf
Center * Forest Watch * Headwaters * Idaho Conservation League * Klamath
  Forest Allaiance * Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center * Mountain Lion
    Foundation * New Hampshire Wolf Alliance * Oregon Natural Desert
Assocaition * Oregon Natural Resources Council * Wolf Education & Research
      Center * Wolf Haven International  * Wolf Recovery Foundation
                                   ###



Erin Jordahl
Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
515-277-8868
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