Gray wolves get back their endangered species status, for now.

Gray wolves regained endangered-species protections Friday when a federal judge in Montana granted a preliminary injunction to environmentalists, who had challenged the wolves' delisting.

The decision came just months before planned fall hunts in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, which will now be canceled.

U.S. District Court Judge Donald W. Molloy issued a strongly worded 40-page critique of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to delist the gray wolves, calling it arbitrary and capricious. He said the action "demonstrated a possibility of irreparable harm" to the species. The injunction "ensures the species is not imperiled" while the case continues to be litigated, the judge wrote.

The wildlife service "provides no new evidence or research to support its change of course," Molloy wrote. "Congress does not intend agency decision-making to be fickle. When it is, the line separating rationality from arbitrariness and capriciousness is crossed."

Molloy pointed to the recovery criteria cited by the wildlife service in 1994. Those criteria include "genetic exchange between subpopulations" -- crossbreeding among scattered groups of wolves -- so the species would be genetically viable in the long term.

"Genetic exchange has not taken place," the judge wrote. He cited a 2007 study commissioned by the wildlife service itself.

Gray wolves once ranged from central Mexico to the Arctic. But by the 1930s, rampant hunting had virtually wiped them out across the American West. In 1974, gray wolves were listed as endangered.

Since then, the federal government has spent about $27 million to revive the wolves' population.

In 1995 and 1996, officials introduced 66 wolves to central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park, aiming to establish a stable population of at least 300 animals. When delisted earlier this year, wolves in the northern Rockies numbered 1,513, the judge wrote. Wildlife service officials say the population is increasing by about 24% a year.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials announced in February that gray wolves would be removed from the endangered species list after what they termed a successful 20-year effort to reestablish the wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Environmentalists sued.

--Tami Abdollah

Photo: A gray wolf pup. Credit: Kent Kauden / Associated Press

Comments

[Lucy]

Hey Jeff, I too have lived in Idaho my whole life and we hunt for our meat as well, there is only 2 of us so we only need 1 or deer a year. I am curious how you are able to take 5 deer in a year, since the limit is only 1 per hunter, at least in the panhandle. Humm sounds like pouching to me..
It is a proven statictic that in areas where wolf populations have been restored the big game herds have actually improved. Unlike man, wolves help the population by taking the weak or sick.

If you really wanted to improve the big game populations and allow your way of life to continue, you would not have had 5 children. The biggest threat to all wild things is our encrouchment.

[bowhunter]

Jeff Call, i understand your sentiment. I too read the propaganda the Rocky MOuntain Elk Foundation has put out on wolves. There is myriad anecdotal evidence from all sorts of outfitters just outside Yellowstone talking about how the hunt has been diminished by wolves. 1.) the elk don't call as much, 2.) FWP has dropped the number of late season cow permits. RMEF loves to chide the wolves. Let me translate this for you - the outfitters complain because they can't fill their client's tags quite as easily. RMEF is heavily sponsored by outfitters, so they are placating their income sources.

Your analysis re: exponential wolf populations is not correct. All populations have a "carying capacity" (including our human population). Because there was such a huge imbalance of elk, the hunt outside of Yellowstone used to occur in February in knee deep snow where the elk had no choice but to wander onto the few windblown, low elevation, exposed south facing slopes where any idiot with a 30-06 could blast one and turn it into freezerburned packages he would throw away 3 years later. It was that sort of hunt that destroys public opinon of hunters. There was no skill, just high powered rifles vs. elk with nowhere to go. This was not a fair hunt. Because of the wolves in Yellowstone, the elk herd is returning to a reasonable size. The riparian areas in the Lamar valley are growing aspen and willow that the elk had previously destroyed, the water quality is better, the beaver are coming back with the willows, and the ecosystem is more healthy.

And what is more, hunters who are willing to put the miles on their boots can still harvest game and feed their families healthy protien.

Wolves and elk have lived in balance for milenia without causing extinction. (Humans exterpated wolves from our states in less than 100 years). Your argument that you won't be able to feed your family because wolves are taking all the elk is a red herring. THose same outfitters are the ranch corporations who lock you out of their property so that some Texan can pay $6000 to ride up to an elk, shoot it and take a picture before returning to his Dallas law firm.

The wolves need the elk just as your family does. May the best hunter win. Fair chase.

[MD BUTCH GROOTHUIS]

It seems that the so-called "environmentalists" and the "pro-wolf" people are one in the same. They are the ones that espouse forest management practices that create fuel for forest fires that can not be controlled and burn so hot they sterilize the ground so nothing grows for a hundred years. The majority of them do not live in the states where the wolves were introduced, nor do they have to put up with the consequences of their actions. They appear to operate strictly on emotion with no grasp of facts and care more about their "agenda" than anyone else's rights. They should all be required to look at the material and view the reality of their actions at the website www.saveourelk.com. They are not the ones who have to worry about carrying a firearm every time they go into the woods to protect themselves, their pets, children and grandchildren from the wolves. If you pro-wolf people want to see wolves, I will be happy to take you up in the hills an hour from my house and let you experience five packs of them first-hand, BUT only if you promise to camp overnight with NO weapon.

[jim]

Killing wolves won't solve the problem. It will just make it worse than it already is. Wolves are not naturally human killers, but if there is a famine involved then that's a different story. Watch certain animal channels on TV or go to a library and read about them. If you read enough and understand it, then you will see what wolves are really like. Wolves are like us, they need a way to survive. Like someone said survival of the fittest. It's also a good thing wolf populations are going up. I may not live around wolves, but I've seen them and went on a trip that follows wolves. They're not like what you people expect them to be. Besides global warming may take us all in the process with the wolves. Just think of this. THE OUTCOME of your decision. Many of you wouldn't think of it. Look at both good and bad ways of it.

[Ben]

You people shouldn't criticize the wolf for the first kill it makes. That's all you people see, and not their other side. Other predators are probably more maneater than the wolf is, like a grizzly bear. Wolves are actually quite dear and loving to humans, and hunters should just continue hunting deer with the wolves. Make it a competition, which it already is, but just don't destroy the competition with the prize. Go for the goal and don't worry about the obstacles. A wolf may attack a human if it's probably a small child alone in wolf territory. That could happen like it does in CA where coyotes attack people because we moved into their territory. If you think about it LONG, AND HARD then you could see the true wolf side of it. Some people own wolves as pets and they may be tame, but they still have their wild side inside them. I understand that some people hunt for their food, but there is plenty of deer, elk, and other herbivores that can suit your hungry stomachs. You should remember though that a wolf is just like you. Take this advice too. Global warming is also helping people destroy the wolves. The population isn't going to go up that fast as the Earth keeps heating up. Stop global warming first, then worry about other problems.

[bob]

I'd rather have wolves on our public lands than cattle who destroy the land and pollute the streams.

If you want to grow cattle, do it on private land. No more welfare ranching on lands owned by every American citizen.

[Ethan]

Wolves are a part of the food chain that helps balance out the living life. They are needed for this, and humans are killing them off. Humans are already at the top of the food chain, and we shouldn't kill wolves for our amusement, those of you that enjoy it and hate them, cause it's just WRONG! The wolf is like what jim said a loving creature that can show you if you can give it time. Also if you encounter a wolf on property or anything, chase it away or call animal cops/control. That can help instead of killing them off. There may be times where you could hunt them, but that's also wrong. Hunters should be limited to a number of wolves they can kill. 300 wolves is not enough to keep other animals under control. You at least need a little more than 2000 to do it. Wolves won't attack you unless you try to corner it while trying to kill it. If your out alone in the woods with no one or anything to defend yourself, and a wolf or wolf pack comes along and blocks all ur ways, then u can find something close to hand to defend urself. Not saying you should go out with nothing, just DONT BRING A GUN!!! Also like Ben said Global warming is heating up our Earth, and all kinds of canines could start to die from heat stroke including your pet dogs. Just stop trying to kill a "visciuos" predator which doesn't kill humans, and leave them alone. One more thing, wolves are actually shy animals.

[lover]

When you think of the wolf, what comes to your mind at first? Many of you would most definitely think they are basically viscious, and man eating creatures. Another thing, why do you think God put these creatures on the Earth? Noah's Ark carried all these kinds of creatures carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore alike all on this deck. Lots of animals are endangered, and some extinct. Some extinct are the blue pike from over fishing, and a short-billed sparrow that was wiped out from loss of habitat. Think of what you're doing to destroy this Earth. yes you're destroying this planet with your so-called "right thing to do" comments and speeches. I know that it is definitely wrong for the government to shoot these animals secretly, and have us pay it with our taxes. I am a definite wolf lover, and I would hate to see these wonderful and pet-like animals leave the face of this planet. Remember this question. Why do you want to destroy the Earth? Also possibly this. How come you only think of yourself?

[lover]

I may already know many people might say wolves are sometimes maneaters, but that is a certain kind of wolf. Usually lone wolves outcasted by their wolf packs try to thrive in life on their own. Sometimes lone wolves may take a small child from their sleeping bag in camp, and drag them into the forest. Wolf packs don't often attack humans, but basically lone wolves may do it if they're desperate for life, or if you look good to eat. Just if you're camping around wolves, bring something to scare it off, and that means not a gun. If you do bring a gun, just scare off the wolf with a shot in the air. Killing it doesn't do anyone any good. It could maybe come back to you some day.

[RC]

Let's be honest about this...
Wolves are predators and drive ungulate populations like elk, caribou, and deer deeper into the forests and meadows. For a family subsisting on these it makes it more difficult to make to bring food to the table. For ranchers, it's means more stress and concern for their livestock, income and family safety. For elk hunting guides, it means loss of work when hunters travel to other places where there are more balanced habitats or more elk, such as Canada.

Wolves do not like to eat people or especially small children. When was the last time you heard of a human being killed by a wolf? Let's drop the Dark Ages hysteria and be honest with ourselves and eachother.

This is really about the priority of rural human life and survival. I believe there are solutions to the problem.

First, let's us agree the most serious issue affecting our family, our church, our town, our state, our country, our civilization is the booming population of humans on the earth and the growing consumption of natural and manufactured resources to fulfill their needs, wants, and desires. Unfortunately this is only going to get worse as developing countries like China and India, of which make up 2/5 of the 6-plus billion humans born in the last 100 years, continue to boom into developed countries. China's oil consuption went up 20% last year. India is right behind them. Raw materials we consume for our lifestyles like iron, copper, wood, and plastic (a byproduct of petroleum) are not renewable resources are being depleted at a faster rate. There is a serious honeybee crisis about to affect our nations food bank. The oil crisis has just begun. (Check out "A Crude Awakening" from Netflix)

The wolf situation is important but we need to start prioritizing here. But we should look at the Yellowstone wolf population as a learning tool. The reintroduction of the wolf to Yellowstone filled a missing link. It began to reduce ungulate populations back a more balanced number for their habitat. The kills provided the necessary food for other species to flourish. Any species that does not have a natural predator can eventually overpopulate their habitat and migrate into other habitats.

For example let's examine the human species.

The Easter Island people used up their natural resources, the civilization on the verge of collaspe built stone faces to apease their gods. Eventually many attemted to flee the isolated island. The ones who foolishly stayed behind to build the stone faces istead of looking at the real problem just died there.
Easter Island civilation: COLLAPSED.
Reason: OVER-POPULATION of species led to over consumption of subsistence natural reasouces.

The Inca Empire loved to appease their gods by buildling huge temple painted with plaster. To make plaster limestone is burned at high temps for a long period of time. After hundreds of years populating and plastering temples to appease their gods the forests were depleted and they didn't have enough wood to survive.
Inca civilization: COLLAPSED.
Reason: OVER-POPULATION of species led to over consumption of subsistence natural reasouces.

It's time we as a human race WAKE UP! Our civilization is on the verge of collaspe. Oil is such a wonderful cheap, light, compact source of energy. We are on the verge of a global disaster of our species. The wolf population will naturally control themselves through disease and this is the least of our worries. The U.S. government has been infiltrated by a group of oil and weapons investors. GW Bush's grandfather Prescott Bush was a Nazi banker and tried to get U.S. general to help his group of bankers to overthrow the government. This is a sad fact! Google: Prescott Bush! Also, there is growing evidence 9/11 was either and inside job. Netflix: Terror Storm and End Game. Read: Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.

SOLUTION:
Take the money out of politics; establish true campaign finance reform.
Our elections can be corrupted; require our current computer voting to have a paper trail, full disclosure and test of code. No more BACK DOOR PROGRAMMING!
Elect leaders who are problem solvers, not corporate puppets.
Establish a Department of Peace.
Justice for their warcrimes. Iraq never had WMDs!
Consume less. What do you really need?
Reduce, reuse, recycle.
Drive less.
Buy local food.
Ride bikes more.
Education reform.
Healthcare reform.
Insurance reform.
Telecommunication reform.
FDA and USDA reform.
Most importantly, we as a species need to slow our populating! Encourage zero-population growth.
Learn from other civilization failures and successes.
Turn off your TV and computer and start living.
Read.
Listen.
Realize we're in this together. My happiness and well being is directly related to yours. Be kind.
Find problem and help others solve it.

[Sam]

YAY but the only reason they were off in the first place was the fact that there is to many hunting morons

[lover]

like RC said about what we can do to save our Earth other than dealing with the smallest problem like wolves eating elk to survive. RC, there are attacks on humans, but it is extremely rare. Like i said basically the lone wolves will do it but probably not packs. It's not our fault if wolves attack humans, well mostly is because we moved into their territory. Why do you think wolves attack livestock like cows? Well because the farmer decided to move there near the edge of the forest, where wolves may be lurking around trying to survive. It is definitely survival of the fittest, but don't kill the other hunters (animals/carnivores) cause we need them. There is already too much deer and elk in some other places in the U.S. The east coast has way too many deer and other herbivores, so we should probably introduce the wolves there to keep it under control. Another thing, wolves are actually helping to slow down global warming by eating the herbivores. we can't lose too many plants or global warming will speed up. also people that jsut eat deer and elk to live, that's not all u can eat. If there is a place where meat is sold, just try it. it won't kill you unless u eat it raw. Not much of the fast food kind of places. Don't have many children either because that's ur other problem. I'm not saying its bad to love ur children jsut that its harder to feed many mouths than like 1 or 2 children. Just think of what wolves can do for you besides the bad part. Think of what wolves do for you that are good, cause it mostly is.

[lover]

The Yellowstone National Park is a good place to help restore the wolf population. One thing that is very cruel and a waste of time is the fact that hunters and ranchers wait for a wolf or pack to cross the line from the National Park and shoot them down. You hunters are so obsessed! Get a life besides hunting down your friend. Having you heard of "Man's best friend!"? Well you should have. The wolf is like your average pet, but has a lot more wild in him/her than your everyday domesticated dog. Someone I know has a dog that is half wolf but it is a very kind dog and doesn't attack people. Wolves will help people because the deer and elk pop is large and destroys plants. Without any vegetation on this Earth, we would all suffocate from the lack of oxygen. Then you should think it's the deer and elk's fault for that. I read about this guy who says this about wolves himself, "Wolves are nothing but viscious predators that eat everything in sight like squirrels and other small animals. then they'll start eating other predators and then eat other wolves!" THAT'S A BUNCH OF BOLONEY DUDE! Wolves are not cannibalistic! They don't eat other predators. They pretty much eat deer, elk, moose, and a few rodents. They have to eat and travel to survive. They eat what they can, and then some other predator may come along and eat the rest of it. So it's not all the wolves's fault the deer and elk pop. is going down. there are other predators out there. Here's a hint for you people that hate wolves: READ ABOUT WOLVES AND LISTEN TO A WOLF PROFESSIONAL!!! Is that so hard to do?

[Ginny Hair]

Hi Tami,

Terrific reporting and thanks for covering this important story. I agree with one of the earliest
posts, thank goodness a judge stepped in. When not running a communications company, I volunteer my time on the Board of the Oakland Zoo and have worked closely with Dr. Parrott over the years who has taught me so much about
the importance of all species and the absolute need to protect those on the endangered list.

Thanks much for this!

Ginny Hair

[Anonymous]

Although you should still protect those that are on their way, but still protect those that are on. Just make sure that those that are close to making the endangered species list get some protection, but mostly the endangered animals like the wolf ^_^ should have very good protection, especially from hunters and poachers.

[Mule]

We live in Idaho in the wildland urban interface, this means we live in wolf territory. There are plenty of wolves in Idaho, and they are not being wiped out. Check out this map of wolf packs:
http://fwp.mt.gov/content/getItem.aspx?id=32267

Wolves have saturated all suitable habitat, and are moving into rural areas where people live. Its time to start managing them, just like other large predators. The wolf recovery worked. Its time to let the states take over management. Idaho had a good management plan, that would have allowed folks to protect their property, and let hunters fees pay for studies. Wolves will not be "slaughtered".

We are not ranchers or hunters, in fact we take in and rescue unwanted animals. One of those is a crippled mare that survived being attacked by wolves. She is a sweet old lady, but will always need a lot of care.

[yasmine]

I think that it is insane. wolves are beautiful animals and now because of the government there going endangered

[lover]

exactly what yasmine says. Insane! I mean really the wolves are not evil. It's just their way of adapting. Wolves can't wipe out a species. There would have to be 5000 of them. If you want some to move where deer is an outragious population then ok. California and other places that don't have any wolves have way too many deer. Send over some wolves here, but think of this they couldn't survive here. there is no snow.

[Toby Bridges]

The wolf was eradicated from the northern Rocky Mountain region a hundred years ago for a reason - they do not mix well with humans, livestock or pets. They are simply the result of a million years of evolution - as an apex killing machine. Simply put, they will run down...kill...rip apart...and devour any living thing that gets in front of them - whether it's an elk...a steer...or your pet dog "Buffy". Maybe even rural school children waiting for the school bus on a lonely back road.

There was no place for wolves in a settled community during the early 1900s, and there's no place for wolves in the same settled community today. And whether you like it or not, the northern Rockies are a settled community.

The death sentence for the foolishly reintroduced wolves (which were imported from Canada and are not the same exact wolves that were native to this region) will be their zest for killing deer and elk. For the past century, sportsmen have footed the bill for the successful conservation efforts that have brought deer and elk herds back from the brink of oblivion to record numbers. Now, as wolf numbers begin to expand quickly, they're beginning to decimate big game populations. In some areas, elk numbers are already down nearly 30-percent - due to wolf predation. (And whether you knew it or not, wolves very often kill just for the mere pleasure of killing...not only to eat.)

Sportsmen aren't simply going to allow a very misguided U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service throw all of that hard work right out the window. They're going to fight back. They're going to take matters back into their own hands. They're going to begin killing wolves. In fact, they already have, and dead wolves are now beginning to show up in ever greater numbers. And that trend will escalate the longer the Federal government continues to block managing wolf numbers...which are already 5 or 6 times the target number established ten years ago.

Sportsmen have already began firing the first shots of the wolf war.

Toby Bridges
LOBO Watch
Missoula, MT

[Wolf Saver]

Killing wolves is an act of evil and murder. The senseless slaughtering of wolves in Alaska, promoted by Sarah Palin, is an absolute malfaesance! Killing wolves for sport is wrong, and those who do it for sport just to send a message to the Environmentalists are very stupid, and people who don't know anything about hunting, just killing for pleasure. So Toby Bridges, killing wolves for sport and pleasure is wrong, and an act of the Devil, as I would say. Don't kill our wolves. You humans should just deal with the fact that they were here first, and that every human thinks they were here first. Also, when you kill a wolf, you kill off a vital source of our planet, and then you hurt the Earth as much as Global Warming! Stop slaughtering wolves, and don't even hunt them. They are beautiful creatures, and they should be protected. Stop hunting them illegally!!

Ethan Wolf
Researcher and Protector of Wolves

P.S. I will find a way to stop you, so if you know what's good for you and others, stop hunting wolves!

[Wolf Lover]

Pretty much Toby Bridges is one of those humans who only cares about hunting for pleasure. If he says wolves only kill for pleasure more than food, then he should look at himself. He knows nothing about wolves if he accuses them of such crimes that aren't even true about wolves. Toby really needs to read more about wolves and what their background is. If not, then he is just a cowardly, cold-hearted human who has a dinosaur brain and doesn't read or give a care about what animals have in this world.

[Wolf Lover101]

Good the goverment should be taking action to save the wolves. They may not be the best animals in the world but they help our economy by killing the animals that are sick and/or dying. If you think that wolves are bad then you might as well just say that humans are completely evil too. Especially the ones who hunt.