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For Immediate Release
Conservation Groups Ask Fish and Wildlife Service to Expand Public Comment Period on Wolves
More Hearings Needed, Groups Say
Boise, Idaho -- A coalition of 28 conservation groups today requested additional opportunities for public comment regarding the proposed removal of the northern Rockies gray wolf from the federal endangered species list. In a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the conservation groups proposed adding additional hearings in Portland, Seattle and Denver and also recommended extending the public comment period from 60 days to 90 days to allow all stakeholders to be heard.
"The purpose of the public comment period is to ensure that the residents of these western states have the opportunity to weigh in on this important issue," said Amaroq Weiss, director of western species conservation with Defenders of Wildlife. "The Fish and Wildlife Service has properly scheduled hearings in the major population centers in each state, except for Washington, Oregon and Colorado. The additional time and hearings we are proposing will ensure that the assessment of public opinion about wolves in these states is accurate and comprehensive."
The proposal to delist gray wolves in the northern Rockies was published today in the Federal Register, marking the beginning of a 60-day period for public comment. Six open hearings have been scheduled to take place during this period, in Cheyenne, Wyo.; Salt Lake City, Utah; Boise, Idaho; Helena, Mont.; Spokane Valley, Wash. and Pendleton, Ore. The hearing schedule disregards western Washington, western Oregon, and central Colorado, areas that have prime wolf habitat but no wolf populations yet, because they have been waiting for wolves to migrate down from the northern Rockies. These western areas will likely never see recovered wolf populations if Idaho and Wyoming follow through with their plans for widespread wolf eradication immediately after the federal protections are removed.
"Idaho's governor has demanded the killing of nearly all the wolves in the state upon delisting, and pending legislation in Wyoming could also result in the deaths of most of Wyoming's wolves," said Suzanne Asha Stone, northern Rockies representative with Defenders of Wildlife. "It is only reasonable to give the public a 90-day comment period to ensure a thorough examination of the factors being used to justify delisting at this crucial time."
Although Seattle, Portland and Denver fall just outside of the government-drawn wolf population boundaries of the northern Rockies region, they are still affected by the delisting decision. Helena and Salt Lake City lay beyond the population boundary lines as well, and FWS has already scheduled hearings in these two cities, the groups noted.
"The delisting proposal is inappropriate at this time because the Service has not adequately addressed all of the factors, namely the state management plans," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president with Defenders of Wildlife. "Instead of rushing through the public comment period right now, we should wait until all involved states have conservation-oriented management plans in place before moving forward with the delisting process."
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Defenders of Wildlife • Western Wildlife Conservancy • Friends of Clearwater NWR • Cascadia Wildlands Project • Hells Canyon Preservation Council • Wild Utah Project • Wolf Education & Research Center • Wolf Recovery Foundation • Sierra Club • Boulder- White Clouds Council, Inc • Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance • Gifford Pinchot Task Force • Western Watersheds Project • Biodiversity Conservation Alliance • The Lands Council • Sinapu • Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center • Forest Guardians • Oregon Wild • Wildlands CPR • Conservation Northwest • Natural Resources Defense Council • Idaho Conservation League • California Wolf Center • Center for Biological Diversity • Oregon Natural Desert Association • Help Our Wolves Live • The Humane Society of the United States
