Judge orders wolves to go
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, Jan/Feb 1998:
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL
PARK––Defenders of Wildlife and the
National Wildlife Federation on December 31
asked the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
to reverse a December 12 ruling by U.S.
District Judge William Downes of Wyoming
that either wolves introduced into
Yellowstone National Park and northern
Idaho during the past two years should be
removed, or all wolves in the greater
Yellowstone ecosystem should be fully protected
under the Endangered Species Act.
As part of a compromise worked
out in 1994 to get around political opposition
to the reintroduction of wolves to the
Yellowstone environs, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service termed the reintroduced
wolves and their offspring an “experimental,
nonessential” population, not completely
covered as an endangered species. This
enables wildlife officials and ranchers to kill
wolves who are caught allegedly preying on
livestock.