Wolves in your backyard?

Author:  Damien M. Schiff

This week, the Center for Biological Diversity submitted a petition to the Department of the Interior to have the United States Fish & Wildlife Service develop a nationwide wolf recovery program that could lead to the introduction of "wolf populations in suitable habitat in the Pacific Northwest, California, Great Basin, southern Rocky Mountains, Great Plains and New England."  The petition was submitted under the Administrative Procedure Act, not the Endangered Species Act, the difference being that the Service has no hard and fast deadline to respond to APA petitions.  The petition is notable because it reveals CBD's and other environmental organizations' real goal with wolf protection:  not just ensuring that the animal avoids extinction, but also the return of the animal's range to something approaching its prehistoric size.