Montana wildlife official: court decision makes it impossible to manage state's wolf population

Author: Brandon Middleton

From the Yellowstone Insider:

The assumption from the folks at the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department is that the state's wolf population needs "management" — but a recent court decision holding them protected under the Endangered Species Act makes it impossible.

"As a result of the recent federal court decision, we are left with no way to actively manage wolves as a Montana wildlife species," said Joe Maurier, director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks in a press release. "The wolf is recovered. More than 500 wolves live in Montana. Wolves are not the enemy, and there is a place in Montana for them, but wolves have to be managed just like other wildlife. Right now we can’t do that."

On Aug. 6 U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy ruled that a government plan to remove protection for the gray wolf from only part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem was unlawful and ordered the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to grant it full protection.