Kempthorne wants gray wolf off list

Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has directed the state's Office of Species Conservation to work toward removing the gray wolf from the endangered species list in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Kempthorne issued the directive Monday, two weeks after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that a 30th breeding pair of wolves had been found in the region.

"The wolf program appears to be a success," Kempthorne said in a press release. "Let's claim victory and remove the wolf from the list."

Delisting the wolf would return management to the states after years of federal oversight. The gray wolf was among the first species to be officially considered endangered under a predecessor to the Endangered Species Act in 1967.

But a complex delisting process and new federal definitions could stall the wolf's removal from the list for years.

Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service in Helena, said his agency has changed the definition of "breeding pair" in its recovery plan. Not only must the male and female be "capable" of reproducing, but there also must be documentation that each pair has produced at least two pups that live through Dec. 31 of their first year.

In addition, Bangs has said the wolf will not be delisted unless each of the three states has a management plan that meets federal standards. But wildlife officials in Wyoming have refused even to discuss such a management plan.

Greg Schildwachter, a policy adviser for the Idaho Office of Species Conservation, estimated the delisting process could take five years to complete.

"It's not exactly clear how to delist an animal like the wolf that's clearly recovered," he said. "The Endangered Species Act, even in success, is out-of-date, complicated and difficult to process."

The Fish and Wildlife Service manages the wolves in cooperation with the states and the Nez Perce Tribe.

"The Fish and Wildlife Service has said it is committed to delisting, but there is plenty of red tape," Kempthorne said.

The federal government's recovery plan for the northern Rocky Mountains calls for 30 breeding pairs of wolves throughout the region. Wolf experts have said that number may be higher.

At the end of last year, biologists counted 63 wolves in northwestern Montana, 177 in the Yellowstone area and 192 in central Idaho.

John McCarthy of the Idaho Conservation League said the wolf is ready for delisting but said the state is not prepared to take over management. The state's draft plan for wolf management places greater priority on livestock than wolves, he said.

"It needs major revision," McCarthy said. "It's really not even a good starting point. There needs to be greater recognition that there has not been nearly as much livestock depredation as predicted."

Before the wolf is delisted, a new strategy for dealing with wolf- related problems should be devised, Kempthorne recommended.

Current management plans are based on a population of 100 wolves - a number that was reached four years ago, the governor's press release said.

Kempthorne did not specify what changes are necessary to manage the growing population.

"The rapid spread of wolves in Idaho and the region shows that it's no longer a question of whether the wolf will recover," Kempthorne wrote, "but how the states can best manage them over the long term while protecting livestock and sustaining big game."

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