As of April 2, the gray wolf has been taken off the Endangered Species list and in Idaho and Montana, this means that the killing of wolves - even newborn pups and nursing mothers - will be legal.
"Over the past year, the wolf population in Yellowstone National Park has declined by 27 percent, with more than 70 percent of wolf pups succumbing to disease," (NRDC's BioGems). After May 4, any wolves outside of national parks will be fair game for killing.
"According to a letter signed by some 230 scientists, a severe reduction in current wolf numbers would dramatically increase the threat of extinction for a gray wolf population that is still recovering. If you hand wolf management back to the states, more than 600 wolves could be caught in the crossfire," (NRDC's BioGems).
Currently wolves reside in only five percent of what was once their native range.
Please join me in signing this petition to encourage Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to reconsider this decision to kick the struggling gray wolf off the Endangered Species list.
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