Wolf Listing Redux

For almost four months this year, the Rocky Mountain gray wolf was off the Endangered Species List. That changed, however, on July 18 when a federal judge relisted the wolf at the request of conservation groups seeking to reverse the delisting.

The judge issued a preliminary injunction, which means that federal law will again guide Montana’s management of the wolf population until the judge rules on the merits of the lawsuit filed by the conservation groups.

Federal regulations do not allow any hunting or trapping of wolves, so the 2008 hunting season is canceled while the litigation proceeds. Montana wildlife officials are disappointed with the ruling because Montana’s gray wolf population is healthy, firmly established, and growing. That said, on Montana’s behalf, FWP is committed to continued participation in the legal proceedings.

To learn more about the relisting of the Rocky Mountain gray wolf, Montana’s wolf population, and its conservation and management, visit fwp.mt.gov/wildthings/wolf.