Gray Wolves

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was to protect those animals who were close to or becoming extinct. Signed by Richard Nixon, it was just one of the set of environmental laws. Gray wolves became one of the first species to be added to the endangered species list. The gray wolves have been under the protection of the Federal government, but the gray wolf population will now be handed to the states.

What caused the gray wolf to have a decline in population were the sheep ranchers and hunters. Ranches would kill the wolves in order to protect their farms and hunters and government agents would eliminate gray wolves in order to eliminate competition.

Now that the gray wolf is being removed from the endangered species list, many are worried that under states management plans, too many wolves will be killed off. States are taking management plans very serious by reducing wolf-hunting quotas. When gray wolves were no longer considered endangered but rather threatened in the western states, 17 environmental groups filed suit. Although gray wolves have been given a bad reputation, there were some actions taken into place in order to protect these animals. Such as habitat restorations, wolf introduction in many areas, compensation of ranchers for any livestock killed by the gray wolf, and most importantly, public education. There are many benefits when it comes to the gray wolf, such as keeping deer and elk populations in check. Also, the carcasses left by the wolves replenish the nutrients and possibly provide food of grizzly bears and scavengers. This is one of a few success stories in the past years, lets just hope there are many more to come in the future.  

http://www.defenders.org/gray-wolf/basic-facts

http://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/gray-wolves-to-be-removed-from-endangered-species-list

http://www.hcn.org/blogs/issues/43.9/how-the-gray-wolf-lost-its-endangered-status-and-how-enviros-helped

http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Conservation/Endangered-Species-Act.aspx