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The day is August 5th. Set in the Northern Rocky Mountains, in the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. On this hot summer day, both the United States Sportsman’s Alliance (USSA) and a coalition of animal rights groups sat in front of Judge Donald W. Molloy, of the Federal District Court for Montana, to discuss the protection issues that faced the Northern Rocky Mountain wolf populations. What resulted from that heated debate was a supreme victory for wolves, but for how long remains to be seen.
The judge’s ruling came in response to the management programs that had been set in both Idaho and Montana. It was said that until the state of Wyoming can aline it’s wolf management program with those of Idaho and Montana that the grey wolf will remain on the Endangered Species List until further notice. Idaho and Montana were considered to have adequate protections for the wolf populations under their plans. However, the Fish and Wildlife Services did not find Wyoming’s management plan acceptable and decided to retain Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in that state.
It was this ‘cut-out’ of Wyoming that opened the door for Judge Molloy’s ruling. After the final rule for delisting the Northern Rocky Mountain wolves came into effect in Feb 2009, a coalition of animal rights groups sued the Fish and Wildlife Services, asserting that under the Endangered Species Act, either all wolves in a region are delisted or none can be.
Judge Molloy understood the plight facing most wildlife that spread over vast landscapes. With animals that travel great distances, like the wolf for example, it is unfair and cruel to provide them protection while neighboring states, sometimes only miles away, do not. All the hard work trying to protect and repopulate these animals would be undone with a singe shot when crossing over state lines. And so, on Aug 5th, with Judge Molloy’s ruling to re-list wolves, the wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountain area now receive the same protection across those states.
As a human race we live by our own boundaries, our own states and provinces, that are unknown to wildlife. Thanks to the insightful and understanding nature of Judge Donald Molloy, wolves in the Northern American Rockies now live by their own boundaries; territories unseen my man. Only then, with the freedom of travel, will wolves truly be able to thrive and preform their natural roles as a top predator.
How long will this protection blanket the area? This is still unknown. The states of Idaho and Montana are working together to form a management plan for wolves in Wyoming that will ultimately negate the plan to keep wolves on the endangered species list. But for now we can rest easy in the fact that wolves can now live in peace with our neighbors.
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