Pinedale on the Web!
Pinedale, Wyoming
Home | Calendar of Events | Photo Gallery | Local Businesses |

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department issued the following statement in response to a lawsuit filed today in Federal District Court in Missoula, MT, challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's recent decision to remove wolves from the federal List of Threatened and Endangered Species in Wyoming. The lawsuit has been filed by a coalition of environmental and animal-rights groups.

"The Wyoming Game and Fish Department considers today's lawsuit both unnecessary and unproductive. Wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains are doing extremely well. The original criteria for a fully recovered population of wolves in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana was 300 wolves. There are now in excess of 1,500 wolves in this region, and the population continues to increase by an average of 24 percent annually. All three states are managing wolves under plans approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and are using the best science to maintain a recovered population of wolves."

"Wolf recovery in Wyoming has been a tremendous conservation success. Wyoming's wolf plan provides protections for wolves in northwest Wyoming, where there is adequate habitat to maintain wolves into perpetuity. The department is fully committed to maintaining a population of wolves in this part of Wyoming, ensuring that they will never again need to be placed on the Endangered Species List."

Related Links Wolf Watch - By Cat Urbigkit Wyoming Game & Fish Wolf Information