Endangered Species Act may be re-written due to legal challenges

Talk about it

There’s at least some concern that the legal challenges over the grey wolf could mean a re-writing of the federal Endangered Species Act.

Wisconsin isn’t the only place where the issue has reared its head. A wolf hunt is on hold in Idaho and Montana, and Dan Pletcher of the University of Minnesota says there’s so much frustration that he’s worried about what Congress might do.

Pletcher tells the Society of Environmental Journalists there needs to be a consensus between wildlife groups, regulators, and researchers. He says less money should be spent fighting over wolves – so more can be spent to protect a host of endangered species.

But Suzanne Stone of the Defenders-of-Wildlife says the federal protection act is not to blame. Her group is among those fighting to keep the wolf endangered. The federal government has allowed Wisconsin to have its own program to manage the state’s growing wolf population. But it keeps getting cut off, after several efforts to de-list the wolf were challenged in court – where the issue is right now.

Tags: outdoors