MIKE STARK Of The Gazette Staff | Posted: Friday, October 14, 2005 12:00 am
BILLINGS, MONT. (LEE)-Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., is pressing the federal government to remove wolves and grizzly bears in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho from the endangered species list.
The process to pass management of wolves and grizzlies to the three states has been stalled too long, Enzi said, claiming wolves have "decimated" the state's wildlife and harmed ranchers.
"Something must change," Enzi said in a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton on Tuesday.
The senator asked for written assurances that the process to delist grizzlies will get under way this fall with a final decision early next year. If that's not possible, Enzi said, he'd like an explanation.
"I have been told many times that we will move forward with grizzly bear delisting, and I am disappointed that this effort has not moved forward," Enzi wrote. "It is time to make delisting the grizzly bear a reality."
Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say the grizzly population in and around Yellowstone National Park - estimated at 400 to 600 - has recovered sufficiently to remove them from the endangered species list.
A proposal to delist the grizzly was expected to be released this summer. That proposal, though, is still under review at Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters in Washington, D.C., Hugh Vickery, an Interior spokesman, said Thursday.
"We haven't had a chance to formulate a response to the senator," Vickery said of Enzi's letter.
Earlier this month, Wyoming's other senator, Craig Thomas, urged the government to delist the grizzly during a phone call with Norton.
"Interior has been sitting on this proposal and Wyoming deserves to know about the timing," Thomas said in a statement. "I told (Norton) that Interior's credibility hangs on this action."
So far, no firm date has been set for release of a delisting proposal.
Meanwhile, the Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to issue a decision soon about the state of Wyoming's request that wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains be delisted.
In July, state officials submitted an 89-page petition urging Interior to lift federal protections for wolves in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.
Wyoming has been in a protracted fight with Interior over the future of wolves. Federal officials have rejected Wyoming's plan to manage wolves, and approved state plans are necessary before responsibility is handed over to the three states. Meanwhile, Montana and Idaho have been given partial responsibility for managing wolves.
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