The federal government has agreed to a deadline of the end of next year for an endangered species review for wolves in Southeast Alaska.
The Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and the Boat Company sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this year seeking a timely decision on their petition to list the Alexander Archipelago wolf under the Endangered Species Act. The groups filed that petition in 2011. The agency issued what’s called a 90-day finding this March, committing to further review of the region’s wolf numbers.
Photo courtesy of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game
“When a petition is filed there’s supposed to be a preliminary 90-day finding, 90 days after the petition is filed,” said Larry Edwards, a forest campaigner with Greenpeace in Sitka. “And the final decision is supposed to come one year after that.”
Edwards noted the federal agency has not met timelines for reviewing the wolf petition. “The difficulty is that Congress doesn’t adequately fund Fish and Wildlife Service to process ESA (Endangered Species Act) listings. So when you go to court, it’s really difficult to get, even from a court, a good date. The Fish and Wildlife Service is looking at doing this in 2017 and I think we did very well to get this settled and get a date at the end of 2015.”
In a settlement agreement filed this week, the federal government agrees to complete a 12-month finding on Southeast wolves by the end of 2015.
“At that time we will announce whether or not we believe that it is warranted to list Alexander Archipelago wolf as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act,” said Andrea Medeiros spokesperson for the Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska.
The petitioners want greater protection for wolves and their habitat on the Tongass National Forest. They argue that populations are declining and are vulnerable to hunting and trapping pressure along with loss of habitat from logging on the 17-million acre national forest. In particular, they cite past and future logging on Prince of Wales Island and say wolves on POW are in danger of extinction.
