December 4, 2008
Elk Foundation Voices Support for Delisting Wolves
MISSOULA, Mont.—The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and 18 other conservation organizations have submitted a joint letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in support of delisting gray wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
Delisting would remove gray wolves from the federal Endangered Species List and turn management over to state wildlife agencies.
“The 19 organizations that signed onto the letter represent millions of outdoorsmen and conservationists. We’re gratified that they share our concern about wolves in the northern Rockies,” said David Allen, Elk Foundation president and CEO. “Wolf populations are well above federal recovery goals and it’s time to manage them like other game animals.”
He added, “This letter is another way for us to express our longstanding support of state-based wolf management. It’s a system that works for elk, deer, turkeys, bears, cougars and other keystone species, and it will work for wolves, too.”
Allen urged Elk Foundation members and others to make their voices heard individually by contacting their state and federal legislators.
The letter, submitted within a recent public comment period on the issue, also offered six conservation principles to help guide the actions of federal and state agencies.