Defenders Calls for Restoring Gray Wolves to Northern California, Southwest Oregon
The organization released its petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to require the agency under the Endangered Species Act to restore and protect gray wolves in their remaining natural habitat in the region.
"Gray wolves have an important role to play in the ecological health and character of Northern California and southwestern Oregon, and the federal government should start getting serious about restoring the species here," Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen said.
"It’s time to hear the call of the wild again in these beautiful forests," Schlickeisen noted.
The petition filed by Defenders of Wildlife urges the Fish and Wildlife Service to establish what’s known in the Endangered Species Act as a Distinct Population Segment for gray wolves in Northern California and southwestern Oregon.
This designation would require the agency to develop and implement a plan for restoration and protection of gray wolves in suitable habitat in 16 million acres of federally managed lands -- including 1.8 million acres of designated wilderness areas.
The gray wolf is currently listed as "endangered" in all lower 48 states except Minnesota, where it is listed as "threatened." The species has been successfully reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park and re-established in the Northern Rockies. The Mexican wolf has been reintroduced in the area of the U.S.-Mexico border. Last November, Defenders of Wildlife petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service to restore the gray wolf to the Southern Rockies. Still, the gray wolf has been returned to less than 4 percent of its historical range in the lower 48 states.
The Endangered Species Act requires the federal government to work for the recovery of an endangered species in suitable habitats throughout its historic range, where appropriate habitat remains. Habitat surveys have confirmed that Northern California and southwestern Oregon are an ideal
place for wolves, with large numbers of wild prey species and substantial expanses of remote public land.
Yet in an attempt to avoid restoring gray wolves in the region, the Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed removing the animals from the Endangered Species List in California and listing them merely as "threatened" in Oregon.
"Wolves belong in this region," Schlickeisen said. "Defenders of Wildlife believes that gray wolves can survive here and even thrive here, and that the majority of people in this region favor a well-managed program to reintroduce wolves. This can’t happen unless the federal government steps up and carries out its role under the law."
Schlickeisen said Defenders of Wildlife, which is opening an office in California, will continue its long tradition of education and advocacy in the region once wolves are restored here, as well as its program to compensate landowners for any loss of livestock caused by wolves.
Defenders of Wildlife’s new California offices are located at:
926 J Street, Suite 522
Sacramento, CA
95814
Phone: (916) 313-5800
Fax: (916)
313-5812
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Defenders of Wildlife is a leading non-profit conservation organization recognized as one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and its habitat. With more than 430,000 members and supporters, Defenders of Wildlife is an effective leader on endangered species issues.
Contact(s):
Cat Lazaroff, (202) 772-3270
