Defenders' Experts
Wolverine
Called “skunk bear” by the Blackfeet Indians, the wolverine
is the largest terrestrial member of the weasel family.
The numbers of wolverines have decreased precipitously and yet the species still does not have any federal protection. Since 2000, Defenders has been actively involved in trying to make sure that this remarkable animal is protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Defenders Challenges Bush Administration Decision Not to Protect Wolverines in the U.S.
July 8, 2008 - The United States must protect endangered wildlife from global warming and other threats within its own borders and not rely on another country to do the job, according to Defenders of Wildlife and 9 other conservation organizations that announced today its intention to file a legal challenge against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
Defenders and the other groups contend that FWS violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) when it refused to protect wolverines in the U.S. because a healthy population still persists in Canada. FWS’ decision is its latest justification for denying long overdue protections to this imperiled animal -- protections which were first petitioned for nearly a decade ago.
Joint Press Release
60-Day Notice of Intent to
Sue
USFWS 12 Month Findings on Petition to List the Wolverine
Statement from Jamie Clark on the 12-Month Finding
In the Field
Defenders is working in cooperation with the Forest Service and Glacier National Park to support crucial wolverine research. By tracking wolverines with radio-collars we are learning about which types of habitat they prefer, what they eat, and where they den and raise young.
Management and Policy
Heavy trapping in the early 1900s and habitat degradation by snowmobilers and backcountry skiers have likely been factors contributing to decreasing populations of wolverines. Since 2000, Defenders and other conservation groups have been pushing the Fish and Wildlife Service to list the wolverine under the Endangered Species Act, yet they refuse to do so.
|
|
