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u.s. news Diabierna 30 OctOber 2020

Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of US

(AP) — Trump adminis- eral protections removed, the
tration officials on Thurs- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-
day stripped Endangered vice would have no say about
Species Act protections moving ahead with the plan,
for gray wolves in most if voters approve it.
of the U.S., ending long-
standing federal safe- Wolves were wiped out across
guards and putting states most of the U.S. by the 1930s
and tribes in charge of under government-spon-
overseeing the predators. sored poisoning and trap-
ping campaigns. A remnant
The U.S. Department of population in the western
Interior announcement just Great Lakes region has since
days ahead of the Nov. 3 elec- expanded to some 4,400 ani-
tion could lead to resumption mals in Michigan, Minnesota
of wolf hunts in Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Minnesota and Wisconsin --
a crucial battleground in the More than 2,000 occupy six
campaign between President states in the Northern Rock-
Donald Trump and former ies and Pacific Northwest af-
Vice President Joe Biden. ter wolves from Canada were
It's the latest in a series of ad- ery “a milestone of success." Mountains and portions of Calaway said. reintroduced in Idaho and
ministration actions on the the Northeast. The decision keeps protec- Yellowstone National Park
environment that appeal to “In the early part of the 20th tions for a small population beginning 25 years ago.
key blocs of rural voters in century the gray wolf had Their numbers also are sure of Mexican gray wolves in Following a protracted court-
the race’s final days, includ- essentially become a ghost to drop in the western Great the Southwest. It's the latest room battle that ended when
ing steps to allow more min- throughout the United Lakes area, as happened pre- attempt over two decades to Congress intervened, the
ing in Minnesota and logging States," Bernhardt said. “That viously when federal controls return management author- Northern Rockies wolves are
in Alaska. is not the case today." were lifted, said Adrian Trev- ity to the states. Courts have now under state management
es, a professor of environ- frequently rejected such and are hunted in Montana,
Both feared and revered by Former U.S. Fish and Wild- mental studies at the Univer- moves after opponents filed Wyoming and Idaho.
people, gray wolves have re- life Service director Dan sity of Wisconsin. Hunting lawsuits.
covered from near extinction Ashe agreed that wolves were seasons took their toll and State officials also allowed
in parts of the country but recovered and said it's time research showed that poach- Environmental groups hunting of Great Lakes
remain absent from much of for the agency to “move on" ers were emboldened by the pledged to return to court wolves for several years last
their historical range. to help other imperiled wild- absence of federal enforce- yet again. They said protec- decade when protections
life. But he questioned the ment, he said. tions are still needed to shield were removed. The hunts
Federal wildlife officials con- announcement coming so small populations of wolves ended when protections were
tend thriving populations in close to the election. “The science is 100 percent in West Coast states, includ- restored under a 2014 federal
the western Great Lakes re- clear that there will be a spike ing California, and to help court order.
gion, Rocky Mountains and “It creates the perception that in mortality," he said. them expand to new areas.
Pacific Northwest ensure the it's being done for political Farmers and hunters wel- Wolves were given initial fed-
species' long-term survival. reasons," Ashe said in an in- comed the news. Ashleigh “Instead of pursuing further eral protections in the late
They argue it’s not neces- terview. Calaway of Pittsville, Wis- wolf recovery, the Fish and 1960s and listed as an endan-
sary for wolves to be in every Some biologists and former consin said 13 of her fam- Wildlife Service has just ad- gered species in 1978, except
place they once inhabited to government officials who ily farm's sheep were killed opted the broadest, most de- in Minnesota where they
be considered recovered. previously reviewed the ad- by wolves in July of 2019. structive delisting rule yet," were classified as threatened.
In an announcement attend- ministration’s proposal for Reducing wolf numbers said Collette Adkins with the A government-sponsored re-
ed by several dozen people lifting protections said it through state-sponsored Center for Biological Diver- covery effort had cost rough-
at a national wildlife refuge lacked scientific justification. hunts would help prevent sity. ly $160 million as of last year.
overlooking the Minnesota And wildlife advocates worry such attacks, she said.
River in a rural area outside the move will make it harder, An initiative on the Colo- Wolves have never been le-
Minneapolis, Interior Sec- if not impossible, for wolves “It's allowing them to be rado ballot next week seeks gally protected in Alaska,
retary David Bernhardt de- to recover in more regions, managed to a level to lower to reintroduce wolves there which has a population of
clared the gray wolf's recov- such as the southern Rocky the risk to sheep and cattle," in coming years. With fed- 7,000 to 11,000.

Watchdog says USGS chief retaliated against whistleblower

(AP) — The head of the could move them, the in- ployees who lodge official
U.S. Geological Survey spector general’s office found complaints of wrongdoing.
violated federal whistle- in a report.
blower-protection laws by President Donald Trump
reassigning an employee Interior Department spokes- nominated Reilly, a geolo-
who lodged an official man Nicholas Goodwin dis- gist and former astronaut, to
complaint against him, puted the findings, calling lead the Geological Survey in
the Interior Department’s the report “wrong in its le- 2018.
inspector general office gal and factual conclusions.” House Democratic chairs
said Thursday. The employee, who was not called for Reilly's removal.
identified in the report, had “Whistleblower retaliation
After the whistleblower asked previously for reassign- does not get more clear cut
lodged the complaint, Geo- ment and suffered no cut in than this,” New York Rep.
logical Survey chief James pay or civil-service grade lev- Carolyn Maloney, chairwom-
F. Reilly told other staffers el, Goodwin said. an of the House Committee
the employee was “evil” and on Oversight and Reform,
asked to know about any Federal law prohibits retalia- and two other Democratic
other whistleblowers so he tion against government em- chairs said in a statement.