Wolverines hopefully will receive ENDANGERED SPECIES STATUS toward the end of fiscal year 2013 due to the strong efforts made by our friends at WILD EARTH GUARDIANS AND THE CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY................At least another 100 animals are thought to be needed in the USA(400 in total) for the species to have the population reserves to withstand virulent disease, climate change and other habitat and environmental challenges..................Pound for pound our most formidable carnivore and once occupying Northern tier States Coast to Coast, 300 individuals cling to a broad patchwork of habitat across the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest

Wolverines, sage grouse gain 2nd shot at protection
Agreement could grant endangered-species listings

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By KATHERINE WUTZ

 

A wolverine is photographed by a remote camera in February 2010 as part of a Sawtooth National Recreation Area study. Photo courtesy of SNRA

Wolverines could get another shot at federal protection, thanks to a revised plan by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that places the species near the top of a list of species to be considered for protection. The work plan is part of an ongoing litigation battle with advocacy group WildEarth Guardians, headquartered in Santa Fe, N.M. The service attempted to settle the suit in early May by announcing a plan that would allow it to more effectively address the status of species that have been identified as needing protection under the Endangered Species Act.

A challenge from endangered species advocates at the Center for Biological Diversity stalled the settlement and sent the service back to the drawing board to address what the center called "serious flaws" in the service's plan. The new work plan provides more specific guidelines for when the service will review the status of individual species and determine whether federal protections are warranted. Nicole Rosmarino, wildlife program director for WildEarth Guardians, said the new agreement would require the service to either list or make "not-warranted" findings for 261 species, as well as filing 90-day and 12-month findings (preliminary reports on species proposed for listing) for a total of 646 species.

The agreement provides specific time frames on listing proposals and final listing rules for about 40 species, most of which were included in the May agreement. But this week's agreement provides further certainty for these species at risk by including additional deadlines. The goal of the new plan, according to a service press release, is to "provide state wildlife agencies, stakeholders and the public clarity and certainty about when listing determinations will be made."

If approved by the court, the plan would allow the service to work through a backlog of petitions for species listings under the Endangered Species Act. According to the service, more than 1,230 petitions have been filed since 2007.

The North American wolverine will be considered by the end of fiscal year 2013, placing it near the top of a list of over 250 species the service will consider over the next six years. The service denied wolverines federal protection last December, choosing instead to list them as "candidate species." Like other candidate species such as the sage grouse, wolverines were designated as in need of protection, but the service's limited resources led it to address other more threatened species first. An estimated 300 wolverines remain in the western part of the United States. Biologists estimate that a minimum of 400 breeding pairs nationwide is required to keep the animals from extinction.