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CHEYENNE, Wyo. —(AP)— In response to a request from Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, the federal government has named two people to act as liaisons on wolf management issues. Freudenthal sent a letter in July to Interior Secretary Gale Norton asking that a single person determine whether Wyoming's management plan is sufficient for lifting federal protection of gray wolves. He wrote that federal officials have sent the state mixed signals, which has bogged down an already complicated process for removing wolves from federal protection. Freudenthal received a letter earlier this month from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service indicating that Ed Bangs, the service's wolf recovery coordinator, will be the federal government's liaison to Wyoming on technical issues, while service Director Steve Williams is the official policy spokesman on wolf issues. ``In response to your concern about inconsistent messages from Interior, I have taken internal action to ensure that the department's message at all levels regarding the state's efforts to develop a Wyoming Wolf Management Plan is consistent,'' wrote Craig Manson, assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks. Freudenthal said it is important to know who speaks for the federal government as Wyoming, Montana and Idaho work to remove the wolf from the Endangered Species List. ``We're going to move into the phase now where Interior will appoint a review panel to look at the three plans from the three different states and begin to make some kind of decision as to whether we are moving logically toward delisting,'' he said. Freudenthal added that the Interior Department has issued no formal opinions on Wyoming's wolf plan other than what various federal officials have said in public. Since being reintroduced in 1995, wolves have made a remarkable comeback, and federal wildlife officials say they are ready to take steps to remove the predator from the federal Endangered Species list once federal approval is given to management plans by the three states bordering Yellowstone. Wyoming and Idaho have finalized plans; Montana is still working on its plan. Under the Wyoming plan, a minimum of 15 wolf packs would be maintained in the state, and at least seven packs outside Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway. Killing wolves would remain banned in the parks and parkway. In wilderness contiguous to the parks, gray wolves would be classified as trophy game and subject to regulated hunting. Elsewhere, wolves would be considered predators and could be shot with few restrictions. If seven or fewer packs are found outside the parks and parkway, officials could extend trophy game status beyond the wilderness areas to help wolf numbers recover. |
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