Post by: pianoman9701 on February 07, 2014, 10:45:50 AM
Panel Says Federal Wolf Plan Used Unproven Science
BILLINGS, Mont. February 7, 2014 (AP)
By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press
Associated Press
A proposal to lift federal protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S. suffered a significant setback Friday as an independent review panel said the government is relying on unsettled science to make its case.
Federal wildlife officials want to remove the animals from the endangered species list across the Lower 48 states, except for a small population in the Southwest.
The five-member U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service peer review panel was tasked with reviewing the government's claim that the Northeast and Midwest were home to a separate species, the eastern wolf.
If the government were right, that would make gray wolf recovery unnecessary in those areas.
But the peer reviewers concluded unanimously that the scientific research cited by the government was insufficient.
That could make it difficult for federal officials to stick with their proposal as it now stands, further protracting the emotionally charged debate over what parts of the U.S. are suitable for the predators.
"The process was clean and the results were unequivocal," said panel member Steven Courtney, a scientist at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis at the University of California in Santa Barbara. "The science used by the Fish and wildlife service concerning genetics and taxonomy of wolves was preliminary and currently not the best available science."
Wolves were added to the endangered species list in 1975 after being exterminated last century across most of the Lower 48 states under government-sponsored trapping and poisoning programs.
Hunting is already allowed for more than 5,000 wolves in the Northern Rockies and Great Lakes, where protections were lifted in 2011.
A struggling population of several dozen Mexican gray wolves in the desert Southwest would remain on the endangered list under the government's plan. The Southeast is home to a separate species, the red wolf, which remains highly endangered.
The release of the peer review findings opens another round of public input on a proposal that has received more one million comments.
"Obviously we do take the comments from peer reviewers very seriously and we need to take those into account," Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Chris Tollefson said.
———
Associated Press Writer Jeff Barnard in Grants Pass, Ore., contributed to this report.
Post by: denali on February 07, 2014, 02:55:17 PM
Post by: idahohuntr on February 07, 2014, 07:46:06 PM
Doc Hastings will re-wright the ESA and the bunny humpers will be scratching their heads going WTF just happened ?:chuckle: :chuckle: Not sure the current de-listing will go the same route as the Simpson-Tester rider...but that has a better chance than ol' Doc making changes to ESA.
Post by: Elkaholic daWg on February 08, 2014, 08:07:14 AM
moving goalposts .........remember "a wolf is a wolf" excuse used to import invasive northern Alberta wolves to Jellystone??
A struggling population of several dozen Mexican gray wolves in the desert Southwest would remain on the endangered list under the government's plan. The Southeast is home to a separate species, the red wolf, which remains highly endangered.
The Fish and Wildlife Service already faced fervent opposition to its plan from some scientists, wildlife advocates and members of Congress. They've argued that protections should remain in place given that vast areas of potentially suitable wolf habitat remain unoccupied in the southern Rocky Mountains, along the West Coast and in the Northeast.
Carlos Carroll, a wolf researcher at the Klamath Center for Conservation Resaid tsearch in Orleans, Calif., he problems highlighted by the peer-review panel had been raised previously by others. He said he hoped they would now get more attention from wildlife officials.
Is that panel member (or idiot) #2??
Post by: huntnphool on February 08, 2014, 08:11:13 AM
Post by: Elkaholic daWg on February 08, 2014, 08:54:39 AM
Looks like We've been Kookifornicated! :bash:
"In the report, produced by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at UC Santa Barbara, an independent panel of wildlife biologists from universities, the California Academy of Sciences, and the Natural Resources Defense Council agree unanimously that more study is needed before the wolf is removed from ESA protection."
From....http://www.kcet.org/news/redefine/rewild/mammals/scientists-call-bs----bad-science-that-is----on-wolf-delisting.html (http://www.kcet.org/news/redefine/rewild/mammals/scientists-call-bs----bad-science-that-is----on-wolf-delisting.html)
Which is ......
:puke:
KCET is the nation's largest independent public television station. On air, online and in the community, KCET plays a vital role in the cultural and educational enrichment of Southern and Central California. We offer a wide range of award-winning local programming as well as the finest public television programs from around the world.
:puke:
Post by: stocmamu on February 08, 2014, 11:01:26 AM
http://www.fws.gov/home/wolfrecovery/pdf/Final_Review_of_Proposed_rule_regarding_wolves2014.pdf (http://www.fws.gov/home/wolfrecovery/pdf/Final_Review_of_Proposed_rule_regarding_wolves2014.pdf)
Post by: CAMPMEAT on February 08, 2014, 11:57:59 AM
Post by: denali on February 08, 2014, 01:15:51 PM
Doc Hastings will re-wright the ESA and the bunny humpers will be scratching their heads going WTF just happened ?:chuckle: :chuckle: Not sure the current de-listing will go the same route as the Simpson-Tester rider...but that has a better chance than ol' Doc making changes to ESA.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2014/02/04/hastings-targeted-changes-to-weaken-endangered-species-act/ (http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2014/02/04/hastings-targeted-changes-to-weaken-endangered-species-act/)
or just do a google search doc hastings ESA , that should keep you busy for a while.
Post by: idahohuntr on February 08, 2014, 02:01:40 PM