On August 31, 2012, just as hunters in Montana and Idaho were gearing up for the start of the second season since wolf-hunting was legalized by Senator Tester’s budget rider, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially removed wolves in Wyoming from the endangered species list. After a contentious peer-review process, the five experts Fish and Wildlife had selected to review Wyoming’s plan returned a split decision—three agreeing with the agency that the plan passed muster, and two finding that it didn’t offer sufficient protection.
“On August 31, 2012, just as hunters in Montana and Idaho were gearing up for the start of the second season since wolf-hunting was legalized by Senator Tester’s budget rider, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officially removed wolves in Wyoming from the endangered species list. After a contentious peer-review process, the five experts Fish and Wildlife had selected to review Wyoming’s plan returned a split decision—three agreeing with the agency that the plan passed muster, and two finding that it didn’t offer sufficient protection.”
