Obscured in this bureaucratic babble is a covert attempt to strip Northern Rockies gray wolves from the endangered species list. The page cited in the Federal Register contains the 2009 U.S. Fish and Wildlife rule to de-list wolves in Idaho and Montana -- the same rule tossed out in U.S. district court last year for violating the Endangered Species Act. This time, however, the rule "shall not be subject to judicial review" -- it can't be taken back to the courts.

The federal budget measure is the latest in a string of proposed rules and legislation around the West reflecting a growing anti-wolf sentiment as wolf populations rebound. In Montana, a state House bill calling for wolf de-listing passed 99-100. Another bill would ignore federal law and have the state start killing wolves on its own accord, echoing Governor Schweitzer's recent rallying cry for state wildlife agents and ranchers to defy the feds and shoot wolves as needed, even where federally protected. Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter likewise declared in October that his state would no longer monitor wolves or go after poachers. Last month, U.S. Fish and Wildlife moved forward with a petition by the state of Idaho to kill about 60 wolves to protect elk herds in north-central Idaho. Bills in the U.S. House and Senate also seek to de-list Northern Rockies gray wolves and return management decisions to the states.

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