Activists Howl as Wolves Leave Endangered List

Federal officials plan to pull gray wolves from the endangered species list for the first time in more than 20 years, the AP reports. Hunters will be allowed to reduce the growing wolf population, which threatens livestock in the Northern Rockies—but activists vow lawsuits to block the plan, saying that 2,000 to 3,000 gray wolves are necessary to keep the species from vanishing.

The US Fish and Wildlife regulations would let hunters kill the wolves as long as their population stays above 450; less than 300 and they would be relisted as endangered. One environmental attorney decries the plan as dangerous: "This approach of managing wolves to the knife-edge where they say the population would be at risk of extinction is simply crazy,” he said. (More endangered species stories.)