as you may know, the Gray Wolf was recently removed from the endangered species list after having been hunted to near extinction in years past.

naturally, the moment Wolves were removed from the endangered species list, plans were made to 'reduce their numbers'. heaven forbid that they should hunt and kill an occasional sheep or some cattle.

anyway this judge, Donald Molloy granted an injunction which stops the "shoot on sight" program aimed at "controlling wolf populations" and reducing the numbers of "conflicts between wolves and livestock", bless his heart.

the injunction is temporary, and the issue will be decided later; it will likely be appealed.

if this issue concerns you, please show your support for this man's (hero's) action and drop him a thank you note or give him a call.

thanks for listening



The Honorable Judge Donald Molloy
U.S. District Court
Russell Smith Courthouse
201 East Broadway
Missoula, MT 59801
(406) 542-7286

thanks I'll give him a call.

I'm going to write to him and thank him. This is a decent man.

wolves are highly intelligent, social animals. there are FAR better ways to manage the situation than to simply "shoot on sight".

BILLINGS, Mont. - A federal judge has restored endangered species protections for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies, derailing plans by three states to hold public wolf hunts this fall.

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy granted a preliminary injunction late Friday restoring the protections for the wolves in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. Molloy will eventually decide whether the injunction should be permanent.

The region has an estimated 2,000 gray wolves. They were removed from the endangered species list in March, following a decade-long restoration effort.

Environmentalists sued to overturn the decision, arguing wolf numbers would plummet if hunting were allowed. They sought the injunction in the hopes of stopping the hunts and allowing the wolf population to continue expanding.

"There were fall hunts scheduled that would call for perhaps as many as 500 wolves to be killed. We're delighted those wolves will be saved," said attorney Doug Honnold with Earthjustice, who had argued the case before Molloy on behalf of 12 environmental groups.

In his ruling, Molloy said the federal government had not met its standard for wolf recovery, including interbreeding of wolves between the three states to ensure healthy genetics.

"Genetic exchange has not taken place," Molloy wrote in the 40-page decision.
Molloy said hunting and state laws allowing the killing of wolves for livestock attacks would likely "eliminate any chance for genetic exchange to occur."

The federal biologist who led the wolf restoration program, Ed Bangs, defended the decision to delist wolves as "a very biologically sound package."

"The hunting of wolves clearly wouldn't endanger threatened wolf populations," Bangs said Friday. "We felt the science was rock solid and that the delisting was warranted."

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com...lves-hmed-

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25741975/

Good man!

I was blessed to observe a pack outside of Yellowstone in 2001 that they were getting ready to release into the park.

It was so amazing to watch them interact with one another and learn about each one of them from the ppl that had been working with them on a daily basis.