Political threats aside, wildlife officials proceed with wolf reintroduction plans

Despite Republican threats to cut the wolf reintroduction program in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it will go ahead with plans to capture more wolves in British Columbia by February.

Workers are now building two new one-acre wolf pens that will be used to introduce the Canadian wolves to the national park.

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Montana) on July 28 introduced legislation to cut the wolf reintroduction budget by $200,000 and prevent Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt from expanding its funding, but the bill would not bar future wolf releases.

Ed Bangs, who runs the federal recovery program, said the proposed budget cuts would make reintroduction of more wolves "questionable." However, he told the Casper, Wyoming Star-Tribune that the agency could decide to shift funds to actual reintroduction work by cutting personnel and educational programs.

There are now 25 wolves in Yellowstone. The gray wolf will be taken off the endangered species list in the contiguous 48 states if 100 wolves are thriving in Yellowstone, Utah and western Montana by 2002, according to federal recovery plans.

This story prepared by Greenwire