Credit: MIKE LANE/FLPA

Calling its wolf programme a “remarkable conservation success story”, the US Fish and Wildlife Service last week announced plans to remove grey wolves (Canis lupus) in the northern Rocky Mountains from the federal list of endangered species.

The decision comes 13 years after the first of 66 Canadian wolves were released in Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho. Some 1,500 wolves, with at least 100 breeding pairs, now live in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

These states will use hunting to manage the wolf population, which could set up a prolonged battle between the ranchers and hunters who support the plan, and environmentalists who fear that wolf hunts could once again reduce the population to perilous levels.

All three states have pledged to maintain at least 150 wolves and 15 breeding pairs, although preliminary population targets are between 900 and 1,250 wolves, according to the agency. Environmental groups plan to challenge the decision in court.