By 1967 the timber wolf subspecies Canis lupus lycaon, was listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 (32 Federal Register 4001). After the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) was passed, the Secretary of the Interior also listed the northern rocky Mountain subspecies, C 1. Irremotus, and the Texas subspecies, C. 1. Monstrabilis, as endangered. In 1978 the Secretary designated the Minnesota population of wolves as threatened and all other North American gray wolf populations south of Canada as endangered.

In 1975, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) assigned the Northern Rocky Mountain Recovery Team to develop an idea to provide for regional recovery and delisting of the gray wolf. Three areas had habitat characteristics appropriate to support wolf populations; northwestern Montana, central Idaho, and Yellowstone National Park were these areas. The North

The FWS supported the alternative calling for the reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone and central Idaho, as experimental populations. There were four other alternatives considered. They were: (1) natural recovery; (2) no wolf; (3) wolf management committee (state management); (4) reintroduction of wolves that do not have "experimental population" status. Natural recovery would have encouraged wolves to migrate from Canada to northwest Montana and to continue to Yellowstone and central Idaho. The no wolf alternative would have prevented wolf recovery by removing wolves from all protections under the ESA in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. It also would have removed all funding for the education management, research, and control in the northern Rocky Mountains.

After the court denied the suit the reintroduction of the wolves was to be accomplished. In January 1995, 29 wolves were captured in Canada. Of these wolves 15 of them were released into central Idaho. The other 14 were put into acclimation pens for a few months and then released into the Yellowstone area. One year later 37 wolves were captured in Canada and moved to the same reintroduction sites. 20 were released into Idaho and the other 17 were put into acclimation pens for several weeks and then released into Yellowstone. In September of 1996, 10 wolf pups from northern Montana were caught and moved to the Yellowstone area. As a result of repeated depredation of livestock from these wolves authorities have been forced to kill many of the wolves. The FWS has released a total of 41 wolves into the Yellowstone area and 35 wolves into central Idaho. Management of the wolves has been a responsibility of the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho with funding coming from the FWS.

In 1990 Congress appointed a wolf Management Committee, comprised of three federal, three state, and four interest group representatives, to come up with a plan for restoring the wolf to Yellowstone and central Idaho. In 1991 Congress asked the NPS, FWS, and the U.S. Forest Service to devise a plan of alternatives on the wolf restoration in Yellowstone and central Idaho. The states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, Animal Dama

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Rocky Mountains, William Downes, Perce Tribes, Cheyenne Wyoming, North America, Recovery Plan, Yellowstone September, NPS FWS, Compensation Trust, Recovery Team, central idaho, wolf recovery, yellowstone central, yellowstone central idaho, wolves yellowstone, northern rocky, experimental population, national park, natural recovery, wolves experimental population, wolf management, rocky mountain, wolves yellowstone central, northern rocky mountain, wolf recovery program,
Approximate Word count = 1472
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)