Plans For Wolf Delisting Put On Hold
by Tom Remington, Black Bear Blog, January 21, 2009 [here]
Almost immediately upon taking office, Barack Obama ordered that any of President Bush’s orders that had not been signed and finalized be put on hold. This includes the proposal by the Department of Interior to remove federal protection of the Rocky Mountain gray wolf.
After making the announcement of the proposal nearly two weeks ago, the DOI said that last week it was planning to publish the Final Rule on wolf delisting at the end of January. That would have made the proposal complete, and delisting would have taken effect in 30 days.
President Obama’s order, which isn’t that unusual and is something similar to what former President George Bush did when he took office, effectively puts the entire wolf delisting process on hold.
From the Idaho Statesman today [here]
Wolf delisting decision placed on hold by Obama Administration
The decision to remove Rocky Mountain gray wolves from the endangered species list — and return control to Idaho and neighboring states — is now on hold.White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel signed a memorandum Tuesday sent to all agencies and departments to stop all pending regulations until a legal and policy review can be conducted by the Obama administration, the White House said in a statement.
The decision to delist wolves in Montana, Idaho, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington and northern Utah was scheduled to be published Jan. 27 and to go into effect 30 days later.
It could still be allowed to go forward, modified or held indefinitely, said Frank Quimby, an Interior Department spokesman. The review will be conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Quimby couldn’t estimate how long the review will take.
Sharon Rose, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman in Denver, said there was still a possibility the rule could go forward as scheduled.
“We’ll have to wait and see what happens on the 27th,” Rose said. … [more]
