Greenpeace and the Center for Biological Diversity notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last week of their intent to file suit against the agency for delaying Endangered Species Act protection for the Alexander Archipelago wolf, a rare subspecies of gray wolf found only in the old-growth forests of Southeast Alaska.
In August 2011 the groups filed a petition to protect the wolves, which are at risk of extinction because of what they say is the U.S. Forest Service’s unsustainable logging and road-building practices in the Tongass National Forest.
The USFS, which was required by the Endangered Species Act to determine whether listing may be warranted within 90 days of the filing, has not yet responded to the petition.
According to Greenpeace forest campaigner Larry Edwards, logging in Southeast Alaska could endanger the particular species of wolf.
“The existence of this unique wolf is imperiled by ongoing old-growth logging that adds to the high loss of quality wildlife habitat, which has occurred across all land ownerships in the forests of Southeast Alaska over the past six decades,” Edwards said. “The ongoing logging is further reducing and fragmenting forest habitat, to the detriment of the wolf and its deer prey.”
Heavily reliant on old-growth forests, Alexander Archipelago wolves den in the root systems of very large trees and hunt mostly Sitka black-tailed deer, which are themselves dependent on high-quality, old growth forests, especially for winter survival.
According to Greenpeace literature, logging on the Tongass also brings new roads, making wolves vulnerable to hunting and trapping. Alaska state records show as many as half the wolves killed on the Tongass are killed illegally, and hunting and trapping are occurring at unsustainable levels in many areas.
“Despite scientific evidence showing that Alexander Archipelago wolf populations will not survive in areas with high road density, the Forest Service continues to build new logging roads in the Tongass,” the report states. “Road density is an urgent concern on heavily fragmented Prince of Wales Island and neighboring islands, home to an important population of the wolves.”
The Fish and Wildlife Service considered listing the wolf under the Act in the mid-1990s but did not based on protective standards set out in the Forest Service’s 1997 Tongass Forest Plan.
The 60-day notice of intent to sue is a legally required precursor before a lawsuit can be filed to compel the FWS to comply with the law.
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