Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding for Two Petitions to List the Gray Wolf in the Western United States

I am resubmitting this comment letter from last year, as I do not see it when I search the docket.

The publication provides evidence that the effective population size for wolves in the northern Rockies is about 10% the total population size and therefore lower than necessary for long-term wolf conservation.

Wolf poaching, especially by poisoning, is soaring in Oregon, and occurring largely in the northeastern portion of the state where wolves are federally delisted and part of the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf DPS. In a PowerPoint presentation given December 14, 2023, by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to the state fish and wildlife commission, the department noted the high numbers of wolf poaching, reporting that 1/3 of known wolf mortality in the state is caused by illegal killing. The department's presentation shows illegal killing of 30 wolves by gunshot, 16 by poison, and 5 strongly-suspected poisoning cases. The department's annual wolf reports show that one of the poisonings in northeast Oregon occurred in 2015, and eight poisonings in northeast Oregon occurred in 2021. During its December 14th PowerPoint presentation, department staff informed the commission that of the total tally of 16 confirmed poisoning deaths, seven have taken place this year in 2023. For the past two years, the annual wolf population growth rate has only been at 1% and 1.7%, respectively. At present, Oregon has a confirmed 178 wolves. Due to the high level of poaching deaths in 2023, including seven confirmed poisonings, combined with the high level of agency lethal removal actions in the same year, is possible Oregon will see an annual decline in its confirmed wolf population number. (See attached documents, highlighted: 2015 annual wolf report at p. 9; 2021 annual wolf report at p. 7; and department PowerPoint presentation slides 30-33 (entire PowerPoint file too large to attach here so have provided only the relevant slides).

Please consider how legal killing of border wolves in Wyoming is harming the recovery of wolves in Colorado. The attached file shows that hunters have lured wolves across the border from Colorado into Wyoming to kill them. Survival of Colorado wolves is key to recovery in the southern Rockies, which is a significant portion of the wolf's current range. For this reason, the Service should relist wolves in Wyoming. See attached file.

Idaho has authorized numerous private predator controllers to shoot unlimited numbers of wolves from helicopters and airplanes. Such aggressive predator control is squandering the decades of wolf recovery progress and threatening their extirpation in the state. I attached two files. One provides a report -- that we received in response to a request under the state open government laws -- that documents authorizations to private predator controllers to aerially gun down wolves in 2023. The second document is a legal petition that requests the U.S. Forest Service to ban such private predator control operations. See attached file(s).

Please see attached the comments from 12,936 Center for Biological Diversity supporters regarding the 90-day finding for two petitions to list the Gray Wolf in the Western United States.

Please see attached the comments from 4,022 Center for Biological Diversity supporters regarding the 90-Day finding for two petitions to list the gray wolf in the western United States.

Please see attached the comments from 96 Center for Biological Diversity supporters regarding: 90-Day Finding for Two Petitions to List the Gray Wolf in the Western United States.

Please see attached the comments from 337 Center for Biological Diversity supporters regarding the 90-Day finding for two petitions to list the Gray Wolf in the Western United States.

Please see attached the comments from 377 Center for Biological Diversity supporters regarding - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: 90-Day Finding for Two Petitions to List the Gray Wolf in the Western United States.

Please see attached the comments from 289 Center for Biological Diversity supporters regarding: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: 90-Day Finding for Two Petitions to List the Gray Wolf in the Western United States.

Please see attached the comments and signatures of 2,631 Center for Biological Diversity supporters regarding Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: 90-Day Finding for Two Petitions to List the Gray Wolf in the Western United States.

See attached file(s) Please see attached the signatures from 18,762 Center for Biological Diversity supporters regarding: Two Petitions to List the Gray Wolf in the Western United States.

Please see attached the comments from 25,762 Center for Biological Diversity supporters regarding Docket (FWS-HQ-ES-2021-0106).

Filed on regulations.gov — full text not in the inline record.

Filed on regulations.gov — full text not in the inline record.

Filed on regulations.gov — full text not in the inline record.

This is the sixth set of attachments for the comment submitted by The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, & Sierra Club.

This is the seventh set of attachments for the comment submitted by The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, & Sierra Club.

This is the fourth set of attachments for the comment submitted by The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, & Sierra Club.

This is the second set of attachments for the comment submitted by The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, & Sierra Club.

This is the third set of attachments for the comment submitted by The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, & Sierra Club.

This is the fifth set of attachments for the comment submitted by The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, & Sierra Club.

Filed on regulations.gov — full text not in the inline record.

This is the first set of attachments for the comment submitted by The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, & Sierra Club.