The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is asking for public comment on plans to return wolves to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho.
After years of review, the Interior Department this summer approved gradually reintroducing the once-thriving wolf population to the northern Rocky Mountains. Wolves were killed off in the 1920s because of concern for livestock.Proposed rules released earlier this month outline how the agency would conduct reintroductions and how the wolves would be managed once released.
Different release methods were proposed for Yellowstone and central Idaho, with details published in the Federal Register. Public comment is being accepted until Oct. 15 on the two rules. Several public hearings also will take place, the service said in a release.
Both methods designate wolves in each area as "non-essential, experimental" populations, which give federal and state officials flexibility to manage the animals under the Endangered Species Act.
The proposed population area for the Yellowstone region includes all of Wyoming, plus parts of southeastern Idaho and southern Montana. The central Idaho population area would include portions of Idaho and Montana south of I-90 and west of I-15.
Fish and Wildlife proposed to populate the two areas by moving wild wolves from Alberta and British Columbia in Canada. About 15 wolves a year would be transferred to each site over the next three to five years.
Two different release methods were proposed. In Yellowstone, groups of adults and their offspring would be placed in one-acre enclosures to acclimate them to the park. They would be radio-collared and released after two months.