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Gray wolves will regain federal protection across most of the lower 48 United States following a court ruling Thursday that struck down a Trump Administration decision to take the animals off the endangered species list. Senior District Judge Jeffrey S. White, of United States District Court for the Northern District of California, found that the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, in declaring wolf conservation a success and removing the species from federal protection, did not adequately consider threats to wolves outside of the Great Lakes and Northern Rocky Mountains where they have rebounded most significantly. Although the decision to...

When voters were asked to decide whether to forcibly introduce wolves into Colorado, the result margins were the narrowest on the ballot, with only four counties west of the Continental Divide, the area primarily affected, voting yes. Now, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has urged the Colorado Wildlife Commission to ignore the process prescribed in Prop 114 and get wolves on the ground by the middle of next year. Polis joined the commission meeting Wednesday, Jan. 13 and said he has a strong desire to carry out the will of the voters and introduce wolves to Colorado in a timely fashion....

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, deputy speaker of the Russian State Duma and leader of the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party has suggested that the Soviet Union and its surrogate states would have been justified to kill Pope John Paul II who, he claims, was planted in the Vatican by the CIA to wrest Poland from its pro-Soviet rulers. In an interview with a Russian radio statio, on the day the Pope's would-be assassin, Ali Agca, was released from an Istanbul jail, Zhirinovsky was asked whether the KGB, had commissioned the attack. "There is no direct evidence necessarily of a Russian connection here, but...

Gray wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan could find themselves in the crosshairs of hunters as soon as this fall. A ruling is expected soon from the same appeals court that recently lifted protections for wolves in Wyoming. Officials say that whether Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan can hold wolf seasons this fall would depend in part on how soon the court rules. Meanwhile, wolf-hunting supporters in Congress aren't giving up even though a Minnesota representative was instrumental in killing an effort that would have allowed the three Midwest states to resume wolf hunting.

Turkey's nationalist 'Gray Wolves' enter Syrian fray Author Fehim TaÅŸtekin Summary: Turkish ultranationalists have joined the fight in Syria as what some observers view as their government's secret weapon, one that could backfire as the group mingles with Islamists along with the Turkmens they're defending. Posted February 3, 2016 Turkish involvement in the Syrian war has been heavily dominated by Islamist fighters, but the conflict has also drawn in an unlikely quarter -- Turkish nationalists. The far-right Nationalist Action Party (MHP) and its youth branch, the Idealist Hearths, have recently come into the spotlight with high-profile losses on the Syrian...

Gov. Jan Brewer will not give ranchers and their employees permission to kill endangered Mexican gray wolves on federal lands. The measure vetoed Tuesday was crafted by Sen. Gail Griffin, R-Hereford. She has been a vocal foe of the program by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reintroduce the wolves into sections of Arizona and New Mexico, saying they are endangering not only cattle but also pets and children. SB1211 would have spelled out that ranchers could “take” a wolf — legalese for killing — that was killing, wounding or biting livestock. It also would have legalized a guard...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has backed off plans to remove gray wolves from the endangered species list. ... The government plan would have allowed gray wolves in the lower 48 United States to be hunted or killed. They have been under federal protection since 1967. The Mexican gray wolf, found only in the Southwest, retains protection.

Wildlife lovers clamoring to bring gray wolves to Colorado may want to pay attention to those wooden outhouse-style structures in rural Catron County, New Mexico. They’re called “kid cages,” and they’re built to protect children waiting at school bus stops–from wolves. “The wolf issue is an example, especially with the kid cages, about how you’re putting the interest of wildlife over the interests of human beings,” said filmmaker David Spady. “Every American should be concerned about seeing kids in cages and wolves out wandering around freely.” Spady’s remarks came during a Tuesday screening of his film, “Wolves in Government Clothing,”...

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho -- A southeastern Idaho ranch lost 176 sheep as the animals ran in fear from two wolves that chased through a herd of about 2,400 animals south of Victor....

Two gray wolves in Washington state were killed from a state helicopter Tuesday afternoon after officials decided the entire pack -- believed to be at least eight wolves -- needed to be killed because of repeated attacks on cattle, officials said. An airborne marksman with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife killed the two wolves about seven miles from the Canadian border -- a week after marksmen and wildlife biologists spent days looking for the pack. A major conservation group working with Washington state to manage its gray wolves agreed that the pack should be culled but also blamed...

Federal wildlife officials say they will take more than 1,300 gray wolves in the Northern Rockies off the endangered species list within 60 days. It marks the first time Congress has taken a species off the endangered list. Idaho and Montana plan public wolf hunts this fall. Hunts last year were canceled after a judge ruled the predators remained at risk.

U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy is telling attorneys for environmental groups and wildlife management agencies to gather their data and help resolve whether gray wolves should still be an "experimental species" in the Northern Rockies. When wolves were re-introduced in Central Idaho and Yellowstone Park in the mid-90s, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had them designated as an "experimental, non-essential" species. That allowed scientists to work on re-building wolf populations and gauging their survival, but also answered ranchers' concerns by allowing wolves that preyed on livestock to be killed. The question over whether the wolves are still "experimental"...

Environmentalists said Tuesday they intend to sue the Obama administration to force it to restore gray wolves across the lower 48 states — even as Republicans in Congress sought unsuccessfully to strip the animals of protection. The Center for Biological Diversity said in a formal notice to the Interior Department that it will sue the agency in 60 days unless the government crafts a plan to bring back wolves ...

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission has voted to support congressional action aimed at removing gray wolves from the federal endangered species list. The commission voted 4-1 after a lengthy meeting Saturday in support of federal legislation that would declare the wolves recovered and no longer in need of federal protections.

Montana's senators have introduced a bill to remove gray wolves in Idaho and Montana from protection under the federal Endangered Species Act. The measure was introduced Tuesday by Democrats Max Baucus and Jon Tester. A similar measure was introduced last week by Idaho Republican Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch.

Officials in Idaho County want Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter to declare an ongoing disaster that will allow wolves to be shot on sight, citing attacks on livestock and wildlife. County commissioners declared a local disaster Thursday. The governor's office was aware of the county's move but had not seen it and couldn't immediately comment, said Otter spokesman Jon Hanian.

Tens of thousands of gray wolves would be returned to the woods of New England, the mountains of California, the wide open Great Plains and the desert West under a scientific petition now before the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity say ...

Gray wolves killed livestock in Montana at the rate of an animal per day in 2009, stirring a backlash against the predators in rural areas and depleting a program that compensates ranchers for their losses. The sharp increase over 2008 livestock losses... Such attacks — plus elk herd declines blamed on wolves in parts of Montana and neighboring Idaho — have renewed calls by many ranchers and hunters to reduce the predator's population. "... They'll go out and hamstring a bunch of animals just for fun," wolves attract particular disdain because of their viciousness — many killed animals are left...

<p>The 1890s Chicago City Council was notorious for corrupt political practices orchestrated by a faction of its aldermen known as the Gray Wolves. So named because they were viewed as preying upon the defenseless public, the Gray Wolves were led by First Ward aldermen “Bathhouse” John Coughlin and “Hinky Dink” Mike Kenna, and Johnny Powers of the Nineteenth Ward. These elected officials were not only skilled at trading votes for favors, but once in office they excelled in making municipal decisions to profit themselves financially.</p>

More endangered Mexican gray wolves have been targeted for removal from the Gila National Forest in southwestern New Mexico. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ... The wolf reintroduction program requires the permanent removal of any wolf linked to three livestock killings a year ... Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Elizabeth Slown says the Aspen Pack has killed a horse and five cows since the beginning of the year.