The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has decided not to list the Alexander Archipelago wolf under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) after strong opposition from Alaska community leaders and experts.
The agency was considering listing the wolf, found in southeast Alaska, as threatened or endangered under the ESA.
“Such a step by the FWS would be ill-suited and subjective, ignoring the best conclusive scientific data available from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which does not support such a listing being necessary,” read a March 31 letter from Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) to the agency.
Sullivan expressed his opposition to the proposal, saying it would have significant implications for land management in the southeast area of the state.
“Had the FWS consulted with the state, you would have found that southeast Alaska is the most densely populated area of wolves in Alaska due to the abundance of food sources available,” he wrote. “As a result, the wolf is not a species endangered or threatened with extinction.”
