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Even though various efforts have been made to put the Alexander Archipelago wolf on the endangered species list, the agency has refused it.
On Tuesday, the news came that the Alexander Archipelago wolf will not be considered endangered. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that the wolves do not need further protection, even though they are being hunted.
The Alexander Archipelago wolf is also known as the Islands wolf, is a possible species of the grey wolf. They are smaller than the North American wolves, and are about 3 feet long and 2 feet high. They usually feed on the Sitka deer and on the North American beaver. They also eat salmon, mountain goats and small mammals. Because of their salmon diets, their pups have the highest living rate among the species.
The federal agency stated that the wolf population on Prince Wales islands and the nearby islands is stable and it doesn’t show any signs of decreasing. They are aware that this species is facing some difficulties at the moment like climate changes, wolf harvest and the development of roads, but they still don’t require that extra protection.
The Alexander Archipelago wolf was petitioned for the endangered species list since 2011, by the Center for Biological Diversity and by Greenpeace. After hearing the disappointing news, Larry Edwards, a spokesman from Greenpeace, said that the agency didn’t have all the right facts concerning the species. The two groups wanted to enlist the wolf on the list, especially since they believe that this wolf is different from the wolves found in the Tongass National Forest.
Drew Crane, who is an endangered species coordinator said that wasn’t true. According to the information the USFWS has, the Alexander Archipelago wolves have the same genetic material as every wolf found in Alaska or British Columbia. The data the agency has says that there are approximately 2,700 Alexander Archipelago wolves. They have a wide living range, from the Alaska Panhandle, all the way to the coasts of British Columbia and the borders of Washington.
The Fish and Wildlife Service gave other reasons for which the species isn’t a special one. They said that the wolves don’t have an unusual or unique habitat, they are not giving signs of decreasing and they are not any different from other similar wolf species. Although the wolves on the Prince Wales islands will decrease, they constitute only 6% of their species, so their decrease won’t affect the species that much.
Because the Alexander Archipelago wolf will not be considered endangered, Noah Greenwald, from the Center for Biological Diversity said that he will try to enlist the species on the list again.
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