Conservation Groups Petition Feds to Extend Wolf Monitoring

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Conservation groups are asking the federal government to continue keeping a close eye on gray wolf populations throughout the northern Rocky Mountains because states are aggressively seeking to kill more wolves.

According to the petition filed Tuesday, the five groups are seeking an additional five years of monitoring from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The federal agency has been monitoring wolves since they were delisted in 2011, but those efforts are scheduled to sunset in May.

Andrea Santarsiere with the Center for Biological Diversity says wolves are threatened in Idaho because the state advocates killing the species even in remote and unpopulated areas. Idaho lawmakers have approved spending $400,000 since 2014 to reduce the state's wolf population.