Department of Fish and Wildlife Requests Wolverine Be Listed as
Endangered Species On February 1, the U.S. Department of Fish
and Wildlife officially proposed that wolverines be be added to
the list of protected species under the Endangered Species Act.
Timothy Preso, a lawyer for the environmental action group
Earthjustice, describes the proposal as “the culmination of a
12-year battle to show the plight of wolverines.” Preso says
that the wolverine is a prime example of a species adversely
effected by climate change. “I don’t think Montana knows how
many wolverines it has,” Preso says. “But what I do know is that
it is one of the rarest critters in the lower 48 and trapping
them at this point doesn’t make a lot of sense.” Even if
wolverines are classified as endangered, Montana Fish, Wildlife
and Parks spokesman Ron Aasheim has said Montana will ask to
continue to allow wolverine trapping. Montana is the last state
in the lower 48 to allow trapping. “We have wolverines where
we’ve always had them, and basic