Environmental Failure by Obama

This is extremely disappointing. In Idaho and Montana the hunting of the gray wolf is now legal again thanks to President Obama continuing the irresponsible environmental policies of the last administration. This is a waste of years of recovery efforts by the federal government. The gray wolf population in the West was decimated by trapping, poisoning and hunting, there were even bounties and was finally put on the endangered species. After years of hard work wolf populations are coming back and now we'll see them go right back where they were. This is not just about the gray wolf but about the entire ecosystem being deprived of the balancing effect of a top of the chain predator. I can't understand why Obama sided with the Bush team to allow hunting again.

Melanie Stein, a Sierra Club spokeswoman, said that the wolf populations "are just on the cusp of recovery and that we are almost there." But she says the hunts represent "a step backward and away from recovery" of the wolf populations.

Defenders of Wildlife, one of several groups urging the court to stop the hunt, detailed the ecological role of the wolves on its Web site.

"In what is known as the cascade effect, wolves are exerting influence over a multitude of species within the park's ecosystem. Elk, wary of the reintroduced top predator, have altered their grazing behavior.

"With less grazing pressure from elk, streambed vegetation such as willow and aspen is regenerating after decades of overbrowsing. As the trees are restored, they create better habitat for native birds and fish, beaver and other species."