In this Feb. 1, 2017, photo released by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Snake River wolf pack is captured by a remote camera photo in Hells Canyon National Recreation Area in Wallowa County, Ore. A proposal to strip gray wolves of their remaining federal protections could clip the predators' rapid expansion across vast swaths of the U.S. West and Great Lakes.
In this Feb. 1, 2017, photo released by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Snake River wolf pack is captured by a remote camera photo in Hells Canyon National Recreation Area in Wallowa County, Ore. A proposal to strip gray wolves of their remaining federal protections could clip the predators' rapid expansion across vast swaths of the U.S. West and Great Lakes. Credit: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP

I am writing to bring attention to and express my extreme opposition of the Trump administration’s plan to end gray wolf protections from coast to coast.

It would remove important Endangered Species Act protections for wolves before they have returned to many parts of their historic habitat, including the Southern Rockies and Adirondacks. Without these protections, wolves attempting to return to these places will simply be killed.

This reckless decision will take us back to the days when wolves were shot on sight, maimed and killed in cruel traps and relentlessly persecuted. In an independent scientist peer review of the proposal commissioned by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the scientists were unanimous in criticizing the agency’s proposal.

Unfortunately, and as usual, this administration’s proposal is based on politics, not science. It is extremely urgent that all Americans who care about wildlife speak out now to ensure wolves keep the critical protections of the Endangered Species Act and to secure the long-term survival and recovery of this magnificent and iconic species.

Andrea Ferguson

Granby