On Monday, the federal government was sued by twelve groups of environmentalists and animal rights activits, in an attempt to reinclude the gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains on the endangered species list.

When the wolf population reached 1,500 individuals, The United States Fish and Wildlife Service considered that the situation had finally stabilized and removed the species from the endangered list in March. State officials in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana were given management control of the matter.

In the lawsuit papers it is said that the states cannot guarantee that the population will be kept within safe parameters. "We're very concerned that absent an injunction, hundreds of wolves could be killed under existing state management plans," Jason Rylander, attorney with Defenders of Wildlife, stated.

There is however a clearly stated objective for allowing hunters to start pointing their rifles at the wolves, namely bringing down the population so that it doesn’t exceed 1,250 animals. This is considered to be the perfect number for this area. It seems that in 1973, when the species was almost extinct and the officials listed the wolves as endangered, they were counting on a much slower recovery. As it turns out, the wolves were able to breed rapidly and reach a status which is beginning to disturb local livestock owners. A real breakthrough in the rehabilitation process became possible due to considerable efforts made by authorities in 1995 and 1996, when 66 wolves were checked in Yellowstone National Park and in Idaho.

When the decision was taken, it was said that should the population drop below a critical point, the hunting will be ceased again and the species reincluded on the protection list.