落基山脉灰狼生活在素有北美洲“脊梁”的落基山脉地区，作为世界上最大的犬科动物，落基山灰狼曾经生活得逍遥自在。然而近年来生活环境的急剧恶化使落基山灰狼逐渐面临灭绝的危险。 $ @( M/ L- n2 U7 y
A federal judge has ordered the US to put Rocky Mountain grey wolves back on a list of protected endangered species.
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* |% k0 ]5 c. \( ~) W Encouraged by the recovery of the once nearly-extinct wolf, the US last year moved to allow wolf hunts in two states while protecting them in a third.8 p4 _/ ~" D1 M B
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But a judge ruled the law did not permit the US to protect part of a species population while allowing hunting of the rest.) g d# S5 b3 q# K
8 T+ g5 g/ A% n; w9 f Despite the ruling, Idaho said it would seek federal approval for a wolf hunt.
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The decision puts wolves in the states of Montana and Idaho back on the endangered species list following their removal last year.
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2 h- D8 f1 g; [0 N Wyoming's wolves had remained protected because the US government was unsatisfied with the state's wolf protection plan., S& r$ n! N& F; T& I5 q
! [" I1 q) d: o6 x2 Z' { In Montana, US District Judge Donald Molloy came down on the side of a coalition of conservation groups who had challenged the US Fish and Wildlife Service's move to take the grey wolf off the endangered species list in Montana and Idaho.: a' k7 Y7 D. X( Y5 @$ u6 e8 J6 C
* d: G( Y( f2 \ Among several arguments, the coalition said the law did not permit the Fish and Wildlife Service to "partially delist" protected species - protecting the wolf in one state but not others.
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7 x+ v$ q1 z3 ^ Significant protection, j! ~) T/ J* S7 }% Q9 U
* e- ^* G& c0 g9 ]! H "The plain language of the Endangered Species Act does not allow the agency to divide a [population segment] into a smaller taxonomy," Judge Molloy wrote.) `9 g0 k C, C) {/ H. m3 E8 ^7 c
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Grey wolves were once abundant in the US, but a government-sponsored hunting programme nearly eradicated them. The wolves were gone from Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and south-western Canada by the 1930s.2 e& F9 \: M/ f6 \' e1 U. F: R
: |. k; [7 Q5 \: J. c0 y The US passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973 and the wolf was listed as endangered in 1974, affording it significant protection from hunters.
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1 o& S# s+ C4 h: I In the 1990s, the government reintroduced wild wolf populations into the northern Rocky Mountains, situated in the western US.6 ~! Q8 g4 s( u
& Q: u6 g7 \$ k! n; g Powerful ranching interests in the states concerned have opposed protection of the wolves, saying they threaten livestock. |
发表于 2012-8-14 23:21:39
