Wyoming Governor Matt Mead said Friday he's not holding his breath about a proposed settlement between the Fish and Wildlife Service and environmental groups which would take wolves off the Endangered Species List in Montana and Idaho, but keep them under federal control in Wyoming.

"I am extremely skeptical about the chances that this proposal will lead to an acceptable solution for Wyoming. I will continue a dialogue with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because I think it is urgent that wolf management is put in Wyoming's hands." -Governor Mead

Wildlife advocates and the U.S. Department of Interior officials said Friday they have reached a deal to lift gray wolf protections and allow hunting of the species in Montana and Idaho. According to the Associated Press, the agreement would keep wolves on the endangered list for now in Wyoming, Oregon, Washington and Utah. It would also call for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to set up a scientific panel which will re-examine wolf recovery goals calling for a minimum 300 wolves in the region. The lawsuit is in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and involves the decision made by U.S. District judge Donald Molloy of Montana.

A release for the Governor Mead's office says one hurdle for this settlement proposal is that Judge Molloy has to sign off on it.  Another is that only ten of the 14 plaintiffs have agreed to it. Yet another is that it affects the State of Wyoming without its participation.

Governor Mead has continually said he is looking for a solution that will give Wyoming permanent state control over wolves.  He has said settling the lawsuit in Montana is precarious.  Governor Mead explained in the release it would be difficult if not impossible to get all of the environmental groups involved in that lawsuit to agree to a wolf management plan for the region and country. One of the groups, the Western Watersheds Project, has already publicly acknowledged its refusal to enter the proposed settlement and said in the media it will object to the plan.

Court rulings have blocked prior efforts to lift the species from endangered status.  An environmental group says this deal came of a combination of "political pressure and trying to end the cycle of battling with the Fish and Wildlife Service."

Kieran Suckling of the Center for Biological Diversity says while hunting in Montana and Idaho could begin as early as this fall, the deal provides assurances to protect the species over the long term and even expand its range into other states.

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