Wolves, Lower

Some environmental news: "Federal wildlife officials have asked a judge to put gray wolves in the Northern Rockies back on the endangered species list--a sharp reversal from the government's prior contention that the animals were thriving. Attorneys for the Fish and Wildlife Service asked U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula to vacate the agency's February finding that more than 1,400 wolves in the region no longer needed federal protection."

At issue is a recent survey of wolf populations which found that their numbers had declined for the first time in a decade. Fish and Wildlife spokesmen also cited the danger that the wolf population might further decline through a combination of disease, inbreeding, and being hunted down from above by Sarah Palin.