Some anti-wolf groups had sought to advance legislation in Congress to remove Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves throughout the United States.

We are glad that those who would jeopardize the survival of gray wolves have failed in their efforts to undermine America’s important wildlife protections, and we most strongly thank the friends of conservation in the Senate for refusing to permit this travesty.

We are very thankful that Congress did not cave in to special interests who tried to use the wolf issue as an opportunity to weaken the Endangered Species Act—our nation’s safety net for fish, plants and wildlife on the brink of extinction. The return of the gray wolf to the northern Rockies is one of the great success stories of the Endangered Species Act.

We all want to see wolf recovery completed and responsible state management of wolves as appropriate and necessary. But those decisions should be made in accordance with the standards and requirements of the Endangered Species Act, and based on the best available science -- not on the claims and pronouncements of hostile politicians.

Now, we call upon Interior Secretary Ken Salazar -- the senior government official specifically charged with protecting our imperiled wildlife--to do his job, by  bringing all stakeholders to the table to develop lasting science-based solutions for wolf recovery and management.

We know that special interests will try again next year to undermine the Endangered Species Act. Congress must again stand firm and resist all new assaults, just has it has rejected every other major attack over the past four decades.

We say to those who may be motivated to renew their attempts to weaken this landmark law: that we will strongly ‘push back,’ in every forum available, and with every resource available to us, to alert the American people and to defeat any such effort.We owe no less to our children and our grandchildren, than to protect endangered species and the places they call home.

 Brock Evans, President, Endangered Species Coalition