Salon senior writer Katharine Mieszkowski looks at a new ruling on wolf recovery in the United States.
Last Friday, a federal judge ordered the Bush administration to restore gray wolves to Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.
Back in 2003, the Department of the Interior declared that no further wolf recovery was needed in 21 Eastern states because the predators had been brought back successfully in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. But Friday, a judge in U.S. District Court in Vermont disagreed. Environmental groups like the National Wildlife Federation hailed the ruling as a major victory, while the feds have not decided yet whether they'll appeal.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the historic reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone and the West. And this latest good news for canis lupus reminds War Room that just last fall, the Bush campaign maligned wolves in attack ads with the canines representing terrorists. Now, it seems, against the Bush administration's wishes, wolves may soon be expanding their range in four states that all went for John Kerry last fall. Coincidence? Note to Karl Rove: Don't mess with wolves.
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