Mead Offers Alternative on Wolf Protection

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Gov. Matt Mead says he's hopeful a federal judge will agree a quick administrative fix is all that's necessary to return wolf management to the state.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of Washington, D.C., earlier this week stripped Wyoming of wolf management authority and handed it back to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Berman agreed with conservation groups that the federal agency was wrong to accept the state's nonbinding promises to maintain at least 100 wolves and 10 breeding pairs outside of Yellowstone and the Wind River Indian Reservation.

Mead's administration responded by passing an administrative rule making the state's wolf plan legally binding and has asked Jackson to reconsider.

The Defenders of Wildlife was among the groups that challenged Wyoming's plan. It opposes the state's reconsideration request.