The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced on December 13 that wolverines in the contiguous United States are warranted to be listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) but precluded from full protection due to other listings of higher priority. The decision puts this distinct population segment of wolverines on the candidate list but keeps management of the species under state control. The species' status will be reviewed annually.

"The threats to the wolverine are long-term due to the impacts of climate change on their denning habitat, especially important to assist the species in successfully reproducing," said Steve Guertin, FWS Director of the Mountain-Prairie Region. "If we work with state and other partners to help the wolverine now, we may be able to counter the long-term impacts of climate change on their habitat and keep them from becoming endangered."

Wolverines live in arctic, boreal and alpine habitats in Alaska, western Canada and the western United States. Populations in the western U.S. were locally extirpated in the late 20^th century but have re-established in the North Cascades Range of Washington and the Northern Rocky Mountains of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Female wolverines require substantial snowpack in alpine habitat in order to build elaborate dens in the snow, which are thought to prevent predation of their young (kits).

Research conducted by the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group and the U.S. Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Research Station predict a 63-percent reduction of wolverines' cold and snowy habitat by 2099. Coupled with existing habitat threats of development, increased recreational use and transportation corridors, wolverine habitat likely will become more fragmented, support fewer wolverines and reduce connectivity between populations. The FWS found that the threats from climate change have not had a perceptible impact on wolverine populations as of yet, thus the determination of "warranted but precluded, which allows for monitoring the population but without formal protections under the ESA.

The states where wolverines are found will continue to have authority over their management. In Washington, Oregon, Colorado and California, the species is considered state-endangered or state-threatened, making it illegal to kill or otherwise harm wolverines. ?Wolverines are protected from harvest in Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada, and there is no open harvest season in Utah. ?In Montana, the wolverine is managed as a furbearing species, with a tightly regulated harvest. (jas)