I have some terrible news. Today, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that he would follow the discredited path of the Bush Administration and delist wolves in the Northern Rockies and Greater Yellowstone region.

This is a stunning development, just six weeks into the Obama Administration. This delisting paves the way for almost 1000 wolves to be killed under deadly state management plans in Idaho and Montana.

The killing could begin in just weeks.

As I write this, we are already preparing an emergency legal challenge to this harmful proposal -- and we’ll be in court as quickly as possible. But we need your help for the legal fight ahead.

yo4t7yvz1.app25a"Please make an emergency donation now to support our Northern Rockies and Greater Yellowstone Wolf Legal Defense Fund.

This delisting will put the fate of our wolves in the hands of state governments that want to slaughter nearly 1,000 wolves. Last year, when federal wolf protections were temporarily lifted in the region, more than 100 wolves were killed in just a short time -- including the world renowned “Limpy.”

In addition, regular wolf hunting seasons could begin as early as this fall in Idaho and Montana -- and Idaho Governor “Butch” Otter said again today that he still wants the first available hunting tag to shoot a wolf himself.

We can’t allow the out-of-control killing of wolves to happen again.

yo4t7yvz1.app25a"Please donate now to support our emergency legal challenge to protect our wolves in the Northern Rockies.

For more than 35 years, Defenders of Wildlife has fought for our wolves. We were there when the first wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park and we’ve been there to defend them ever since. We’ve beaten back efforts to prematurely delist these wolves in the past, and I'm confident we can do so again.

Just this week, we celebrated a hard-fought victory made possible with your help as the Senate voted to overturn the Bush Administration's last-minute gutting of the Endangered Species Act. We now need to beat back another deadly Bush-era plan that will open the door to the slaughter of nearly 1,000 wolves.

yo4t7yvz1.app25a"Please donate what you can today to save the lives of wolves in the Northern Rockies and Greater Yellowstone.

Together, we can win our legal challenge of the same bad plan originally put forth in the last throes of the Bush Administration -- and ensure that our wolves will continue to be around for future generations.