After more than three years of waiting, a group of conservation organizations received an answer Oct. 21 for its petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the wolverine as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

The answer was no.

The USFWS responded that it found insufficient information in the petition or in USFWS files on wolverine habitat and range requirements to determine that habitat loss, trapping or any of the other factors cited posed a threat to wolverine populations in the contiguous United States.

The petitioners contended that the lack of data on wolverine was sufficient cause for listing while most professional biologists claimed a lack of data is not sufficient reason for listing a species as threatened or endangered.

In the past, the Biodiversity Legal Foundation and the Predator Conservation Alliance have responded they expect negative rulings on initial requests for listing because the USFWS has rarely bestowed threatened or endangered status to any species without protracted federal lawsuits that force the USFWS to grant ESA protection.

State and federal biologists counter that some conservation groups use the ESA not to preserve and protect individual species but rather as a political tool aimed at eliminating logging, hunting and other multiple uses on federal and private lands.

So, how many wolverines are in Montana and the lower 48? Nobody knows. Estimates are there may be as many as 650 animals in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and possibly California. Montana is estimated to be home to between 350 and 450 wolverines.

Wolverines are perhaps the wildest of American mammals. Myth has led science in what we know about wolverines but that may end in the next few years. According to Brian Giddings, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife biologist and furbearer coordinator, there are currently three wolverine research projects being conducted by the U.S. Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula.

Additionally, Bob and Kris Inman of the Wilderness Conservation Society currently head a research team (Greater Yellowstone Wolverine project) that has been collecting data on wolverines inhabiting the Madison and Teton ranges.

What makes wolverines so difficult to study is they are constantly on the move, cover incredible distances, live at high and often inaccessible locations, and are few in number even in healthy populations.

What most scientists agree we know about wolverines is that by 1900 most wolverine had been eliminated in the continental U.S.

"Wolverines were basically extinct by 1900," Giddings said. "Poisoning and unregulated trapping did them in. Between 1930 and 1950, the wolverine had recolonized much of its former habitat in Montana."

Legal protection and closed seasons were granted for the wolverine when Montana classified it as a furbearer in 1974. In 1977, FWP began collecting data on the harvest numbers and distribution of wolverine. In 1991, FWP began searching for and counting tracks of furbearers, including the wolverine, to form a more accurate picture of their numbers and distribution in Montana.

The petition to list the wolverine under the ESA was filed by the Biodiversity Legal Foundation, Predator Conservation Alliance, Defenders of Wildlife, Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, Friends of the Clearwater and Superior Wilderness Action Network.

Five "factors" were cited by the groups as why the wolverine should receive further consideration for listing under the ESA.

The first factor claimed was wolverines have been negatively impacted by the "loss of roadless areas due to logging practices" with one result being the disturbance of denning sites by snowmoblilers.

Giddings said that recent research has suggested that denning wolverines are sensitive to disturbance. He agreed that denning sites should be protected. In one study, even the presence of researchers was enough to make two female wolverines abandon their dens and move their kits.

The second factor cited by the conservation groups was "trapping is threat to wolverines in the contiguous United States."

Giddings strongly disagreed.

"We have been keeping trapping statistics on wolverines and over the past 25 years there has been an average of 10 wolverine taken per year," Giddings said. "Those wolverine represent all age groups with the bulk being juveniles. That's exactly what you'd expect from a healthy population."

Bob Inman agreed with Giddings' assessment that trapping has not negatively impacted wolverines in the U.S. Inman added that trapping has been an "invaluable research tool" for biologists.

The third and fourth factors cited for listing were the effects of predation by wolves and bears on wolverine were unknown and the USFS lacked a management plan for wolverine on Forest Service lands.

The final factor was that the previous four factors and the wolverine's low reproductive rate make it vulnerable to extinction.

"Not only is the wolverine not in danger of extinction, it is currently everywhere it should be in Montana," Giddings said. "All the time we are getting new data that supports wolverine are healthy and viable everywhere in our state there is suitable habitat."

"No, I wouldn't say there is any data to support a claim that the wolverine is in danger of extinction," Inman said. "It is quite possible to have a very healthy population of animals at very low densities. I believe whatever a person's view of this issue, we would all agree that a lot more study is necessary before we can make good decisions concerning wolverines."