One would think removal from the endangered species list is a positive development for the gray wolf. After their population was nearly wiped out in the U.S., 13 years of restoration efforts were successful and as a reult, approximately 1,500 gray wolves currently reside in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. That's the good news.

The flip side is that removal from the list will allow public hunts of the animals to occur which could begin as early as this fall. Environmentalists are protesting the decision and calling on the U.S. Department of Interior to keep the gray wolf on the list, thereby ensuring some protective measures for the creatures are in place.

This just seems like one big vicious circle. The gray wolf population has increased enough to warrant removal from the list, but by doing so may once again deplete their numbers causing them to once again become endangered and meaning 13 years of efforts to protect the animal could eventually prove futile. They probably won't be renaming the federal government group the U.S. Department of Logic and Well Thought Out Planning anytime soon.

» MSNBC Environment