JUNEAU -- Environmental groups want special protection for a subspecies of gray wolf found in Southeast Alaska old-growth forests.

The Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace say the Alexander Archipelago wolf is threatened by unsustainable logging and road building in the Tongass National Forest.

The groups have petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for Endangered Species Act protection for the wolf. An agency spokesman hadn't seen the petition Wednesday.

Rebecca Noblin, with the Center for Biological Diversity, said circumstantial evidence suggests the number of wolves is declining but no surveys have been done since the 1990s.

She said Fish and Wildlife considered protecting the wolf in the 1990s but didn't because of new standards in a forest management plan. She said many of those standards are weak or haven't been implemented.