Tag Archives: wolves

Wolves again fair game in many states

Environmental Issues, News, ,

The Washington Post put up a pretty good article on Wolves yesterday. Here’s the lead-in. (Thanks to the ever-alert Richard Wackrow for spotting this article.) . . .

Most wolves in the continental United States soon will be off federal assistance.

For more than 300 years, trappers and settlers did their best to exterminate wolves, for their pelts and to protect livestock. They were so successful that only a few hundred gray wolves were left in the lower 48 states when they were listed as an endangered species in 1973.

Now the wolves are back, with roughly 6,000 in the contiguous United States and 7,700 to 11,200 in Alaska. The Obama administration has declared all but two small populations — Mexican gray wolves in New Mexico and Arizona, and red wolves in North Carolina — fully recovered. On Oct. 1, Wyoming will become the fifth state with a significant wolf population to legalize hunting.

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Feds ending wolf protections in Wyoming at end of month

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Federal wolf protections officially end at the end of September. Lawsuits are likely . . .

The federal government will end its protections for wolves in Wyoming, where the species was introduced two decades ago to revive it from near extinction in the United States.

The announcement Friday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will entrust the state with managing wolf numbers and endorses a plan that allows for them to be shot on sight in most of the state, while keeping them permanently protected in designated areas like Yellowstone National Park. Wyoming will take over management of the wolves at the end of September.

The decision of the announcement quickly sparked promises of legal challenges from environmental groups that argue wolves still need protection to maintain their successful recovery.

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Greater Yellowstone Coalition wants to block wolf trapping near Yellowstone Park

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An environmental group wants a no-trapping buffer in the areas of Montana near Yellowstone Park to protect wolves that wander outside the boundaries . . .

A conservation group wants a trap-free buffer in Montana to protect wolves roaming outside Yellowstone National Park.

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition says the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission shouldn’t allow wolf trapping in three management units that cover southern Montana from the Absaroka Mountains to the Madison Range.

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Montana FWP Commission approves new wolf hunt rules; allows trapping

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To no one’s surprise, the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Commission approved new wolf hunt rules late last week, including a provision for trapping . . .

Montana wildlife commissioners approved new wolf hunting rules Thursday that allow trapping and the killing of up to three of the predators by one trapper.

The move came after the officials waded through thousands of written comments regarding management of the species that evokes strong emotions…

Wildlife managers will allow some trapping, lift most quotas and expand the length of the season…

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Idaho wolf season ends, sort of…

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The Idaho wolf season has ended, but not really . . .

The day after Idaho’s 2011-12 wolf hunting season ended, some parts of the state started hunting for 2012-13.

Private lands in the state’s northern panhandle region are allowed to keep the pressure on wolves through the summer, according to Idaho Fish and Game Commissioner Tony McDermott. The new season started Sunday, just after the June 30 ending of last year’s Idaho wolf hunt.

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Montana FWP hears from both sides of the wolf hunt debate

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Here’s the Flathead Beacon’s take on last Wednesday’s Montana FWP “listening session” on the upcoming wolf hunt. It’s a good summary of issues and attitudes . . .

For once the wolf debate played out respectfully. Somewhat.

More than 90 people came together last week to discuss proposed changes to the controversial wolf hunt at a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks public gathering at Flathead Valley Community College.

The June 13 meeting was the final one in the state before the FWP commission votes to adopt the latest wolf hunt adjustments on July 12. Public comment remains open until June 25.

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Montana FWP hears wide range of wolf comments

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The reports are coming in on last Wednesday’s Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks “listening session” concerning plans for this year’s wolf hunt. There’s some interesting stuff here . . .

More than 90 people turned out for a meeting in Kalispell on Wednesday to chime in on proposed hunting and trapping regulations for wolves in Montana.

Those who attended the meeting at Flathead Valley Community College were broken up into 10 work groups to share their views.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials heard a full range of comments — from ending the regulated hunt to having a year-round, wide-open season on wolves.

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Wolves, aspen, elk and fire

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Cristina Eisenberg gave a presentation on her research into the interrelationship between predators, prey and landscape May 2. The Hungry Horse news has an interesting write-up on this report . . .

There are things one knows to be true in the natural world of the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. There are wolves, there are elk, elk are chased down and eaten by wolves, and elk do everything they can to avoid being eaten. It’s nature.

Add a wild card to the mix, like the huge wildfires that have grazed the landscape in the North Fork of the Flathead, and one sees something else — lush growth of new stands of aspen, a tree coveted not only for its aesthetics but as a food resource for elk.

Oregon state researcher and author Cristina Eisenberg has been studying the relationships between elk, aspens, wolves and fires for several years in the adjoining national parks. Over the years, she’s compared the density of elk and wolves in three different but similar regions — the North Fork, St. Mary and Waterton valleys. She talked about her findings at the Glacier National Park Community Hall on May 2.

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US appeals court allows wolf hunts

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From today’s Missoulian . . .

A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a lawsuit from conservation groups that want to block wolf hunting and trapping that have killed more than 500 of the predators across the Northern Rockies in recent months.

The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Congress had the right to intervene when it stripped protections from wolves last spring.

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