Wolves lose protection

“Wolves lose protection


By Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Date: March 28, 2008

Gray wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Area no longer enjoy the protection of the Endangered Species Act, but the delisting could be temporary if conservation groups successfully challenge the decision later this spring.

As of this morning, the states of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana will take over management of the carnivore.

The three states have committed to maintaining a minimum of 15 breeding pairs and 150 wolves in each state, for a total of 450 wolves.

In Wyoming, wolves are considered predators in roughly 88 percent of the state and can be killed by anyone using any means without a license.

In the northwest corner of the state, wolves are now considered trophy game, which means licenses will be required to shoot them during a designated season. That area does not include Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks and John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway, where wolves will remain protected under the authority of the National Park Service.

In Jackson Hole, the distinction between the predator area, the trophy-game area and the national parks means the gray wolf will have three levels of protection within a distance of five miles. South of Highway 22, wolves are considered predators, and north and east of Grand Teton National Park, wolves will be hunted as trophy game.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is expected to set hunting seasons for wolves this spring.

But Wyoming Game and Fish spokesman Eric Keszler said conservation groups’ court challenges could derail opportunities to kill wolves.

“The real question is: We don’t know what is going to go on with these lawsuits,” he said. “There could be a change in the status of wolves as early as spring. There’s a chance that this could be a temporary thing.”

Defenders of Wildlife, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Western Watersheds Project and a number of other conservation groups joined together in late February to file a 60-day notice of intent to sue over the delisting. The lawsuit could result in an injunction as early as late April.

Keszler said the state would remain responsible for compensating landowners for livestock losses in the trophy-game area even if the groups successfully lobby a judge for an injunction.

Keszler urged people to remain apprised of lawsuits by visiting the Wyoming Game and Fish Department Web site http://gf.state.wy.us/ or by calling the department’s wolf information line at 307-777-4655 during normal business hours.

Wolves in the lower 48 states were mostly extinct by 1930, following a policy of eradication by federal and state governments.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service put wolves on the endangered species list in 1974. The agency set 66 Canadian wolves free in Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho starting in 1995. The total northern Rockies population is now more than 1,500 animals.”

“I watched a pack take down an Elk this past summer. It has to be at the top of my list as one of the best experiences I've ever had.”

“Doesn't seem like a huge population to be, but then I guess I don't have them running around my neighborhood.”

“How high on the list of experiences do you think the elk rated it?

Local farmers pretty much shoot 'em on sight. They are becoming numerous and unafraid of people. I really don't know what the answer is.”

“sucked for the elk I'm sure.”

“Management! Got to maintain a balance somehow.”

“Well, I just don't know. That really seems like a liberal answer. Before you know it all the wolves will be sitting around waiting for Uncle Sugar to deliver their welfare check. No hunting, no killing, just waiting around all day for the man to drop by with dinner. No, big government isn't the answer, we'll only make 'em weak and dependant, perpetuating the dependency that we didn't start in the first place. Before you know it, wolves will have names like "yolanda" and XL will be trying to paraphrase their mutterings in ebonics. It's not a pretty picture. Get Big Government out of it. The private sector (farmer) is much better at dealing with the problem:)”

“White man balance?”

“Like I said I'm not conservative about all issues.”

“"yolanda"”

“Shaniqua maybe.”

“
        ::eyeroll::

”

“Who would name a child "eyeroll" ?”

“I'm having some difficulty picturing a wolf named Shaniqua,   LOL”

“LOL !!”

“I'll look for a picture.”

“Well, I just don't know. That really seems like a liberal answer. Before you know it all the wolves will be sitting around waiting for Uncle Sugar to deliver their welfare check.
They can read the WSG and follow the act of the investment bankers - the ones that think capitalism is great until they need a rope to climb out of the hole they're in.”

“It's inexcusable the wolves lost their protection. Especially when you can buy rubbers at any corner gas station nowadays.
It's pathetic I tell ya.”

“http://www.all4humor.com/images/files/fat_dog.jpg

Best I could do. Shaniqua the wolf.
last edited: 3/28/08 10:19:54 AM”

“ROTFLMAO at HPM...gotta remember that for the next animal rights debate.

Its called NATURE.....”

“
And a word on acceptable American naming from The Simpson's.....

Apu’s Octuplets:
Anoop, Uma, Nabendu, Poonam, Priya, Sandeep, Sashi and Gheet.
(a.k.a. Lincoln, Freedom, Condoleezza, Coke, Pepsi, Manifest Destiny, Apple Pie, and Superman)

”

“Alot of the public lands in Idaho are open to free range grazing, based on my observations. This includes drainages far up the mountains beyond treeline and into the vast alpine parks. I would venture to guess that the majority of wolf/livestock encounters occur in these areas of the backcountry.

I say bring back the sheperd and guard dogs. A couple-three Great Pyrenees would go a long for protectionary needs, and a couple border collies to keep the herd/flock in line.

Oooh! Cool summer job. Pack in with a herd of cattle and follow them up into the grazing zone.”

“my brother in law put those wolves in there.

ranchers are crazy, they are on free land and they want to kill all wolves. screw the ranchers.”

“Like I said I'm not conservative about all issues.

wattaya want, a cookie?”

“Its simple really,

the Land and Water Conservation Fund should be funded at 10 to maybe 100 times its current amount so at least a small part of the natural world can be allowed to continue.

Buy-out the grazing leases of the ranchers using BLM and USFS lands and buy-out as many of the ranchers of the adjoining private properties as will sell at a fair price.

I would like to see continuous wolf range stretching from Nebraska to Oregon.
last edited: 3/28/08 6:38:03 PM”

“so for a while it's legal to get a wolf-skin rug or a cool wolf head ash-tray?”

“Or a wolf tail to swat at the gnats.”

“Just go to Alaska or Canada and shoot a wolf for yourself, they have never been endangered in the far Northwest and have been a huntable species.

Man has a profound impact on the environment, we all know that. It is good to see the shift away from trying to make all predators extinct. Hunting is not evil and neither is killing a problem animal. Over the years the government has sponsored poison and other means to kill as many of these animals as possible but now are doing all they can to manage acceptable levels of them. A compromise has to be reached between the fundamentalists on each side of the issue or major trouble will ensue. If a rancher sees no other way to stop wolf predation on his investments he will do everything he can to kill the wolves. Poison works well and I hope we never get to that point again. Poison kills indiscrimately and takes out more than just the intended victim. Using hunters to control the population shows the ranchers that the government will take steps to keep the animals in control. It also means that the taking of wolves will be heavily regulated and violators will be prosecuted. It's because of modern day hunters that people who don't hunt can enjoy the animals that are in this country. If it wasn't for hunters you would not have the numbers of game animals. Through extra taxes on guns and bullets and licenses, not to mention hunters who form clubs like Pheasants Forever and Ducks Unlimited to promote the habitat restoration and purchase of land permanently set aside for habitat hunters provide the means to keep these animals around for years to come. It's in the hunter's best interest to ensure the animals are protected and have the habitat they need to flourish.”

“The wolf cull has begun.

http://www.trib.com/articles/2008/04/01/news/wyoming/14df5a030a0d85438725741e00048afb.txt”

“this message brought to you by the national wolf hunters association of america”

“I GOT IT! trap all the exta wolves and move them to the mexican boarder!

we don't need no stinkin boarder patrol!”

“Wolf-kill total reaches 16


By Cory Hatch, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Date: May 12, 2008

Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials say a hunter has reported a wolf killed May 5 near Daniel in Sublette County.

The incident brings the number of wolves killed by hunters and agriculture officials in Wyoming to 16 since the animals were removed from protection under the Endangered Species Act in late March.

Last week, one male wolf was reported taken April 26 near Daniel, and another was reported taken April 28 near Dry Creek in Oregon Basin.

U.S. Department of Agriculture officials used a helicopter April 7 to shoot four wolves in a pack whose members were seen preying on cattle.

March 28, hunters killed four wolves, one near the New Fork River area and three in Daniel. Hunters killed a male wolf March 30 near Daniel, a female wolf April 2 near Fisherman Creek, a male and a female wolf April 3 near the southern Wind River Range, and a male wolf April 6 near Bondurant.

All the animals were shot in the area of the state where wolves can be killed at any time using any means. People who kill wolves are required to report to Game and Fish within 10 days.”

“Mmmmm, wolf chops.”

“bul-gogi.”

“no, that ke-gogi

get your Korean straight, eh!”

“I googled bul-gogi and it is something to eat, and it is Korean.”

“bul-gogi is a beef bbq dish, ke-gogi is a dog bbq dish.

bul-gogi btw, is delicious. i've never had, nor do i ever intend to have ke gogi
last edited: 5/12/08 4:36:53 PM”

“Thanks Pamela I could not remember which was which I had both during my visit in 1985.”