Nation howls against predator status

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

By Patrick Dolan

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-As the clock struck midnight on Friday, pens were capped across the nation as the Fish and Wildlife Service closed the public comment period on a proposal to remove grey wolves from the federal endangered species list in Wyoming. This is one of the last steps in moving the fate of grey wolves into hands of Wyoming residents and something the State has been working toward since the first wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone more than 20 years ago.

A college student in South Dakota posted the final comment close to the deadline and it read as a philosophical warning against “tampering with mother nature.” This foreboding sentiment is nothing new, yet unique among a random sampling of the more than 6,500 public comments submitted to the hosting site, www.regulations.gov.

A thorough review of the comments is yet to be compiled, but a majority of comments JH Weekly reviewed claimed origin from out-of-state, highlighting national awareness of an issue monitored by many outside Wyoming.

The state’s current management plan proposal has undergone its own public comment periods and was accepted in an agreement between Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead in 2011. This is the crux of the delisting proposal. What some people feel are bare-minimum protections for wolf numbers—a minimum of 100 wolves, including 10 breeding pairs and a dual classification of predator and trophy game status—are the basics of the Wyoming plan.

The plan outlines the northwestern portion of Wyoming, including part of Teton County, and extending as far east as the Wind River Reservation, as the only areas where wolves will be considered trophy game and managed by the Wyoming Game and Fish. In the rest of the state, wolves will be classified as predators and can be killed at any time in any way. The national parks, the National Elk Refuge and Wind River Reservation are not under the jurisdiction of Wyoming Game and Fish.

A commentator from Maryland reflected a prevailing sentiment found in many of the reviewed comments: “Removing endangered species protections from wolves in Wyoming while the state’s current management plan is in place would be disastrous for the wolf population. Wolves should have more protective, trophy game status across all of Wyoming.”

One comment left by a cattle rancher from Shawnee, Wyo., offered support of the delisting but also sought to regain a more favorable public image for herself and fellow ranchers. “Please understand that [predatory status] does not mean the citizens of Wyoming want to shoot every wolf on sight,” she wrote. “I am a rancher and I do not currently shoot every coyote, fox or other predator on sight. I respect the wildlife and their environment and do not destroy wildlife simply because they are on my place.”

Despite this plea for understating, the image of trigger happy Wyomingites is something already entrenched in the minds of many worldwide, according to Ted Kerasote. Kerasote, an author and conservationist based in Kelly, Wyo., is known for his non-fiction writings on hunting ethics, wildlife and domestic dogs. A longtime follower of the state’s battle against wolf reintroduction, Kerasote said in an interview that he regularly receives calls and letters from fans around the world, confused and concerned as to what Wyoming plans to do with wolves within its boarders.

“I try to set the stage for them in terms of why wolves are being hunted, that in fact it was part of the agreement to bring wolves back here and that it’s not some conspiracy in terms of the ranching community running roughshod over everyone’s wishes,” Kerasote said. According to Kerasote, the eventual hunt was always part of the reintroduction program, one that environmental groups agreed to.

Despite the misconception, Kerasote said the ranching community has delayed the implementation of a management plan by demanding predator status in most of the state.

Teton County Commissioners also expressed concern over the public image the plan could bring to Wyoming, and in particular Teton County. In a letter to the Wyoming Game and Fish in September, the Teton County Commissioners questioned the necessity of a flexible boundary between predator and trophy game areas that bisects Teton County along Highway 22 to the Idaho boarder for a portion of the year. Commissioners wrote, “Having a highly visible portion of our county designated as a predator area in the spring, summer and fall, when most of our visitors are here, is inconsistent with our wildlife friendly image and could damage our local economy.”

For perspective, consider the reports of wolves spotted last week near Indian Trails subdivision. According to the proposed plan, in the summer, wolves in that area would be predators. However during the majority of hunting season, including January to March, wolves in that area would be trophy game.

The commissioners’ request to consider Teton County’s interests was not included in the management proposal up for approval in the Wyoming Legislature next month.

courtesy WYOMING GAME AND FISH
Hello, my Wyoming friend...why must you hunt me?

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Reader Comments
The re-introduction was NOT more than 20 years ago.. It was in fact 17 years ago.. January 12, 1995 was the actual date that the first wolves were re-introduced into Yellowstone National Park after nearly a century, when man hunted/poisoned/trapped and simply killed them from the lower 48 states. To allow hunting from January through March would be absolute peril for these animals, February and March is mating season for wolves. Yes, you guessed it, kill them before they have a chance den, this is Wyoming's idea of a wolf management plan. Killing wolves throughout most of the state as vermin is also NOT a management plan, there is simply no way to account for viable numbers by doing this. Wyoming, this is not a management plan, this is simply a plan to kill the very animal that brought balance back to ecosystems within the state. It is Wyoming representatives means of collecting the special interest groups money that they cater to. Cattlemen's Association and The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation among others. How many children have been taken away by wolves? 0... The propaganda that is spewed by these single sided people is disturbing and nothing less than amazing. I wonder how they would fair if they tried a little honesty in their speeches instead of lying to their citizens. Kim
Isle Royale's ecosystem of wolves and moose represented in a single snowflake. Available on Etsy. http://etsy.me/yyjj9y George Desort
The 1994 Legislative Act that introduced (these are a non native sub species) Canadian Gray Wolves, agreed to allow 300 wolves in the Frank Church Wilderness of Idaho and Yellowstone Park. These wolves were deemed an experimental group, and were non essential to the survival of the species. Pro Wildlife groups agreed to these terms, however, they seem to have quickly forgotten! As a hunter and a rancher in this great state, I am for the proposed management. I believe these wolves have no business roaming our ranches, killing our livestock and threatening the safety of the residents. I also believe they need managed due to the very real threat of the spread of Echinococcus granulosus. These are tape worms which these wolves carry. Deadly to humans! No, these wolves aren't wanted. No, these wolves don't belong. Yes, this Wyoming rancher will carry her rifle on her horse and shoot every wolf she sees! Michelle Fosheim
As a Wyoming resident, whose husband is a hunter, and a trapper. We are also retired ranchers of cattle and sheep, I am embarrassed that our state will be allowing shoot on site of wolves in the very near future. Wolves bring in alot of revenue for our state, they are an important predator that will restore balance to our ecosystem. Ranchers should not be subsidized by our tax dollars, which includes the very low amount of money they pay to utilize taxpayers grasslands. If they don't want wolves eating their "product", then do some animal husbandry and take care of their livestock, or raise bison. Maybe it is time for cattle and sheep to move, in lieu of wolves. A sterile landscape is not what most Americans want, only ranchers or hunters want "thier" special interests protected. Wolves are my special interest, and I believe a nature tax should be something anyone utilizing public lands should be willing to pay. If a wolf is killing livestock, it can be moved or killed, that is called management. The current reimbursement for dead cattle is lucrative to say the least. Shame on those in our state that are afraid of wolves. I urge folks with eco friendly minds to move to WY, thus one day it will move to the 21st century. Make the wolf killers the real minority, that is what will change the future for the wolves. Really, afraid of tape worms? I am more afraid of mad cow disease...If other species, ie: elk, were managed like wolves will be, think what the out cry would be. This is mismanagement and out right kill them all, unscientific plans to eradicate wolves and provide a sterile landscape for ranchers and hunters who don't know how to share what they have. If you don't want to compete with the wolf, get your cattle and sheep off or OUR land. Jack and Debbie Bartlett
Shame on anyone for allowing wolves to be harvested like garden goods. You can't eat 'em. You can mummify them so that you can beat on your Neanderthal chests and grunt out how you got 'em. How little you become when you chase a wolf to satisfy your personal fears and paranoia. Personally, I think some Wyoming residents should be managed on an equal basis, due to their inherent stupidity. Re: the tape worms? Wear your shoes outdoors, wash your food well before cooking or serving, and cook your food well and you won't be getting them. Besides, wild game have many, many more parasites plaguing them than wolves. You simply don't realize what you've been eating all along. Wolves belong; people who fear losing their status as top predator do not. Lin Kerns
We stacked wolves up in piles as high as rooftops! We extirpated them from the lower 48, and then reintroduced them only to kill them again? I am so confused. Who is the dangerous predator here? And we kill the absolute strongest most gorgeous animals in a herd, whereas wolves cull out the weak, the injured, the old. Save the Wolves E. E. WOLF
“Removing endangered species protections from wolves in Wyoming while the state’s current management plan is in place would be disastrous for the wolf population." That says it all. wil j wellisch
It's too bad that so many people in this country jump on bandwagons without knowing where the wagon came from or is going. They don't want to take the time or effort to research topics and find the factual truth about something before getting onto internet websites and spreading their own selfish ideas. I guess that's in large why we have the current administration that we have right now. I'm sick of seeing the environmentalists spreading their messages which are full of lies and deceit about the "Western Gray Wolf." The FACT is that these are not Western Gray Wolves at all. They are CANADIAN gray wolves which are a totally different species altogether. It's odd how those same wolves are not endangered in Canada where they came from, but put them on a plane and transport them to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming and they somehow magically become "Endangered." You people who are so in love with the Canadian Wolf, and drive around in cars that burn gasoline and pollute the atmosphere, on those paved roads that make it so easy for you to get around this world, live in houses built from our forests, wear shoes, coats and belts made of leather, and coats stuffed with goose down, think about those wolves the next time you hop into your eco-system destroying car and drive to the local supermarket to buy that T-bone your going to choke down that some rancher worked his butt off for, so you could enjoy your next meal. And when eventually the prices of those T-bones are beyond your pocketbook, well, maybe you can start eating wolf. Jim Scott
These Canadian Grey Wolves are huge in size and wolves are not very nice as they more often than not kill everything they can whether or not they are hungry. This wolf in particular has already killed several human beings in Canada and now one in the US. Parents in New Mexico had to build forts to prevent the wolves from attacking their children at bus stops. These are not your Walt Disney Wolves they are every bit a predator and they are breeding like wildfire. They have moved into California and have been seen as far south as Texas and as far east as Michigan. They are not your cute tame wildlife. They decimated the cariboo herds that were once at 39,000 now down to less than 3,000. They need to be culled and before someone's child is killed unless that is what you Animal Rights nuts are wanting. Oh , Yes I forgot you don't care about human beings. Vet Barnes
at least the canadians got a good laugh. think they got any moose for sale? lousewort rodgers
Wolves, by natures design, kill the old, the weak the genetically infirm. Humans on the other hand kill the best, most beautiful, strongest of the pack. Wyoming, we are appalled at your lack of foresight and the willingness by which you allow yourselves to be manipulated by special interest groups, ranchers and hunters in the name of removing endangered species protection. What you propose is neither 'sportmanship' nor is it ecologically sound. The nation is outraged by your shortsightedness. I am sickened. We declare your economy will not just stumble, but will fall as a result of this ridiculous, unprofessional stand and will fall until rational, informed politics replaces the backward, ill-intentioned, self serving, money grubbing, special interest politics that exists now. D. Elliott
if the nation is so outraged, why aren't other states asking to adopt some of our wolves? Sending wolves east of the Rockies is the moral equivalent of sending children to play in the street. they could live under bridges. lousewort rodgers
It's to bad we can't exterminate ignorance. Jean Reiland
I think someones inner nazi just made an appearance lousewort rodgers
Really ? Grace Kenney
What do you think will happen if the special interest groups get there way? Do you really believe they will not exterminate the wolves again? You want to talk Nazi? Jean Reiland
wolves are here. the introduction program has been a success. the 1% of media hysteria from the far left or right has become redundant, and self-defeating. most people in wy. have the same attitude as the rancher from Shawnee. lets put our big boy/girl pants on and let wy. fish and game figure it out, they know what works for the common good, and the wolf. obviously there is a Wy. out there that you don,t know about. too bad lousewort rodgers
check out Cat Urbigkit,s Wolf Watch if you are looking non-agenda info. lousewort rodgers
People in Wyoming don't care what others think of them or their State. Wy has being doing just fine economically with out the wolf and will continue do so after the Wolf, in fact even better. Wy has been a sportsman paradise since the 1800's and many people form all over this great country pay a lot of money to come experience what Wyoming has to offer. The wolf does not fit into that equation as an uncontrolled killing machine. As mentioned by others. The Canadian Grey wolf is not even native to the lower 48. (maybe should introduce some lions and tigers). Every one has a special interest and belongs to special interest groups, don't look down upon special interest hunting and fishing groups just because you don't happen to agree with it. The sword cuts both ways. Wy has a way of life, economy, and values that are different than many other other parts of the country. We people in Wy tend like it and really don't appreciate others coming to our home and telling us how to live. I don't believe those in other states that have a different life style than WY would appreciate WY residents telling them how to live and manage their home. Wyoming residents and government do an outstanding job caring for the land and wildlife (probably better than almost any other state in the nation. They do it because it is there life and home and they embrace it. They have been doing it for decades without others telling them how to do it. No reason to change now. Larry McCullough
People, learn, the gray wolf was Not the wolf originally in Wyo. The red or timber wolf was, and was half to 3/4 the size, had smaller packs,and larger territory claims per pack. This introduced species is devistating our wild game populations and spreading like wildfire. blizzard

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Nation howls against predator status

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

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