Hearing in Helena, MT mostly supports wolf delisting

Only 18 people spoke. 12 favored delisting. Those opposing delisting took that position not so much because of what would happen in Montana, but because of the negative stance of Idaho and Wyoming toward wolf management.

Story on delisting in the Great Falls Tribune

Story in the Helena Independent Record.

Here is an example why these folks might be concerned about the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s delisting proposal for Wyoming. Under the delisting rules proposed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, outside of a portion of NW Wyoming, this kind of Cowboy State wolf management (tearing a wolf apart) would be perfectly legal. Wolves would be classified as “predators” to be killed at will by any method desired. Of course this wouldn’t happen (think ATVs).

It is of Wyoming wolf management in 1887. Photograph by John C. H. Grabill. From the Grabill Collection. Library of Congress

Update: Here is the story from the Bozeman Chronicle. Wolf delisting sparks controversy at Helena meeting.
[link has expired] By Scott McMillion. The crowd was larger than I thought, although just 18 spoke. As a result I changed the headline to this post.

1905 Montana legislature’s action spread mange throughout Montana and Wyoming

Billings Gazette reporter Mike Stark has finally done the needed spade work to come up with the story of how mange was spread into the canid population of the area, including now one wolf pack in Yellowstone.

Mange threatening wolves. By Mike Stark. Billings Gazette.

Idaho Elk farm regulation bill held up while elk farmers decide how much they want to regulate themselves

The great effort to clean up or abolish the Idaho elk farms have come down to a dispute between the elk farmers who want a little regulation and those who want none.

Story: Seeking compromise, House Speaker holds up elk bill: Game breeders disagree among themselves on how stringent proposed regulations should be. Idaho Statesman. By Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer. The Associated Press