Alan Gregory’s Conservation NewsThe article interestingly enough says that Idaho’s Butch Otter and and Montana’s Brian Schweitzer haven’t bothered to ask Wyoming’s retiring Governor Freudenthal whether Wyoming intends to reconsider.” I’m not sure what to make of that.
Wyoming not apologetic for thwarting wolf plans. Ben Neary Associated Press
There is quite a bit of news on their next hunting season, and I think it is still open for comment.
I think it’s still too soon to say, and too soon on the quotas too. Wolves killed picked up quickly in Idaho as more elk and deer hunts opened. Now the number killed is slowing down, but wait until there is more snow on ground and the wolves can be tracked. Idaho’s hunt goes for months too. What will happen will the wolves, as they have to, come down to the winter range with their prey? They will be easier to see.
I still worry about non-hunt wolf kills by the states. The 23 wolves killed by order of Montana on the Blackfeet Reservoir still has no publicity or explanation. That is 1/4 as many as their state wolf hunt quota.
Poaching, other issues throw wrinkles in state’s wolf hunting quotas. By Michael Jamison. The Missoulian
Idaho sets a limit of 220 for wolf hunt. If hunters harvest that many, the state’s population of wolves could drop almost 25%. By Rodger Phillips. Idaho Statesman.
This headline is a bit misleading because the pups of the next year will replace all, or some of wolves that are killed. I do think the population will drop some over the course to the next year because there will be illegal mortality on top of 220, and the Commissioners made it clear they want Wildlife Services to kill lots of wolves whenever the wolves kill a lamb or a cow calf.
The depredation of livestock will be an excuse. I hope they don’t bait wolves (and, therefore, bears) by encouraging livestock operators to lead even more dead carcasses around than they do.
Ready, Aim, Fire Up Controversy. Idaho Approves Wolf Hunt, Stirs Ruckus. Wolf advocates decried the decision. By Amy Linn. New West.
Idaho F&G commissioners approve hunt of 220 wolves. By John Miller. Associated Press Writer
The lawsuit needs to go on because the Idaho political establishment wants to keep this issue white hot and kill most of the wolves in Idaho. A real hunt that keeps a relatively stable wolf population and slowly defuses the issue is not what they want.
Added on Aug. 19. Idaho wolf hunt set to begin. F&G officials take more cautious approach in setting 2009 quota. By Jason Kauffman. Idaho Mountain Express.
FWP to set wolf quotas Thursday
By EVE BYRON – Independent Record
Montana’s 2009 wolf hunting season could have quotas ranging from 26 to 207 under three options that will be presented to the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission Thursday.
——————
FWP COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM COVER SHEET
Meeting Date: May 14, 2009 Agenda Item: 2009 Tentative Wolf Quotas
Action Needed: Approve Tentative Rule Time Needed for Presentation: 30 minutes
Background: Regulated public harvest of wolves, first endorsed by the Governor’s Wolf Advisory Council in 2000, was included in Montana’s wolf conservation and management plan. In 2001, the Legislature authorized the Commission to reclassify wolves under state law from an endangered species to a species in need of management upon federal delisting. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision to delist the gray wolf in Montana from the Endangered Species Act, will be effective May 4, 2009. Litigation challenging the federal delisting decision is expected. Read the rest of this entry »
Palin may have the worst record on the environment of any candidate for the president or vice presidentcy in history. She won’t even protect Bristol Bay from the huge Pebble Mine (her daughter is named Bristol), and so much of the family’s publicized fishing takes place there.
For those who haven’t heard about the Pebble Mine, check out this web site: Save Bristol Bay: salmon factory of the world.
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Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks looks at hunting quota of 75 wolves for this fall. Gazette News Services.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Contact: Niels Nokkentved 208-334-3746
For Immediate Release
Fish and Game Sets Meetings on Wolf Hunting Rules
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has scheduled a series of public open house meetings around the state to get comments on proposed seasons and rules for Idaho’s first ever wolf hunting season.
Meetings have been set in all seven Idaho Fish and Game regions.
Panhandle Region: Meetings begin at 7 p.m. For information call 208-769-1414.
Send comments to Idaho Fish and Game, 2885 Kathleen Ave., Coeur dAlene, ID. 83815.
Tuesday, May 13, at Sandpoint Community Center, 204 First Avenue, Sandpoint.
Wednesday, May 14, at Silver Lake Motel & Convention Center, 6160 N. Sunshine St. Coeur dAlene.
Thursday, May 15, at St Maries Federal Building, 7th & College, St. Maries.
Wyoming Wolf – ‘Once In A Lifetime.’ Bondurant hunter shares his personal experience with wolves. By Joy Ufford. Sublette Examiner.
Wolf hunters urged to use restraint. By Chris Merrill. Casper Star-Tribune
Some of the supporters of turning 87% of Wyoming into a free-fire zone for wolves seem to be having second thoughts.
And its just not true that there is no wolf habitat in Wyoming’s wolf-are-vermin-zone. The Daniel Pack has formed and reformed time after time. At one time it grow to almost 20 members. The same is true with the Green River Pack at the scenic north end of the Wind River Range. The Wyoming and Salt River Ranges are excellent wolf habitat. There are lots of elk and deer, and they provide a direct route south to Utah and Colorado. Moreover, Elk live year round out on the Red Desert. Other than energy development, most of SW Wyoming is very sparsely populated. Look on Google Earth
In fact this migration corridor is probably one reason this part of Wyoming was put in the predator rather than the trophy game zone — to enforce the relatively new “Kempthorne doctrine” that the Department of Interior no longer lets endangered species reinhabit their traditional ranges.
Don Young of Alaska is one of the most unpleasant and disliked members of the House, much like his cranky Senate counterpart, Ted “Bridge to Nowhere” Stevens.
His tactics on this issue are like his tactics on all issues — mean. Fortunately, polls shows voters in Alaska might be ready to finally defeat him.
The dog issue is a phoney. A handful to maybe a dozen dogs are killed by wolves in the wolf states each year. Almost all are hunting hounds that intrude into wolf territories while chasing bears or cougars. Think of how many dogs there are!
Young is angry for another reason, George Miller is sponsoring a bill to ban hunting wolves from aircraft over federal lands in Alaska.
Reps. Young and Miller in Dog Fight Over Wolves. Washington Post. The Sleuth (a column by Mary Ann Akers)
Montana FWP has is having 44 (!) public meetings about their state wolf hunting plan — a plan more cautious (probably) than Idaho or Wyoming.
Last night at the meeting in Bozeman, Norm Bishop was one who testified. Bishop was a legendary figure as an intepretive naturalist at Yellowstone before his retirement (he still is!).
I thought folks would want to read his testimony because these points needs to be made by more than one.
__________________
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks January 8, 2008
Attn: Wildlife Division
Public Comment
P.O. Box 200701
Helena, MT 59620
Thanks for the opportunity to comment on Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks tentative regulations for hunting wolves. I am fully in accord with the citizen-developed Montana Wolf Management Plan, and commend FWP for engaging the public in the planning for wolf management. Read the rest of this entry »
The Idaho wolf population management plan open house at Pocatello was a low key affair with about 45 people (excluding the Idaho Fish and Game staff). There were a lot of skeptical questions about the plan — how it was constructed, whether it would really maintain a large population of wolves, the length of the wolf hunting season, why the wolf tag price was so low, and I thought most interesting, the fact that the whole thing is based on the notion of conflicts between wolves and livestock and big game.
When Steve Nadeau, large carnivore coordinator for Idaho, said the wolf conflicts with livestock were on the rise with 200* dead sheep and 23 dead cattle (mostly calves) in 2006, it seemed no one was impressed that this was any sort of conflict level about which to base a hunting plan. When Nadeau replied that maybe 7 times as many cattle were really killed by wolves but not confirmed, it still didn’t seem to impress folks as very many cattle, and because Nadeau couldn’t point to any elk problems outside the Lolo and Selway, conflict between wolves and big games seemed like an odd way to base a plan. Nadeau then said the foundation of the plan (on conflict) was due to the earlier Idaho Wolf Conservation Plan.
I asked why all DAU’s (the wolf management areas) were slated for a decrease in wolf numbers or of stabilizing their numbers? Wouldn’t a balanced plan have some increase numbers goals too, especially in areas adjacent to SW Montana and Wyoming so that genetic interchange could take place?
A member of the audience and the interchange made it clear the plan was not supported by Defenders of Wildlife or the Idaho Conservation League, although both were among the “stakeholder” groups that participated. Nadeau said he assumed that when the wolf was delisted in March, Defenders would then sue.
Many other issues were raised, but neither the television station nor the newspaper did anything more that report what Idaho Fish and Game said. Note. The Idaho State Journal will be doing a followup on the Pocatello meeting.
To me, and I would guess most others, it was apparent the important decisions will be made at the March Idaho Fish and Game commissioner’s meeting, such as how large the first hunt will be — number of tags and whether the hunt will be general or limited to areas so they can test the effects and side-effects of a hunt before going for a statewide hunting season?
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Addition, Nadeau said he thought maybe having a wolf hunt would reduce the anti-wolf feeling among many. Those who got good at killing wolves, and he stressed how valuable a pelt is, would lobby for keeping more wolves around. Of course, if you want good pelts, you don’t hunt them August through November. The season should be December, January, Februrary
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* Nadeau said the sheep figures were probably accurate because shepherds watch and know when a wolf has been in the sheep.
Hunting for wolves. By Nicholas K. Geranios. AP
Wolf hunt is part of the package for Montana delisting. Opinion. Daily InterLake
Montana FWP is planning a wolf hunt after delisting, as the opinion happily indicates.
However, FWP has invited wolf conservation groups for their views along with other groups. That is very unlike Idaho.
I also get the impression that a first Montana wolf hunt may be quite experimental and limited in scope because the Commission understands there could be unanticipated side effects of a hunt, and ones not desireable from many points of view. So best to base plans on knowledge, not folk wisdom.
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