Gray Wolf News "The latest in the Wolf Wars"

[bearpaw]

Hunters in Wyoming kill 33 wolves toward quota of 52
 
Associated Press Nov. 12, 2012
 
CHEYENNE— Hunters have killed at least 33 wolves in northwest Wyoming since the start of the state's first wolf hunt six weeks ago.
 
As of Monday, three hunt areas had been closed to further wolf hunting after hunters reached their local kill limits. Nine other hunt areas remained open.
 
The statewide limit for this year's hunt is 52 wolves. The trophy hunting season ends Dec. 31. That means licensed hunters have until the end of the year to kill 19 more wolves.
 
The federal government removed wolves from endangered species protection in Wyoming in August. This is Wyoming's first trophy hunt since wolves were reintroduced to the Yellowstone ecosystem in the mid-1990s.
 
The trophy hunting season began Oct. 1.

[bearpaw]

Coalition of environmental groups sue over ending federal protections for Wyoming wolves
 
BEN NEARY  Associated Press November 13, 2012
 
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A coalition of environmental groups is suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the agency's decision to end federal protections for wolves in Wyoming.
 
Groups including the Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday in Washington, D.C. The groups claim the federal wildlife agency violated the Endangered Species Act by approving the state of Wyoming's wolf management plan.
 
Wyoming took over wolf management on Oct. 1 after promising to maintain at least 10 breeding pairs of wolves and at least 100 wolves outside of Yellowstone National Park.
 
Wyoming classifies wolves as predators that can be shot on sight in more than 80 percent of state. The state also allows regulated hunting of wolves as trophy game in a zone outside Yellowstone National Park.
-- --
 
Full story:
 
http://tinyurl.com/bhxadce

[bearpaw]

Tribes opposed to possibility of Michigan wolf hunting season
 
By Rebecca Williams Michigan Radio Nov. 13, 2012
 
We reported last week that Michigan lawmakers are considering legislation to make gray wolves a game species (State Representative Matt Huuki (R-Atlantic Mine) introduced HB 5834. Senator Tom Casperson (R-Escanaba) introduced a similar bill (SB 1350) in the state Senate). These bills would make it possible to have a hunting and trapping season for wolves.
 
SB 1350 cleared a Senate committee late last week.  It now moves to the full Senate.
 
But a number of tribes in Michigan are opposed to a wolf hunt and that could hold the process up.
 
I talked with reporter Bob Allen from Interlochen Public Radio - he's been following this story as it develops. You can listen to our conversation above, or read the transcript below.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/b9jdyny

[bearpaw]

The Wolf Is Already At The Door!
 
by Toby Bridges - Lobo Watch November 13, 2012
 
The LOBO WATCH website, which was launched in 2008, has been received differently by the two distinctly opposite sides of the wolf issue - which have been labeled "anti-wolf" and "pro-wolf". On one side of that fence, you'll find the sportsmen of this country who pretty much footed the bill for early wildlife conservation efforts that brought big game populations back from the brink of being lost forever. On that same side, you'll also find rural residents, farmers and ranchers, many of whom work the land to produce livestock and crops for feeding this country - and much of the world. On the "pro-wolf" side of the fence are mostly those who oppose hunting, and those who want to eliminate large scale free market ranching and farming.
 
... First, it should be pointed out that most of those who have been deemed "anti-wolf" are far from being totally against wolves. What many are against is simply allowing large predator populations to continue to grow and expand their range - destroying harvestable wildlife resources that took nearly a hundred years to restore to record levels. While wolves have made the single largest impact on elk, moose and deer populations in the Northern Rockies, and to big game herds in the Upper Midwest, other large predators including mountain lions, black bears and grizzly bears also add greatly to the depredation of the game that millions of American families rely on for food. The sportsmen of this country, along with those who derive their living and partially their sustenance from the land really don't hate the wolf. What they hate are radical environmental and animal rights groups, which have never helped finance true wildlife conservation in this country - those who now feel the bounty of game rebuilt since the early 1900s should be thrown to the wolves and other predators.
 
Those who call themselves "pro-wolf" are far from that as well. Hiding behind names like the "Defenders of Wildlife" or the "Center for Biological Diversity", these so-called "Non Profit Organizations" are also far from being nonprofit. They are anything but. Each of these groups, and there are several dozen of them, manage to beg or con hundreds of thousands of donors out of millions of dollars every year.
 
In 2009, the Defenders of Wildlife had a total income of just over $32-million - very little of which was actually spent on "Defending Wildlife". Much of that money was spent on fundraising to keep the cash flow very much in their favor. This organization was also a member of the environmental "Dirty Fakers Dozen" (13 environmental groups) which kept wolf management tied up in court, allowing fast growing numbers of the predators to destroy the elk herds in the Northern Rockies. Their No. 1 money maker was suing the U.S. Government, and between 2003 and 2008 the Defenders of Wildlife and other similar groups filed more than 1,500 such lawsuits, and through an extremely raped federal program known as the Equal Access to Justice Act these groups carted off an estimated $4.7-billion U.S. taxpayer dollars - in restitution and for reimbursement of extremely padded legal expenses.
 
It's not about being "pro-wolf", or saving wildlife - it's about money.
 
Continued:
http://www.lobowatch.com/adminclient/WolfWar8/go

[bearpaw]

Hunter kills alpha female of Yellowstone Park's Lamar Pack
 
Wyoming wildlife officials said that a female wolf known to researchers as 832F, the oft-photographed alpha female of the Lamar Canyon Pack in Yellowstone National Park, was shot and killed by a hunter outside the park on Thursday.
 
New York Times; December 10, 2012
 
http://tinyurl.com/9wsp3ws

[bearpaw]

Montana FWP to consider restrictions on wolf trapping near Yellowstone
 
At the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission meeting today, commissioners will consider putting new restrictions on trapping around Yellowstone National Park, after seven of the park's 88 wolves were killed outside the park during hunting seasons in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
 
Ravalli Republic; December 10, 2012
 
http://tinyurl.com/bn89qwg

[bearpaw]

Montana FWP ends wolf hunt in counties near Yellowstone Park
 
On Monday, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission voted to end the state's wolf hunting and trapping season in areas east and west of Gardiner north of Yellowstone National Park.
 
Flathead Beacon; December 11, 2012
 
http://tinyurl.com/ctchtec

[bearpaw]

Popular Science Calls Wyoming ‘A Lunatic State’ for Hunting Wolves
 
By Kari Eakins KOWB1290 December 11, 2012
 
“Stop Shooting Wolves, You Maniacs.”
 
That’s the message and title of an article published on Popular Science’s website on Monday afternoon.
 
http://tinyurl.com/bnhfhse

[bearpaw]

Environmentalists push for wolf reforms
 
Tuesday, 11 Dec 2012 Deanna Sauceda (KRQE)
 
ALBUQUERQUE - Environmentalists have filed another lawsuit as they push for reforms of the federal government's troubled effort to reintroduce Mexican gray wolves in the American southwest.
     
The latest lawsuit centers on a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service to reject a petition that sought the classification of Mexican wolves as an endangered subspecies.
     
The Center for Biological Diversity says specific protection is needed for wolves living in the wild in New Mexico and Arizona.

[bearpaw]

Fewer than 10 Wolves Remain in Wis. Hunt
 
12/11/2012 Associated Press
 
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A fourth wolf-hunting zone is closing in Wisconsin.
 
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources says hunting and trapping of wolves in Zone 5 covering parts of central Wisconsin will be closing at 9 a.m. Wednesday. With that closing, only Zone 3 and Zone 6 remain open to wolf hunting.
 
The DNR says it expects Zone 6 to close soon as it is one wolf away from meeting its quota.
 
The DNR encourages hunters to check daily for updates.
 
The quota in Zone 5 was 23 wolves. The 23rd wolf was harvested on Monday, which triggered the closing process. The goal was to harvest 116 wolves during the state's inaugural hunt this year which began Oct. 15 and will close Feb. 28 or when harvest goals are reached.

[bearpaw]

Wyoming trapper's Facebook photos prompt federal investigation
 
After an employee with Casper-based Wyoming Wildlife Services posted photos on his Facebook page of ensnared coyotes and other predators being harassed by dogs, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which is a branch of the United States Department of Agriculture and the agency that oversees Wildlife Services, launched an investigation.
 
Casper Star-Tribune; December 7, 2012
 
http://tinyurl.com/bcc4off
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
 
Wyoming county's trappers have killed hundreds of coyotes this year
 
Coyotes take a bite out of Wyoming's sheep industry, with an estimated 10,900 sheep reportedly killed by coyotes last year. In fiscal year 2012, Natrona County's three hired trappers have struck back, killing 1,568 coyotes.
 
Casper Star-Tribune; December 11, 2012
 
http://tinyurl.com/bpu5d54

[bearpaw]

Gray wolf season closes
 
By MacLeod Hageman Dec 11, 2012 KULR8
 
BILLINGS - The gray wolf hunting season closed in select areas.
 
It was shut down north of Yellowstone National Park in the Gardiner area, because several collared wolves have been shot during the 2012 season. Those kills affect FWP's tracking and research, but spokesperson, Bob Gibson, said it's not illegal to shoot a collared wolf. "If somebody sees a wolf and if there are in an area where that season is open they are perfectly legal to shoot that wolf, trap that wolf or take that wolf," Gibson said.
 
Gibson said the gray wolf hunting season generally runs from October through February. He said hunting or trapping gray wolves in restricted areas is a misdemeanor offense.

[bearpaw]

Scientists Mourn Popular Wolf Shot By A Hunter
 
By Elizabeth Shogren December 12, 2012 - WFIT
 
The most popular wolf in Yellowstone National Park was shot by a hunter last week, a big blow to scientists and many wildlife enthusiasts who loved following her story.
 
"She was very recognizable, and she was unique and everybody knew her," says biologist Douglas Smith.
 
The animal known as 832F had a beautiful gray coat and was the alpha female of the Lamar Canyon pack. Smith has followed this wolf for years but only got to put a tracking collar on her in February.
 
"I tried to catch her for several years prior to doing it, and she was so smart we couldn't. We do it with a helicopter, we dart them, we fly in on them. And she used the landscape to her advantage," Smith says. "I watched her. And every other wolf is running, she's watching, figuring out the next move to get away from us."
 
Smith says that's an extraordinary wolf.
 
Continued:
http://www.wfit.org/post/scientists-mourn-popular-wolf-shot-hunter

[bearpaw]

All Yellowstone Park wolf GPS collared wolves were killed in the wolf hunt.
 
By Ralph Maughan On December 12, 2012  The Wildlife News
 
Montana and Wyoming hunts ruin Park’s study of how many elk wolves eat, wolf movements, pack territories
 
http://tinyurl.com/b7capgc
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
 
Teton collared wolves killed
 
Rash of killings of wandering park wolves spark calls for hunt buffer zones.
 
By Mike Koshmrl, Jackson Hole, Wyo. December 12, 2012
 
Hunters have killed two radio-collared wolves that roamed Grand Teton National Park, localizing a debate about the legal killing of “park” wolves used for research.
 
Details about the animals are few because a state statute prevents the park from releasing wolf-specific information, Grand Teton spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said. A look at harvests in hunt areas bordering the park shows that it’s likely many more Grand Teton wolves have been killed. Wyoming Game and Fish Department harvest data shows 13 wolves reported killed in hunt areas bordering the park.
 
For wildlife managers, the portion of those that were park wolves is inconsequential and biologically insignificant. Because wolves range great distances, the loss of those that use the parks is unavoidable.
 
The deaths of well-known wolves and sound wolf management are different issues, said Mike Jimenez, wolf management and science coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
 
Continued:
http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/print.php?art_id=9341&pid=news

[bearpaw]

Hunting and trapping of wolves closed in Wolf Zone 5, effective Wednesday, Dec. 12, 9 a.m.
 
Wednesday, December 12, 2012 Price County Daily
 
MADISON - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has closed Wolf Harvest Zone 5 to hunting and trapping of gray wolves effective 9 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012.
 
Wolf Harvest Zone 5 is the fourth zone to be closed this season. The harvest of wolves currently remains open in two other zones. The department will continue to closely monitor the harvest in the remaining zones and does expect zone 6 to close soon. Wolf hunters and trappers should check daily for additional zone closures.
 
“The harvest trend in Zone 5 has been steady prior to the deer season, but has slowed down since then. Now with the quota achieved we will close the zone to any additional harvest,” said Kurt Thiede, DNR Lands Division Administrator. “This is Wisconsin’s inaugural season. We are learning much about hunter and trapper success rates that will help us draft permanent rules that continue to move the wolf population down toward goals set in our state wolf management plan.”
 
“We will be considering harvest trends as we approach quotas in other zones as well. Our ultimate goal is to reduce the wolf population by 116 animals, distributed across the landscape,” said Thiede.
 
The state wolf harvest quota for Zone 5 was set at 23 wolves and the closure process was initiated when the 23rd wolf was harvested on Dec. 10, 2012. Wolf hunters and trappers are advised that they can continue to pursue wolves in zones 3 and 6, but are urged to watch zone 6 closely because the zone is within one wolf of its quota.
 
When additional zones are closed, the Wisconsin DNR will announce such closures by news releases, notification on the Wisconsin DNR web site, and on the wolf call-in number, 1-855-299-9653. It is the hunter’s and trapper’s responsibility to check for and know about zone closures. DNR encourages hunters and trappers to check the website or the call-in number daily.