Gray Wolf News "The latest in the Wolf Wars"

[bearpaw]

April 6, 2013
 
Panhandle wolf season ends
 
April 4, 2013 CdA Press [Idaho]
 
The wolf hunting and trapping seasons closed March 31 in most parts of the state, including the Panhandle.
 
As of April 1, hunters had killed 192 wolves and trappers 114 for a total of 306 wolves. Last year, hunters and trappers killed 379 wolves.
 
In the Panhandle 17 were harvested by hunting and 49 by trapping.
 
The wolf hunting season remains open in the Lolo and Selway wolf management zones, and trapping is now closed.
 
Last week, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Commission extended the current wolf hunting season in the Middle Fork and part of the Dworshak-Elk City wolf management zones.
 
The commission extended the wolf hunting season through June 30 in the Middle Fork units 20A, 26 and 27 and in the part of the Dworshak-Elk-City Unit 16 north of the Selway River. These seasons were scheduled to end March 31.
 
For information see http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/wildlife/wolves/
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Shock! In Wyoming It’s Legal to Slaughter Wolf Pups in Their Dens.
 
Endangered in some states and fair game in this one, wolves have long been the victims of human cruelty - and there may be more on the way.
 
By Maria Goodavage April 3, 2013 - Take Part
 
The term “wolf denning” sounds kind of warm and fuzzy, doesn’t it? It conjures up images of a wolf mom with various members of the pack nurturing new pups that do nothing but sleep, eat, and play in the den.
 
But I recently learned that “wolf denning” refers to the killing of wolf pups in or near their dens.
 
In many parts of the U.S., wolves are still protected by the federal endangered species act, but in certain areas where reintroduction efforts in the mid-1990s have been successful, the animals are fair game.
 
According to Defenders of Wildlife’s John Motsinger, since October 2012 Wyoming has allowed wolves to be killed year-round, without a license and by almost any means, across 85 percent of the state—the so-called “predator zone.”
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/bpfl87x
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Madison resident hopes to bring voice of non-hunters to Conservation Congress
 
by Ron Seely - Wisconsin State Journal April 6, 2013
 
With recent months having brought everything from the state's first wolf hunt to a noisy debate over trapping and hunting in state parks, non-hunters and animal activists in Wisconsin are arguing that powerful hunting groups are wielding too much influence with the state Legislature and the Department of Natural Resources.
 
Now, some of those activists are hoping to crash the party of one of state's most influential pro-hunting groups — the Wisconsin Conservation Congress.
 
Melissa Smith, a Madison resident who has helped lead opposition to wolf hunting in the state, has declared herself a candidate for the Conservation Congress, a popular statewide organization that advises the state Department of Natural Resources on outdoor sporting issues.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/coqsaxj
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Poisoned meatballs found in central Idaho, 1 dog sickened
 
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS April 06, 2013
 
SALMON, Idaho — State and federal authorities say 10 poisoned meatballs have been found in central Idaho near Salmon.
 
Officials with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management issued the warning Friday after a pet dog was treated by a veterinarian after eating poisoned bait. The dog is expected to recover.
 
Officials tell KIFI-TV (http://bit.ly/17j0mFw) there could be more of the poisoned meatballs in the Badger Basin area.

[bearpaw]

April 7, 2013
 
The first year of a wolf, from conception
 
by Rich Landers April 3, 2013 The Spokesman-Review
 
Northern Rockies gray wolf packs are highly structured socially.   Only the alpha male and alpha female breed.
 
Generally, according to Washington Fish and Wildlife biologists:
 
* Mating occurs in January.
 
* Pups are born in dens in April and the pack supports the nursing mother with food.
 
* The female and pups begin uniting with the pack at a rendezvous site in May.
 
* Pups are weaned in June.
 
* By October, the pups are actively hunting with the pack.
 
* By December, the pups appear full size and some older wolves may have been dispersed from the pack to take care of themselves and find new mates and territories. 
 
* Wolf packs are known to kill other wolves as they expand or defend territories averaging 350 square miles. Dispersing wolves are especially vulnerable.
 
A pack is defined as a minimum of two wolves hanging out together.
 
A breeding pack must have a minimum of one male and one female wolf hanging out together during the winter breeding period.
 
Source w/photo:
http://tinyurl.com/c8d4q5j
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Decline in wolves? Not bloody likely
 
Daily Inter Lake March 28, 2013
 
One probably shouldn’t read too much into a state report indicating that Montana’s wolf population declined slightly last year for the first in almost a decade.
 
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is reporting that the state ended 2012 with at least 625 wolves in 147 packs roaming the landscape, roughly a 4 percent decline from 653 animals in the 2011 minimum count.
 
The key words here are “at least” and “minimum count.”
 
Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials have long stressed that the counts represent the number of wolves that were visually observed, mostly by tracking packs that contained wolves bearing radio collars. They also acknowledge there are actually more wolves than the counts indicate.
 
And that stands to reason, considering that counting depends on getting radio collars in the field through trapping efforts that may be more or less successful from one year to the next.
 
The main reason for having minimum counts is to ensure that populations do not drop below a desired population threshold. State officials say about 400 to 500 are needed to maintain a sustainable population. Wolf hunting and trapping quotas were lifted across most of the state last year, but those limits could return if the minimum drops below the target threshold.
 
That seems highly unlikely though, considering how successful wolves have been at re-establishing themselves at the top of the food chain in Montana.
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[denali]

http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2013/apr/09/wolf-wary-rancher-fences-in-cattle/

WENATCHEE — Ross Hurd spent last week building fences on his family's cattle ranch and then brought their cows home from the open range over the weekend.

Normally the roughly 60 head of cattle and crop of spring calves would be roaming the 5,000-acre Hurd ranch south of Wenatchee until early May, when they are rounded up for branding.

Hurd and his brothers are being forced to make some changes after two wolves showed up last month.

“The state wants us to put fences around them and keep them there for awhile, so we’re doing it,” Hurd said Friday.

The Hurds have not seen any evidence of the wolves in nearly two weeks. But Ross Hurd said he and wildlife officials expect that they will be back.

“The biologist said that once they set their territory they will come back,” he said. “So we’re going to be prepared for them. Hopefully we’ll have the cows out of their range in a protected area.”

“The game plan is that we make sure the cattle do not become wolf feed and, hopefully when the deer and elk migrate up into the hills the wolves will follow them.”

Hurd said that if and when state wildlife biologists are able to get tracking collars on one or both of the wolves, then they can allow their cows to use open range but bring them in when state biologists tell them the wolves are getting close.

“It’s not easy to round them all up,” Hurd said. “But at least it’s a plan we can live with.”

The wolves were first spotted on the Hurd’s property about two weeks ago, when state wildlife officers went there to investigate a dead cow. Before that, remote cameras set up on the property captured images of two wolves scavenging an elk carcass.

Hurd said 14 deer, two bull elk and one pregnant cow died on his property within the span of a few weeks while the wolves were known to be there. Wildlife officers have not confirmed that the wolves killed any of the animals, but did say they scavenged the elk and cow after they died.

By Monday afternoon, he’d rounded up and fenced in the majority of the herd. Just one adult cow was still unaccounted for, he said. But they won’t know for another month whether there is any noticeable decline in the number of calves.

Hurd said his family has been ranching in the canyon for more than 100 years and this is the first time they’ve had to fence in cows because of predators. When they used to raise sheep, they penned them to protect against domestic dogs and coyotes, though.

“Wolves are going to be the hardest predator to deal with, I think,” he said. “We just don’t know what the outcome will be. But we’re trying to prepare for them being here the best we can.”

Michelle McNiel: 664-7152

[denali]

Wolf management options remain alive at Capitol

By STEVE BROWN

Capital Press

OLYMPIA -- Two wolf-related proposals are still getting attention in the Washington State Capitol, their backers say.

Senate Bill 5187, sponsored by Sen. John Smith, R-Colville, would authorize the owner of livestock to kill a gray wolf without a permit or license if it is attacking or threatening livestock or another domestic animal.

SB5193, also a Smith bill, would allow the State Wildlife Account to be used for compensating owners of livestock for damage caused by wolves. It also would create a new account to be used for the mitigation, assessment and payment of claims for livestock losses due to wolf predation, and it would remove the condition that a livestock owner must raise livestock for sale to qualify for wildlife damage compensation.

The first, because it's a policy bill, essentially died in committee, Smith said. "However, because 5193 has a financial element, it can still be brought forward, and its title is broad enough to include 5187," he said. "We're still discussing options in how they can move forward."

"We've heard some support from the governor's office and his natural resource policy folks, and they're having some conversation," Tom Davis, director of government relations for the Washington State Farm Bureau, said. "As wolves continue to recover in the northeastern part of the state, it is critical that additional tools be made available for the landowners most impacted by wolves."

April 17 is the last day to consider bills from the opposite house. Lawmakers will still be able to consider initiatives and alternatives to initiatives, budgets and matters necessary to implement budgets, differences between the houses and matters incident to the interim and closing of the session.

Other legislation still active:

* HB1113, requiring the Department of Ecology to identify beforehand any peer-reviewed science it relied on in preparing a significant agency action, passed both the House and the Senate unanimously.

* HB1209, extending the program establishing Christmas tree grower licensure, passed both the House and the Senate with one dissenting vote.

* HB1770, allowing the appointment of nonvoting advisory members to commodity boards, passed both the House and the Senate unanimously.

* HB1950, designating certain hydroelectric generation from a generation facility located in irrigation pipes, irrigation canals and wastewater pipes as an eligible renewable resource, awaits a vote in the Senate.

* SB5078, modifying the property tax exemption for nonprofit fairs, awaits a vote by the House.

* SB5767, requiring the Department of Agriculture, upon request by a licensed milk producer, to issue an official individual identification tag (green tag) for bull calves and free-martins under 30 days of age, has passed both the Senate and the House with two dissenting votes.

[bearpaw]

April 8, 2013
 
Wildlife official says wolves unlikely to thrive outside Wyoming’s northwestern corner
 
April 8, 2013 The Missoulian
 
CODY, WYO. — After nearly two decades since their reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park, population trends show that gray wolves are unlikely to thrive in sections of Wyoming outside the northwestern corner of the state.
 
Many wolf supporters remain dissatisfied with Wyoming’s so-called “dual status” management approach, which classifies wolves as trophy game in the area around Yellowstone and as predators elsewhere. But a state wildlife official said Thursday that policy changes won’t have much effect on wolf numbers across most of the state.
 
Relatively poor habitat and higher rates of development make most of Wyoming a place where wolves have had—and will continue to experience—trouble establishing thriving packs, said Mark Bruscino, supervisor of the large carnivore section of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
 
Bruscino spoke about the past and future of wolf management in Wyoming during a lecture at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/cm77xu9
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Endangered Wolf Center Calls Upon Mexican Gray Wolf to Help Raise Funds
 
BY cheryl hughey Monday, April 08, 2013 - StL Today
 
In a creative move that supports their animal-centered approach, the Endangered Wolf Center has chosen Apache, a Mexican gray wolf, to serve as their spokesperson for their annual campaign.
 
Apache was born on May 2, 1998 to Cheech and Juanita at the Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka, Mo. As the elder statesman of the Center, Apache is a living tribute to the successful reintroduction of Mexican gray wolves to North America.
 
“There are only 75 Mexican gray wolves remaining in the wild. This wolf is the most endangered mammal in North America and the Center has been making great strides reintroducing them back into the wilderness. Every Mexican gray wolf in the wild can trace its lineage back to the Endangered Wolf Center,” said Regina Mossotti, Director of Animal Care and Conservation.
 
Donations for the Endangered Wolf Center’s annual fund can be made by visiting their website at www.endangeredwolfcenter.org, by calling 636-938-5900 or by mailing a check directly to the 501c(3) at P.O. Box 760, Eureka, Mo. 63025.
 
Source:
http://interact.stltoday.com/pr/non-profits/PR040813101512468
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Wolf-dog still missing from Rist Canyon sanctuary
 
April 8, 2013 The Coloradoan
 
A female wolf-dog is still missing after escaping her enclosure at W.O.L.F Sanctuary in Rist Canyon Sunday morning.
 
“Cree” is about 8 years old, around 62 pounds and has reddish white and brown coloring, according to sanctuary manager Steve Shaffer.
 
W.O.L.F. Sanctuary, or Wolves Offered Life and Friendship, is a 180-acre sanctuary that rescues and cares for nearly 30 captive-bred wolves and wolf-dogs, providing a permanent home for the animals at the sanctuary after rescue.
 
Cree came to the sanctuary from Arizona on Friday and still is recovering from being spayed Saturday. Sanctuary staff said she’s the first animal to escape the sanctuary and that they believe she came over the top of the enclosure.
 
“This is an isolated incident and our enclosures are keeping our animals safe and contained,” said Executive Director Shelley Coldiron. “Cree became the exception... We’re making modifications to her enclosure to prevent her from being able to do this again.”
 
Shaffer said the wolf-dog was named upon arrival and likely won’t respond to her name. Cree is “extremely afraid” of people and will run if approached.
 
All residents in the area have been notified and sanctuary staff are searching for her.
 
If you think you see Cree, don’t attempt to catch her, Shaffer added. Instead, call W.O.L.F. at (970) 416-9531.
 
“Wolves and wolf-dogs don’t get aggressive unless they’re cornered,” Shaffer said. “If people try to catch her, she’s just going to run. Give us a call and let us herd her back.”
 
[Note: story is from a subscription site, hat tip to "R" for sharing.]

[bearpaw]

April 9, 2013
 
Local YP Wolf Report
 
A black wolf was seen near the Yellow Pine Campground a couple of days ago.
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Another Mexican gray wolf found dead in Southwest
 
04/09/2013 The Associated Press
 
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Another Mexican gray wolf has been found dead in the Southwest, but federal officials have refused to provide any details.
 
The wolf reintroduction team confirmed in its latest monthly report that the male wolf died in March.
 
However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees the troubled wolf program, would not say where the animal was found or how it might have died. This marks what is believed to be the second death this year of an endangered Mexican gray wolf.
 
In January, an employee with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services shot what officials described as a "canine."
 
The employee reported the shooting because the animal looked like a Mexican wolf after closer inspection. Tests are being done, but federal officials have been tightlipped about the case.

[bearpaw]

April 10, 2013
 
Wolf population drops in state
 
10 packs documented in southern Idaho mountains
 
By KATHERINE WUTZ Idaho Mountain Express April 10, 2013
 
The number of wolves in Idaho continued to drop in 2013, even as the number of packs in the state increased.
 
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game released its annual wolf monitoring report Tuesday. The report states not only the estimated population of wolves in Idaho but the number of packs and the estimated number of pups that were born this year and survived.
 
The report states that the Idaho wolf population fell 11 percent between December 2011 and December 2012. The report states that a decline in pack sizes is likely due to wolf harvest and depredation control (wolves killed by wildlife officials for killing livestock).
 
The agency estimated that there were about 683 wolves in Idaho at the end of 2012; down from 768 in 2011 and 777 in 2010. The population rose steadily between reintroduction in 1995 and 1996, when populations were 14 wolves and 42 wolves, respectively. Numbers climbed to a peak of 856 in 2009, then fell sharply with the first state-allowed wolf hunt in 2009-10.
 
Continued:
http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005146824
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Fourteen Wyoming wolves harvested in 2013
 
by Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online! April 10, 2013
 
Fourteen wolves have been killed in Wyoming's predator zone as of March 29, 2013, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Hunting within the trophy game area is currently closed, and the 2013 hunting seasons will be set by the WG&F Commission in July 2013.
 
Last year there were 42 wolves killed in the trophy game season, and an additional 25 wolves killed in the predator zone. There were also two wolves illegally killed after the hunt areas were closed in 2012.
 
Wyoming Game and Fish Department - Check here for hunting quota updates.
http://wgfd.wyo.gov/web2011/HUNTING-1000743.aspx
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Fences installed to protect cattle from wolves
 
Brett Wessler, Drovers Cattle Network 04/10/2013
 
A Washington state cattle producer is taking extra precautions to ensure his herd’s safety after wolves were spotted near the ranch.
 
Ross Hurd’s cattle are typically given 5,000 acres to roam during the spring until early May when the 60-head herd is collected for branding. This year Hurd has consolidated his herd to a smaller fenced section of his ranch south of Wenatchee, Wash. due to two gray wolves seen nearby.
 
Late last month, Hurd lost a pregnant cow and thought the two wolves might be responsible. An investigation by state wildlife biologists concluded the wolves were not responsible, but action may be needed if the wolves develop a taste for beef.
 
“We’re just kind of on pins and needles hoping that this livestock operator doesn’t have any more issues with dead cows,” said Matt Monda, regional wildlife program manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife told the Yakima Herald. “Once wolves learn that livestock is a meal, then we will have to go in and take action.”
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/cv8ar6h
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Wolf-hunt fees to compensate farmers for livestock losses
 
April 9, 2013 By Heidi Clausen - The Country Today
 
STONE LAKE — Revenue generated via application and license sales in the 2012 Wisconsin wolf-hunting season will help compensate farmers who have lost livestock as a result of wolf depredation.
 
David Ruid, wildlife biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said 117 wolves were harvested last year in Wisconsin.
 
The approximately $289,000 raised through fees will be used to reimburse producers for livestock they’ve lost to wolf attacks.
 
“There’s an earmark now for compensation,” Ruid said. “Claims won’t be paid until the next year when they know what revenue was generated. If you have a loss today, you won’t get a check until 2014.”
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/cszxrbf
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No dogs in Wisconsin wolf hunt, outdoorsmen vote
 
Associated Press 04/10/2013
 
Wisconsin outdoor enthusiasts who attended the Conservation Congress' spring hearings narrowly voted to ban wolf hunters from using dogs, even though they overwhelmingly approved new regulations governing the practice on the same ballot.
 
The congress is an influential group of sportsmen who advise the Department of Natural Resources on policy. Every year the congress holds statewide hearings and asks attendees to vote on a number of outdoor issues.
 
This spring's ballot asked attendees if they supported new regulations for wolf hunters who use dogs and if they supported legislation prohibiting dog use.
 
Attendees overwhelmingly supported the regulations. But they voted 2,631 to 2,494 in favor of legislation ending dog use on wolves.
 
Larry Bonde is vice chairman of the congress. He said he can't explain the dichotomy.
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State officials to recommend a wolf hunt in the Upper Peninsula
 
By Steve Carmody Michigan Public Media April 10, 2013
 
State wildlife officials plan to recommend Thursday that Michigan hold a wolf hunt this Fall in the U.P.
 
Gray wolves in Michigan were until recently listed as an endangered species. There are about 700 wolves in Michigan. Farmers say the growing wolf population is a threat to livestock.
 
The Michigan Natural Resources Commission will receive a recommendation to kill 47 wolves, as part of a hunt, focused in three parts of the Upper Peninsula. The commission may vote next month to set the dates for a wolf hunt.
 
Those opposed to the proposed wolf hunt complain the animal’s population is still too small and a hunt could cause permanent damage.
 
One group has collected over a quarter million signatures on petitions to put the issue on the 2014 ballot.

[bearpaw]

April 11, 2013
 
Wyoming Game and Fish Department proposes cut in wolf quota after last year's successful hunt
 
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS April 11, 2013 
 
CASPER, Wyoming — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is proposing to reduce wolf hunting quotas by half this fall because of the state's successful first hunt last year.
 
The wolf population could not withstand another 52-wolf quota without coming dangerously close to the required minimum set in Wyoming's delisting plan, said Mark Bruscino, the department's large carnivore program supervisor.
 
If wolf numbers drop below the minimum requirement, it could lead to re-listing the wolf as an endangered species, which results in special federal protections.
 
"Our intent the first year was to reduce the population," Bruscino said. "We estimated we would reduce it in the trophy game area and seasonal game area by 11 percent and we actually reduced it about 12 percent."
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/cyvks8b
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Senate committee OKs bill that could render meaningless a proposed referendum on wolf hunting
 
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS April 11, 2013 
 
LANSING, Michigan — A state Senate panel has voted to let the Michigan Natural Resources Commission decide which animals can be hunted, which could render meaningless a proposed referendum on wolf hunting.
 
Now only the Legislature can designate wildlife as game species that hunters can pursue. A law enacted in December put wolves on the list. Opponents have gathered petition signatures for a 2014 statewide vote that could overturn the measure.
 
But a bill approved Thursday by a committee of the Republican-controlled Senate also would let the seven-member Natural Resources Commission designate game species. That could mean wolves are hunted regardless of what voters say.
 
The Senate's environment committee approved the bill on a party-line vote, with five Republicans in favor and two Democrats opposed. It now goes to the Senate floor.
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DNR says Michigan gray wolf population declines slightly in past 2 years, now estimated at 658
 
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS April 11, 2013
 
LANSING, Michigan — Michigan's gray wolf population has declined slightly as state officials consider scheduling a hunting season in the Upper Peninsula this fall.
 
The Department of Natural Resources reported Thursday the latest estimate is that 658 wolves roam the U.P. That's down from 687 two years ago.
 
Biologist Adam Bump tells the Michigan Natural Resources Commission the DNR recommends having a hunt in November and December in which 43 wolves could be killed. It would be held in three sections of the U.P.
 
One area includes the city of Ironwood and the adjacent township on the western end. The second takes in parts of Baraga, Houghton, Ontonagon and Gogebic counties. The third includes portions of Luce and Mackinac counties in the eastern U.P.
 
Local ordinances involving discharge of firearms would still apply.
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Famous Oregon wolf is alive and well, but lonely
 
April 11, 2013 Mail Tribune
 
I was so happy to read about OR-7 traveling back to Oregon to try to find a mate. My question is about a Mail Tribune article last year that had OR-7 traveling to another state (I'm not sure which one), where it is legal to hunt wolves — and that he was shot and killed. Were we misinformed or is there another OR-7?
 
- Dolores S., via email
 
Well, Dolores, you can rest assured that OR-7 is still out and about in Oregon. You seem to have mistaken him for two of his less-fortunate brethren.
 
A collared gray wolf, OR-9, left northeastern Oregon's Imnaha pack two months earlier than his brother OR-7, traveling in a different direction and toward a different fate. He migrated to Idaho, where he was shot and killed in February 2012 by a hunter near a cattle feedlot and winter calving area near the town of Emmett, according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
 
The hunter had an expired wolf tag, but he received just a warning because he had been given incorrect information from a clerk, who told him he could fill that tag legally, Idaho officials said at the time.
 
In February, Idaho officials reported that collared gray wolf OR-16 was shot and killed legally by a hunter holding an Idaho wolf tag. That wolf, from the Walla Walla pack in northwestern Oregon, had traveled across the Snake River and into Idaho in January.
 
After spending about three weeks in Jackson County, OR-7 has been in eastern Douglas County for more than a week, says Michelle Dennehy, wolf program spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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Cobourg woman tells terrifying tale of coyote attack
 
Worst part was 'the squealing and crying'
 
Karen Longwell Apr 11, 2013 Northumberland News
 
COBOURG [Ontario, Canada] -- When Cobourg resident Sam Kelly's little dog started barking at something on her lawn, she wasn't worried at first.
 
Griffey, a five-year-old pug/dachshund mix, wanted to go outside around 8 p.m. on March 7, said Ms. Kelly. Griffey has back problems so Ms. Kelly stayed with him because she had to carry him back up the steps. It was dark in the yard and Ms. Kelly put him on a lead tied to a post. The yard, which backs onto Burnham Manor Park, is not fenced in the back because Ms. Kelly and her family moved in on Feb. 1. She planned to install a fence when the ground thawed, she said.
 
After he did his business, Griffey started to bark at something and he took off to the edge of the yard as far as his lead would take him, she said.
 
"I wasn't worried because he was tied up," she said. "I thought it was a dog."
 
Then she saw a coyote. Ms. Kelly pulled on the leash and called Griffey.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/cfshar2

[bearpaw]

April 12, 2013
 
Otter gets out veto pen; nixes bill to divert Fish and Game dollars to wolf control fund
 
By HANNAH FURFARO - Associated Press April 12, 2013
 
BOISE, Idaho — Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter has vetoed a pair of bills, including legislation that called for diverting money from Idaho Fish and Game to a program aimed at managing problem wolves.
 
That bill sponsored by Midvale Republican Rep. Judy Boyle would have moved $100,000 currently used for hunter access to a separate program focused on eliminating wolves that prey on livestock and prized game like elk and deer.
 
Otter vetoed the bill Thursday, saying it could create a rift between sportsman and livestock producers — two groups he says are vital to controlling predatory wolves.
 
He also says stakeholders weren't consulted or given the chance to review the proposal.
 
Otter also killed a second bill Thursday that would shift power to the attorney general to investigate misconduct by elected county officials.
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Wolf numbers drop in Northern Rockies as hunting drives down populations in Mont., Idaho, Wyo.
 
By MATTHEW BROWN - Associated Press April 12, 2013
 
BILLINGS, Montana — Aggressive gray wolf hunting and trapping took a toll in much of the Northern Rockies last year as the predator's population saw its most significant decline since being reintroduced to the region two decades ago.
 
Yet state and federal wildlife officials said Friday that the population remains healthy overall, despite worries among some wildlife advocates over high harvest rates. Its range is even expanding in some areas as packs take hold in new portions of eastern Washington state and Oregon.
 
Overall, biologists tallied a minimum of 1,674 wolves in 321 packs across the six-state Northern Rockies region at the end of 2012. That marks a 7 percent decline.
 
"We expected the states to bring the population down and that's what's been happening," said Mike Jimenez, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "They are bringing it down gradually."
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/c26dxht
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Humane societies appeal Wisconsin judge's dog-wolf hunting decision
 
By TODD RICHMOND - Associated Press April 12, 2013
 
MADISON, Wisconsin — A group of humane societies Friday appealed a Dane County judge's ruling that wolf hunters can use dogs, extending their fight to erase one of the most polarizing elements of Wisconsin's wolf season.
 
The humane societies and the National Wolfwatcher Coalition filed a lawsuit last summer alleging the state Department of Natural Resources failed to impose any real restrictions on wolf hunters using dogs when the agency set up the framework for the first wolf season. They argued the agency had set the stage for bloody wolf-dog brawls.
 
Judge Peter C. Anderson earlier this year barred hunters from training dogs to hunt wolves in Wisconsin. But he ruled hunters could run dogs on wolves during the season.
 
The societies and the coalition sent a notice of appeal to the 4th District Court of Appeals on Friday morning.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/bp5nchz
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Battle Creek zoo plays part in wolf legacy project
 
By ANDY FITZPATRICK - Battle Creek Enquirer April 12, 2013
 
BATTLE CREEK, Michigan — Future generations of Mexican gray wolves will be able to thank Binder Park Zoo for their existence.
 
In February, the zoo participated in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan program, collecting genetic material from the population of male Mexican wolves to be stored for future breeding.
 
Researchers from the St. Louis Zoo, where the Battle Creek wolves' semen will be stored alongside wolf material from other institutions, worked with Binder Park Zoo on the project, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
 
"There's a moratorium on natural breeding, meaning that they're pausing that natural breeding process because they just don't have enough places to put these animals in captive settings," Binder Park Zoo veterinarian Dr. Judilee Marrow told the Battle Creek Enquirer ( http://bcene.ws/ZeDd6z ).
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/cxr2kvj

[bearpaw]

April 13, 2013
 
Otter vetoes bill to divert funds to wolf control
 
HANNAH FURFAR, Associated Press Friday, April 12, 2013
 
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter has taken out his veto pen and nixed a pair of bills, including one measure calling on Idaho Fish and Game to divert up to $100,000 to a program aimed at managing the state's wolf population.
 
The second measure would have given the attorney general power to investigate elected county officials in certain circumstances.
 
The Republican governor's decision to reject the bills Thursday mark the only two vetoes so far this year and come a week after lawmakers wrapped up the 2013 Legislature.
 
The bill intended to divert money from Fish and Game was sponsored by Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale. It would have moved funds currently used to improve hunting access for sportsmen to a separate program focused on eliminating wolves that prey on livestock and prized game like elk and deer.
 
In a letter explaining his decision, Otter cited concerns that Fish and Game and sportsmen didn't have an appropriate chance to weigh in.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/d4u57qq
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Link to the governor’s veto messages on HB 278, the wolf funds bill,
 
(249 kb 2 page pdf fie)
 
http://media.spokesman.com/documents/2013/04/Veto-message-HB278.pdf
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Wolf status summed up for Idaho, Mont., Wyo.
 
by Rich Landers April 12, 2013 The Spokesman-Review
 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists weighed in today, confirming that the Northern Rockies gray wolf population has remained sustainable two years after wolves lost their endangered species protections in most of the region.
 
The latest wolf status updates on 2012 wolf monitoring in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming found that aggressive hunting, and some trapping, in the three states lowered the overall number of wolves for the first time in years.
 
Overall, biologists tallied a minimum of 1,674 wolves across the five states at the end of 2012, a 6 percent decline.
 
However, the wolf population that burgeoned under protections for more than a decade are still FIVE TIMES higher than the federal government’s original recovery goal, set in the 1990s, of at least 300 wolves in the region.
 
That goal was achieved in 2002, but lawsuits stalled wolf management for years and the population soared.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/cvwosd3
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National Park Service sees drop in wolf numbers, says it coincides with state predator control
 
By MARY PEMBERTON - Associated Press April 12, 2013
 
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A large decline in wolves inside one of Alaska's national preserves is coinciding with a state-sanctioned program to kill the animals near the boundaries of Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, a National Park Service official said Friday.
 
Federal biologists discovered a more than 50 percent decline, the highest on record, by comparing the number of wolves spotted in aerial surveys done last fall and this spring in a 2.5 million-acre conservation area in the preserve along the Canadian border.
 
"The drop is substantially more than normal and coincides with predator control efforts by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game conducted near the preserve," the Park Service said in a news release.
 
Alaska has practiced predator control for a decade in multiple areas in order to reduce predators and increase moose and caribou populations. Techniques vary, but the most common method of reducing wolves is to have them shot from aircraft. The state's predator control program near Yukon-Charley began in 2009 with the shooting of wolves from helicopters.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/bvvasww

[bearpaw]

April 14, 2013
 
Wolf harvest lower than last year
 
By LAURA ROADY Hagadone News April 14, 2013
 
In the [Idaho] Panhandle Region, wolf harvest was slightly lower than last year after the season closed on March 31. Between hunting and trapping, 70 wolves were harvested during the 2012-2013 season (reported as of April 3) versus 76 wolves during the 2011-2012 season.
 
Harvest by trapping increased this season with 51 wolves being harvested versus 43 last year. Harvest by hunting decreased from 33 to 19 wolves.
 
As of April 3, overall wolf harvest in Idaho was less than the previous season. During the 2012-2013 season 312 wolves were harvested between hunting and trapping. During the 2011-2012 season 379 wolves were harvested.
 
The hunting season for wolves has been extended in the Lolo, Selway, Middle Fork, and portions of the Dworshak-Elk City regions until June 30.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/blkmgrq
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After Legal Challenge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Rescinds Permit to Trap Border-crossing Wolves in the Southwest
 
April 11, 2013 Center for Biological Diversity
 
SILVER CITY, N.M.— Just two weeks after a legal challenge by the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has rescinded a permit it had granted itself and other federal and state agencies to trap wolves that cross into Arizona and New Mexico from Mexico. The contested “take permit” authorized wolves to be trapped and kept indefinitely in captivity, even though by law those wolves should be fully protected under the Endangered Species Act.
 
“We’re glad the government rescinded this permit, which would have damaged prospects of real recovery for Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest and Mexico,” said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity. “The fact is that this permit should never have been on the books in the first place. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service never provided an opportunity for public comment on this permit and never bothered to publicly disclose it until after our legal challenge.”
 
A month after Mexico initiated a wolf-reintroduction program in October 2011 the Fish and Wildlife Service granted itself and other agencies authority to live-trap wolves from Mexico if they entered the United States. Last year the Center for Biological Diversity warned the Fish and Wildlife Service that the permit was illegal and filed a lawsuit in late March.
 
The U.S.-run Mexican wolf-reintroduction program in Arizona and New Mexico — which is about 100 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border — allows capture as well as shooting of wolves under some circumstances. Government abuse of that authority has contributed to suppression of wolf numbers as well as genetic inbreeding.
 
Source:
http://tinyurl.com/c3wp6bm
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Debate over wolf hunt continues
 
Senate committee moves to counter vote
 
April 13, 2013 By John Pepin - Marquette Mining Journal
 
MARQUETTE - The state Senate Natural Resources, Environment and Great Lakes Committee passed legislation to the full Senate on a 5-2 vote Thursday that could counter efforts by animal rights activists and others to block a potential Michigan wolf hunt.
 
In December, Gov. Rick Snyder signed a bill into law that reclassified gray wolves as a game species and authorized a wolf hunt. The Michigan Natural Resources Commission - which would set provisions for a hunt - is considering whether to establish a limited fall harvest of 47 animals from three wolf management zones in the Upper Peninsula, based on a Michigan Department of Natural Resources recommendation.
 
The commission could decide whether to adopt the recommendation next month.
 
Meanwhile, state election officials are working to determine whether enough valid petition signatures were submitted recently to put the question of whether to repeal the wolf hunt law on the statewide November 2014 election ballot. If enough signatures are valid, a wolf hunt could not be held until after the election.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/capf8ub
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Wisconsin DNR names new specialist to handle wolves, bears, cougars
 
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS April 14, 2013
 
MADISON, Wisconsin — The state Department of Natural Resources has named a new carnivore manager.
 
David MacFarland has worked as a wolf, bear and furbearer scientist for the agency since 2010. He helped design the regulatory framework for the state's first organized wolf hunt last fall.
 
He began an assignment as the DNR's carnivore staff specialist, a new position within the agency's Bureau of Wildlife Management on April 7. He's now responsible for the bureau's wolf and bear management efforts as well as cougar response programs.
 
MacFarland holds a bachelor's degree in environmental science from Messiah College. He also has a master's degree in conservation biology and sustainable development and a doctorate in wildlife ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
 
He's stationed in Rhinelander.
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Sheriff: Meat pile likely poison bait
 
Dog walkers advised to keep animals on leash
 
by Katherine Wutz April 12, 2013 Idaho Mountain Express
 
A dog walker and pro-wolf activist said she found what appears to be poisoned meat near Corral Creek, east of Sun Valley, on Wednesday, and the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office is encouraging people to keep their dogs on leashes as a result.
 
Lynne Stone said she found roughly two pounds of fresh hamburger on Wednesday morning near the barricade that closes off Corral Creek Road during the winter. Stone said she had gone to walk her dog when she noticed the strange pile.
 
“It obviously didn’t belong there and had intentionally been put there,” she said. “I have no idea if it was tainted or not.”
 
Stone said she was suspicious of the meat because of an incident in August when her dog ate some strange meat in Lake Creek, north of Ketchum, that was later found to contain xylitol, an artificial sweetener poisonous to canines. The dog threw up the meat and survived, though another dog did die as a result of also consuming meat in the area.
 
Continued:
http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005146887

[bearpaw]

April 15, 2013
 
Wolf Count: Numbers Up in Oregon, Washington; Down In Idaho
 
April 15, 2013 - Northwest News Network
 
There are fewer wolves overall in the West, but Oregon and Washington’s wolf populations continue to grow. That’s according to the federal government’s annual gray wolf tally, released Friday. As Jessica Robinson reports, the count has also revealed the initial effect of a controversial wolf hunting season in Idaho.
 
In the 2011-12 season, Idaho hunters and trappers killed nearly 400 wolves. Yet the population count decreased by just 63 animals, or 11 percent.
 
David Allen heads the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. He says when you take into account new pups, the once-endangered wolves are now stable.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/c539zkc
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Hunting takes a bite out of wolf populations in 3 western states.
 
Biologists said overall wolf populations are healthy in six Northern Rockies states, with a minimum of 1,674 wolves in 321 packs at the end of last year reported in those states, a seven percent decline from 2011.
 
Flathead Beacon; April 15, 2013
 
http://tinyurl.com/d2reul4
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WG&F proposes to cut wolf quota by half
 
by Wyoming Game and Fish Department April 15, 2013
 
CHEYENNE - Officials with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department say the state's efforts at wolf management to date have been successful. In a report released by the department today, WGFD wolf managers detail their work at managing and monitoring wolves over the past seven months.
 
Wyoming assumed management authority for wolves on September 30, 2012. The first year's hunting season was designed to reduce the wolf populations in the state using a conservative, adaptive approach. Wyoming's wolf management plan includes a dual-status designation for wolves, which allows for regulated hunting seasons in parts of northwest Wyoming and unlimited wolf hunting in the rest of the state.
 
"We are very pleased with the results of our wolf management program thus far in Wyoming,"� said WGFD Chief Game Warden Brian Nesvik. "Based on public input and thorough scientific analysis, we set a goal of reducing the wolf population in the Wolf Trophy Game Management Area and Seasonal Wolf Trophy Game Management Area from 192 to 172 individual wolves in 2012. Results of our intensive population monitoring show that we ended the hunting season with 169 wolves in these areas. Wolf breeding pairs were also reduced from 19 to 15. The year-end data suggest that Wyoming's dual-status plan is working and we can maintain a recovered population of wolves while minimizing conflicts and providing hunting opportunity. I want to recognize wolf hunters, who were extremely cooperative throughout the season by helping us monitor hunting activity and collect important biological data. I am also very proud of the work our personnel did to put the wolf plan into action and achieve our intended goals."
 
Continued:
http://www.pinedaleonline.com/news/2013/04/WGFproposestocutwolf.htm
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Wolf advisory council shares management ideas with Montana FWP.
 
The Montana Wolf Management Advisory Council, formed a decade ago to help the state Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission develop a wolf management strategy, reconvened on Friday to offer ideas on tweaking that strategy now that hunting and trapping have commenced.
 
Helena Independent Record; April 14, 2013
 
http://tinyurl.com/d9boqsx
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Thousands Call for Investigation of Wildlife Services' Killing of Mexican Wolf, Alleged Cover-up
 
15 April 2013 (ENEWSPF)
 
Silver City, N.M.-- Fifteen thousand people from around the country are calling on Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to investigate the apparent killing of a Mexican gray wolf by a Wildlife Services employee and the subsequent cover-up of the incident.  Although the killing happened months ago in New Mexico, the public didn't learn about it until it was reported by the Albuquerque Journal on April 4th. Wildlife Services, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has refused to publicly discuss the killing.
 
“Wildlife Services is an agency out of control,” said Michael Robinson, wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, which is leading the call for the investigation into the wolf shooting. “The killing of a rare Mexican wolf and the cover-up of the incident are each travesties that demand investigation and vigorous prosecution.”
 
Wildlife Services is a secretive federal agency that kills millions of animals every year, largely on behalf of the livestock industry, with little to no public accountability. Members of Congress have recently called for an investigation into the agency’s practices after media stories revealed the torture of coyotes, the deaths of family pets and golden eagles and other troubling practices.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/ctezurd

[bearpaw]

April 16, 2013
 
Wolf attacks deer in Wenatchee residential area; deputy kills injured deer
 
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS April 16, 2013
 
WENATCHEE, Washington — A wolf attacked a deer Tuesday morning in a residential area on the west side of Wenatchee.
 
Residents called the Chelan County sheriff's office and a deputy arrived and found the injured deer.
 
Undersheriff John Wisemore told The Wenatchee World (http://bit.ly/110UTOL) the deputy killed the deer because it was too badly injured to survive.
 
Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Madonna Luers says a wildlife biologist examined the deer and found it had a broken leg, possibly from being hit by a car, which made it vulnerable to the wolf attack.
 
Two wolves were photographed by a remote camera in late March just south of Wenatchee, the first evidence of a wolf pack in Chelan County in recent history.
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Eastern Oregon ranchers ask lawmakers for more authority to kill wolves threatening livestock
 
By JONATHAN J. COOPER - Associated Press April 16, 2013
 
SALEM, Oregon — Eastern Oregon ranchers are asking the state Legislature for more authority to kill wolves that threaten their livestock, re-energizing a longstanding debate as the wolf population increases.
 
Ranchers told a House committee Tuesday that their existing authority to kill wolves caught in the act of attacking livestock isn't enough protection from the substantial losses they incur when wolves prey on cattle and sheep. Environmentalists warned that wolf populations might dwindle if ranchers have fewer hurdles to scale before they can legally kill a wolf.
 
Three Eastern Oregon legislators have proposed allowing ranchers to kill any gray wolf they reasonably believe has attacked or harassed their livestock — a significantly lower bar than the one in place today. Both sides are planning meetings to work on a compromise.
 
"We simply want to keep our livestock alive and out of harm's way," said Rod Childers, a Wallowa County rancher who leads a wolf committee for the Oregon Cattlemen's Association.
 
The House Environment and Natural Resources Committee took no action on the bill Tuesday.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/cr24bf8
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Silencing voters in Michigan
 
By Kristi Lloyd On April 16, 2013 The Wildlife News
 
In January of 2012 the gray wolves in Michigan lost their federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. Eleven months later, late in Dec. 2012, a bill was introduced by R-Sen. Tom Casperson of Escanaba that would designate wolves as a game species. The bill was passed and Gov. Rick Snyder signed the bill.
 
Designating wolves as a game species opened the door to hunting wolves in MI. Michigan has the legal option to challenge legislature through the referendum process. With approximately 687 wolves and being delisted only less than a year, well within the estimated carrying capacity of up to 1,330 wolves in Upper Michigan, the Humane Society of the U.S. organized a ballot initiative. Keep Michigan Wolves Protected came into being and was the driving force behind a petition drive to put the possibility of a wolf hunt on the ballot in 2014.
 
After the bill was signed, KMWP had 90 days from the date of the signing to organize, collect a minimum of 161,000 signatures but set a goal of 225,000 in case some signatures were not valid per the Secretary of State. Volunteers were out and about at various locations throughout Michigan talking to people and gathering signatures for the petition, mostly in February—and outdoors. In 67 days not only was the goal of 225,000 signatures reached, but the final count was over 253,000! These signatures were from registered voters across the state.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/ca4lmzo

[bearpaw]

April 17, 2013
 
Gray wolf numbers released
 
Wednesday, April 17, 2013 Justyna Tomtas - Clark Fork Valley Press
 
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently released its’ 2012 Annual Report for the Northern Rocky Mountain Gray Wolf population. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks estimate there are eight packs in Sanders County alone containing approximately 60 to 65 wolves.
 
According to the Service, “the annual report is conducted to monitor the wolf population to ensure that it continues to thrive under professional state management and no longer needs federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.”
 
According to CEO David Allen of The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, a non-profit wildlife conservation group, the fact that wolf numbers have decreased but the numbers of packs has increased is significant.
 
The report states that as of December 3, 2012 there were 321 confirmed packs and 1,674 wolves within the Northern Rocky Mountain Region that includes Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. The 2011 report showed there were 287 packs with a population of 1,796 wolves.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/cvvcwur
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Ranchers Want To Hunt Gray Wolves In Eastern Oregon
 
NBC April 17, 2013
 
Eastern Oregon legislators are asking for more leverage in killing gray wolves.
 
Currently, ranchers can get a permit to shoot a wolf if it is "caught-in-the-act" of attacking their livestock.
 
Ranchers say no one with a "caught-in-the-act" permit has ever killed a wolf because it is nearly impossible to catch them in the act.
 
the proposed change would allow ranchers to kill any gray wolf they "reasonably believe has attacked or harassed their livestock."
 
The 2012 gray wolf tally in Oregon was up to 46 wolves...from 26 wild wolves in 2011.
 
So far, the proposal has only been heard in a house committee.
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Wolf seen hunting near Wenatchee is a heads up to everyone
 
by Rich Landers April 17, 2013 The Spokesman-Review
 
A wolf witnessed hunting a deer in a Wenatchee residential area Tuesday is a dose of reality a little too close to home for some people.
 
It's a reminder that urban deer need to be controlled, and that we need to have measures in place so we can control wolves.
 
We need to be aware of wolves — all of us.  The landscape has changed.
 
Andy Walgamott of Northwest Sportsman magazine offers this reminder of the well reported developments in the past few years:
 
It’s a reminder that it’s not just ranchers who will need to adapt to living with the species, but mountain bikers, hikers, mushroom pickers and others who frequent the woods. They will also need to adjust their behavior and become more alert in the outdoors and better understand wolves’ proclivities to avoid the rare negative interactions.
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Wolf-related bills alive but sputtering in Olympia
 
by Rich Landers April 16, 2013 The Spokesman-Review
 
A day before the Washington Legislature’s deadline for bills to be considered by the opposite house, two wolf-related proposals are still alive.
 
But despite their merits and being approved by the state Senate, they’re gasping in the House — as a new crop of wolf pups is being born in dens across the East Side.
 
Senate Bill 5187, sponsored by Sen. John Smith, R-Colville, would allow rural dwellers to kill a gray wolf caught in the act of attacking or threatening livestock or another domestic animal, no permit required.
 
This bill, supported by Washington Fish and Wildlife Department biologists, would go a long way in reducing the public tension in northeastern Washington, where locals feel they are being unfairly saddled with the dangers and impacts of wolf recovery.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/bobs25u
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Mexican Wolf Releases in 3 weeks
 
Multiple livestock killer and habituated problem wolves
 
April 16, 2013 Wolf Crossing
 
Within three weeks, the Fish and Wildlife Service intends to release a pair of known problem wolves at McKenna Park in the Gila Wilderness. This is just 10 miles from several ranches in the region.
 
The female is F1108 (look up Mexican Wolf F1108 for more information on her) which was part of the Aspen Pack that officially killed 12 yearlings on the Adobe Ranch in 2007. The male is M1133 (look up Mexican Wolf M1133 for his history) which was the wolf that had to be darted and removed for loitering in a residential neighborhood in Reserve, NM this past January.
 
The only reason for this release is to introduce the DNA of F1108 into the existing wolf population in the wild to shore up deteriorating genetics.
 
Continued:
http://wolfcrossing.org/?p=701
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[Note: could not find info about the female, here is a story about the male.[
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Recently released Mexican wolf recaptured after pair failed to bond
 
Potential to breed in captivity greater for male wolf
 
Feb 13, 2013 Snoran News
 
PHOENIX  –  The Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Project’s Interagency Field Team (IFT) recently recaptured a radio-collared 4-year-old male Mexican wolf, designated M1133, near Reserve, N.M. 
 
The wolf was released in early January in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area adjacent to the Bluestem Pack’s territory in an attempt to replace the pack’s breeding (alpha) male that was illegally killed in 2012. The decision was made to recapture M1133 when it became obvious that he had failed to bond with the Bluestem Pack alpha female and moved into an area in New Mexico where he was unlikely to encounter other wolves.
 
“It is important to remember that we are working to establish a genetically sound wolf population. It’s natural that all of us, including the Service, sometimes get swept up in the story of individual wolves,” said Benjamin Tuggle, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Southwest regional director. “While our management efforts may involve activities that affect an individual wolf or pack, our focus must be larger than that if we are to succeed in our Mexican wolf reintroduction goals.”
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/czf6qx2
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Blue Range Wolf Reintroduction Area (BRWRA) Monthly Project Updates
 
April 15, 2013 FWS
 
Mexican Wolf Blue Range Reintroduction Project Monthly Update March 1-31, 2013
 
The following is a summary of Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Project (Project) activities in Arizona on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests (ASNF) and Fort Apache Indian Reservation (FAIR) and in New Mexico on the Apache National Forest (ANF) and Gila National Forest (GNF). Non-tribal lands involved in this Project are collectively known as the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area (BRWRA).
 
Additional Project information can be obtained by calling (928) 339-4329 or toll free at (888) 459-9653, or by visiting the Arizona Game and Fish Department website at http://www.azgfd.gov/wolf or by visiting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf.
 
Past updates may be viewed on either website, or interested parties may sign up to receive this update electronically by visiting http://www.azgfd.gov/signup.
 
This update is a public document and information in it can be used for any purpose. The Reintroduction Project is a multi-agency cooperative effort among the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AGFD), USDA Forest Service (USFS), USDA-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services (USDA-APHIS WS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the White Mountain Apache Tribe (WMAT).
 
Continued:
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/BRWRP_notes.cfm
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Bear baiting may put hunting dogs at risk from wolves
 
April 17, 2013 Science Codex
 
Bear hunters will tell you that a good way to attract a bear is to put out bait. And in 10 states, including Michigan and Wisconsin, that's perfectly legal. Hunting dogs are another useful technique in the bear-hunter's toolkit, and 17 states say that's just fine.
 
But who else likes bear bait? Gray wolves, that's who. And wolves that are feeling territorial about a bear bait stash can—and sometimes do—kill hunting dogs released at the bait site.
 
Like most interactions between wildlife and human beings, wolf attacks on hunting dogs illustrate a tangled trade-off: attracting bears for the hunters, attracting danger for their dogs.
 
Seeking possible ways to reduce potentially lethal encounters between wolves and bear hunting dogs, researchers at Michigan Technological University and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources compared bear hunting practices and regulations in Michigan and Wisconsin.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/ccql6cm

[bearpaw]

April 18, 2013
 
Wyoming wolf case stays in DC
 
by Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online! April 17, 2013
 
The federal lawsuit over removing Wyoming wolves from the list of federally protected species filed by Defenders of Wildlife, The Humane Society of the United States, and other animal activists was filed in Washington DC, and will remain there, according to an order from a federal judge.
 
http://www.pinedaleonline.com/news/2013/04/WYwolfcasestaysinDC.htm
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April 19, 2013
 
Oregon House panel approves wolf bill
 
Thursday, April 18, 2013 By MITCH LIES - Wallowa County Chieftain
 
SALEM -- An Oregon House committee has passed a bill allowing ranchers in zones of chronic wolf depredation to kill wolves attacking or chasing livestock.
 
House Bill 3452 as amended allows ranchers to kill, or "take," wolves without a permit, the first permit-less take of wolves allowed since wolf packs began to re-inhabit Oregon earlier this century.
 
Wolves were hunted to extinction in Oregon in the early 1900s.
 
The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on April 18 moved the bill to the floor with a do-pass recommendation, with a stop in the House Rules Committee, where the bill could be further amended.
 
The bill also clarifies in statute that the state can lethally take wolves to address chronic depredation of livestock, a provision that would remove a stay on a current state order to kill two problem wolves from the Imnaha pack.
 
Wolves from the pack have killed more than two dozen head of livestock in recent years in Wallowa County.
 
The bill passed with only Rep. Jeff Reardon, D-Portland voting against it.
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Wolf group suggests bounty system to Montana’s FWP: Commission to set tentative wolf hunting, trapping rules in May
 
April 14, 2013 By Eve Byron of The Helena Independent Record
 
Establishing a roster of wolf trappers, implementing a bounty system or changing the rules about hunting wolves outside of Yellowstone National Park all were ideas bandied about at a Fish, Wildlife and Parks special meeting Friday.
 
The ideas came from members of the Montana Wolf Management Advisory Council, which helped develop Montana’s wolf management plan 10 years ago and reconvened this week in Helena to give the FWP Commission and department feedback on their implementation of the plan.
 
The overview comes one month before the FWP Commission sets tentative rules for the 2013-14 wolf hunting and trapping season, and the same day the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released the 2012 Annual Report for the Northern Rocky Mountain (NRM) Gray Wolf Population.
 
Overall, the council members complimented the department on its wolf management activities, and said they were amazed at the amount of new science that’s been developed since the plan was written. However, they also noted that a lot has changed since wolves were delisted and urged FWP to remain flexible when dealing with wolves.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/blclg4q
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April 20, 2013
 
Seen near Wallace: Is it wolf or dog?
 
by Rich Landers April 18, 2013 The Spokesman-Review
 
A reader submitted this photo snapped Wednesday off I-90 between Wallace and Mullan [Idaho].  She said the eyes appeared blue like those of a husky, but the animal ran away as though it were wild.
 
What's your guess? Wolf, wolf hybrid or husky?
 
http://tinyurl.com/c2wpgh7
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Wolves work up healthy appetites
 
April 18, 2013 - Opinion - The World
 
Oregon’s wolf program is up for debate. Nancy Shinn is very right that wolves prey on the “weak, the lame, the infirm.” They also feed on the dead.
 
This is not the problem we face with wolves. They are opportunistic predators and are extremely capable of killing all age-classes of healthy animals. The young are always an easy prey during that brief period in the spring. In the winter, when snows are deep, any big game animal can easily be exhausted and taken.
 
I was involved in a predator-prey study on antelope where mostly coyotes, and to some degree bobcats, killed every single antelope kid after birth. Wolves are at the very top of this type of predation.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/cj3k5lv
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AZ Game and Fish, enviro square off over Mexican wolf delisting
 
April 19, 2013 blog by Tony Davis Arizona Daily Star
 
As the federal government ponders whether to delist endangered gray wolves nationally, the Arizona Game and Fish Commission and environmentalists are at odds over whether the Mexican wolf should join the ranks of the delisted.
 
One of the key issues is a legal question over what would happen to the Mexican wolves in this state if they were removed from the federal endangered species list.
 
The environmentalist Center for Biological Diversity contends they would be easy targets for shooting without federal protection, particularly from ranchers, for whom the federal government had exterminated the wolf generations ago. Game and Fish strongly disagrees, says existing state protections would prohibit wolf shooting and that more would undoubtedly be in the pipeline if the wolf were to be managed exclusively by the state.
 
The commission voted unanimously last month -- the second time since 2010 -- to urge the federal government to take the Mexican wolf and all other populations of endangered gray wolves nationally off the endangered species list. The five-member commission joined a Rocky Mountain senator and congresswoman who wrote the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last month, supporting a nationwide delisting of gray wolves.
 
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/cnswt8b
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Wolf believed responsible for animal attacks in Cambie-Solsqua area
 
By Lachlan Labere - Eagle Valley News April 18, 2013
 
A Cambie-Solsqua [Canada] resident is hopeful that whatever has been attacking her animals has moved on.
 
Willow Mist Farm owner Kagen Stephenson says the attacks began on Jan. 7, when one of two alpacas she was boarding was killed. The predator returned on Feb. 28 and killed the second alpaca. Stephenson’s guard llama was targeted, but not killed in a March 3 attack, and her male stud llama was emasculated, but survived a struggle with the predator on March 15.
 
Initially, the attacker was believed to be a cougar. But tracks found later indicated something else, a large canine, likely a wolf.
 
Continued:
http://www.eaglevalleynews.com/news/203608341.html
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April 21, 2013
 
Veto nips money grab
 
April 19, 2013 Idaho Mountain Express - Our View
 
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter used his dusty veto stamp last week on a bill that would have diverted up to $100,000 in hunter-access funds from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to wolf management.
 
In crying “Wolf!” the Legislature would have forced IDFG to pare down a program that pays landowners money in exchange for allowing access for hunters on or through private property.
 
A long-standing program, it has successfully kept both public and private areas open for hunting that landowners legally could have closed off. Payments help offset hunter impacts such as litter and downed fences that require time and money from landowners to fix.
 
Fish and Game officials say that the program opened up 432,000 acres to hunters last year that otherwise would have been closed. That’s not just good for hunters, it’s good for the state economy that benefits from hunting and fishing.
 
Supporters of the bill wanted to use the diverted funds to make up for federal budget cuts to a depredation program that manages wolves that kill livestock or big game in struggling herds. The governor said he believes that with their money at stake, sportsmen should have been allowed to weigh in before money was diverted.
 
The Legislature’s action would have increased an already heavy and unwelcome burden on Fish and Game for managing wolves. The department receives nothing in general tax dollars and is supported primarily by license fees paid by hunters and fishermen.
 
Sportsmen didn’t invite wolves back to Idaho and shouldn’t be punished by the state and federal government’s need to manage them. Otter’s veto will force state officials to find a better way.
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April 22, 2013
 
G&F counts 25 wolves in six packs
 
Apr 21, 2013 - By Eric Blom, The Ranger
 
About 25 wolves in six packs live in Fremont County, [Wyoming] and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department reported recently that humans killed 12 wolves last year.
 
The animals were responsible for the deaths of three cows and 10 sheep in the county in 2012.
 
"A wolf population that's a little bit lower than it was last year definitely lessens the impacts to big game and eases the impact on (livestock) producers," said Wyoming Game and Fish regional wildlife supervisor Jason Hunter.
 
"It's what the public asked of us."
 
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April 23, 2013
 
Program working against Oregon wolves
 
April 23, 2013 By Oregon Department of Agriculture
 
Year one of a block grant program for Oregon counties impacted by wolf depredation has gone relatively smoothly, but less funds are available for round two even as the state’s known population of wolves continues to grow. Nonetheless, most everyone agrees that the money spent to compensate Eastern Oregon ranchers for livestock losses and for non-lethal prevention measures is fulfilling its intended purpose.
 
“Livestock producers have been exceptionally patient through these first years of wolf depredations and population growth,” says Rodger Huffman, the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s state brand inspector, who is based in La Grande.
 
The 2011 Oregon Legislature created the Wolf Depredation Compensation and Financial Assistance County Block Grant Program and appropriated $100,000 to cover the biennium. ODA was directed to establish and implement the program, which awards funds to individual Oregon counties affected or likely to be affected by wolf activity. By working with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the agency that performs wolf depredation investigations, county level advisory committees make sure the money compensates ranchers for actual livestock losses caused by wolves. The committees also ensure the monies are spent on proactive efforts to prevent wolf impacts on livestock.
 
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Yellowstone Nat'l Park bull elk featured in BBC film dead after likely being killed by wolves
 
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS April 23, 2013
 
BILLINGS, Montana — A Yellowstone National Park bull elk featured in a BBC film has died after likely being killed by a wolf pack.
 
Park officials confirmed Tuesday that elk No. 10 was found dead near the Wraith Falls trailhead Saturday. He was believed to be between 16 and 18, a ripe old age for a male elk.
 
Gardiner, Montana-based naturalist Jim Halfpenny told the Billings Gazette (http://bit.ly/13ScU7w ) that the elk "held court" in the Mammoth Hot Springs area starting in 2006, when he chased off another bull and took over a harem, or group of cows. No. 10 became famous after being included in the BBC film on the Mammoth elk, "Street Fighters." Bulls are shown fighting with each other and chasing off tourists as well as cars with their antlers.
 
No. 10's rival, No. 6, died in 2009 at an estimated age of 15 after jumping a barbed-wire fence in 2009. He tangled his feet and suffocated after getting stuck on his back.
 
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