Tag Archives: wolf management

Wolf numbers remain stable

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Several articles appeared today discussing the wolf population in this corner of the country. Rather than post them individually, here’s the list all in one place . . .

Rockies gray wolf numbers steady despite hunting

Gray wolves in the U.S. Northern Rockies are showing resilience as states adopt increasingly aggressive tactics to drive down their numbers through hunting, trapping and government-sponsored pack removals…

New Study Seeks Cost-Effective Estimate Of Montana Wolves

Researchers from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the University of Montana released preliminary results today of a new technique for estimating wolf numbers in Montana…

FWP Releases Minimum Wolf Count For 2013

Montana’s verified wolf population remained stable last year while livestock depredations by wolves continued to decline, dropping about 27 percent from 2012…

New FWP rules allow landowners to kill wolves

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Landowners can now kill wolves without a license under certain circumstances . . .

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted new administrative rules for killing wolves that pose a threat to landowners’ safety on Thursday.

The rule change stemmed from a bill the Legislature passed in the 2013 session allowing landowners to kill wolves without first getting a license if they threaten human safety, livestock or dogs. But it also gave the agency a chance to clear up some confusing parts of the state administrative law book, according to FWP wildlife management section chief Quentin Kujala.

“It’s not the easiest thing to read,” Kujala said. “We took more than 1,300 public comments on this.”

The new rules also change the definition of a breeding pair of wolves – a crucial part of the federal oversight of sustainable wolf populations…

Read more . . .

Montana wolf season comment period extended due to website outage

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If you haven’t commented on the proposed regulations for the 2013-2014 wolf hunt, you’ve got a short extension . . .

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks has extended the comment period for the proposed 2013-14 gray wolf season until Wednesday at 5 p.m.

According to Ken McDonald, FWP Wildlife Division administrator, the department’s public website has been down due to technical difficulties since midday Saturday, and the comment period had been scheduled to close Monday.

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Feds propose lifting most wolf protections in Lower 48

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It’s now official. The federal government wants to lift Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves within the Continental U.S. . . .

The Obama administration on Friday proposed lifting most remaining federal protections for gray wolves across the Lower 48 states, a move that would end four decades of recovery efforts but that some scientists said was premature.

State and federal agencies have spent more than $117 million restoring the predators since they were added to the endangered species list in 1974. Today more than 6,100 wolves roam portions of the Northern Rockies and western Great Lakes.

Continue reading . . .

Decision on lifting wolf protections in Lower 48 put on hold

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For mysterious, unspecified reasons, the feds have postponed making a decision on removing wolves from the endangered species list throughout the Continental U.S. . . .

Federal wildlife officials are postponing a much-anticipated decision on whether to lift protections for gray wolves across the Lower 48 states.

In a court filing Monday, government attorneys say “a recent unexpected delay” is indefinitely holding up action on the predators. No further explanation was offered.

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Proposed rule would end federal wolf protections in Lower 48

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The U.S. Department of Interior has posted a draft rule proposing to remove federal wolf protections . . .

Federal wildlife officials have drafted plans to lift protections for gray wolves across the Lower 48 states, a move that could end a decades-long recovery effort that has restored the animals but only in parts of their historic range.

The draft U.S. Department of Interior rule obtained by The Associated Press contends the roughly 6,000 wolves now living in the Northern Rockies and Great Lakes are enough to prevent the species’ extinction. The agency says having gray wolves elsewhere — such as the West Coast, parts of New England and elsewhere in the Rockies — is unnecessary for their long-term survival. A small population of Mexican wolves in the Southwest would continue to receive federal protections, as a distinct subspecies of the gray wolf.

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Coalition files suit against Wyoming wolf management plan

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More legal woes for Wyoming’s wolf management plan . . .

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service never should have accepted a wolf-management plan that allows the state of Wyoming to classify the animals as predators that may be shot on sight, environmental groups said in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

A coalition of groups asked a federal judge to force the Fish and Wildlife Service to rescind its transfer of wolf management authority to Wyoming and protect them once again under the federal Endangered Species Act.

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Big moms, large packs help wolf pup survival

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This is worth a read. The Missoulian has a write-up on a recently completed study on wolf reproductive success in Yellowstone Park. The findings should be applicable to other wolf populations . . .

A wolf pup growing up in Yellowstone National Park has a better chance of surviving if it has a big mama that lives in a big pack.

Those were the findings of a recent study published in the Journal of Animal Ecology that utilized 14 years of data collected on Yellowstone wolves.

“This is one of the few studies of large carnivores in the world to tease out what drives reproduction,” said Dan Stahler, lead author of the study and a biologist for Yellowstone’s Wolf Project team. “What’s fascinating is that, despite decades of research, we really didn’t know much about reproductive success and what are the triggers for failure.”

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Feds ending wolf protections in Wyoming at end of month

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Federal wolf protections officially end at the end of September. Lawsuits are likely . . .

The federal government will end its protections for wolves in Wyoming, where the species was introduced two decades ago to revive it from near extinction in the United States.

The announcement Friday by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will entrust the state with managing wolf numbers and endorses a plan that allows for them to be shot on sight in most of the state, while keeping them permanently protected in designated areas like Yellowstone National Park. Wyoming will take over management of the wolves at the end of September.

The decision of the announcement quickly sparked promises of legal challenges from environmental groups that argue wolves still need protection to maintain their successful recovery.

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Feds to announce end to wolf protections in Wyoming

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The final wolf “delisting rule” for Wyoming will be published the end of this month. Expect lawsuits . . .

The federal government plans to announce an end to protections for wolves in Wyoming later this month.

Spokesmen from some environmental groups say they plan to review the final wolf delisting rule carefully when it’s issued Aug. 31. They say legal challenges are likely over the state’s plan to classify wolves as predators that can be shot on sight in most areas.

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