The grey wolf will be removed from the endangered species list in at least three U.S. states, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Credit: Wikimedia
SALMON, Idaho: Legal wolf hunting will is set to resume in the U.S. for the first time in decades, after wildife authorities announced plans to remove the wolf from the endangered species list in at least three states.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service director H. Dale Hall said the decision was taken because the wolves had been successfully re-populated. "We're extremely proud to be announcing the recovery of the wolf," he said.
Hall and other officials said removing federal protections for the 4,000 wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin and proposing to lift them for the 1,200 wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming is proof that the Endangered Species Act, the nation's landmark conservation law, works.
Under both plans, states would have the authority to manage their wolf populations as they see fit so long as they maintain enough wolves to ensure their survival.
Wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin will be de-listed in a matter of weeks, while it will take a year to complete the public hearings and other requirements to remove wolves from the list in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
Conservation groups hailed the plan for wolves in the Great Lakes region, applauding Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin for what they said were wolf-management plans that will ensure the survival of the species. But they heaped criticism on plans by Idaho and Wyoming.
"Idaho and Wyoming have state management plans that are geared toward wolf eradication, not wolf conservation," said U.S. non-profit Defenders of Wildlife president Rodger Schlickeisen in a statement.
Wolves in the United States were hunted to near-extinction a century ago under government-sponsored elimination programs designed to protect livestock. By 1974, when wolves were classified as endangered, the only documented wolf packs in the lower 48 states were in Minnesota and Michigan.
In 1995, federal wildlife biologists released 66 wolves into the wilds of central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park in the hope they would re-establish themselves in their native range. But the wolf's restoration in the western regions has been greeted with outrage by ranchers and hunters, who make up the region's most powerful lobbies.
They contend wolves are a nuisance, threatening livestock and causing declines in big-game populations. They have campaigned tirelessly to persuade state political leaders and federal officials that their numbers should be cut dramatically.
If the proposals to de-list wolves in the six states survive legal challenges, each state will be required to manage a minimum of 300 wolves, the number biologists say constitutes a recovered population. Idaho, Montana and Wyoming intend to use public hunting and other methods to keep wolf populations down to what they consider a manageable size. Federal oversight would begin should numbers fall below the minimum 300.
In Idaho, where anti-wolf sentiments run high, Governor Butch Otter has called for the killing of 550 wolves, or 85 per cent of the state's wolf population.
Plans are under way to open a wolf hunting season, and Idaho wildlife officials have proposed killing off packs where they say wolves have caused unacceptable declines in popular game species, such as elk. While protected by the Endangered Species Act, it was generally illegal to kill wolves unless they were posing an imminent threat to life or property.
The Slaughter Continues
Its a disgusting and terrible thing to be reinstating. After taking all this time and money to create these new packs and now to let them be killed off again. If anything it should be illegal to hunt the grey wolf or any wolf for that matter even if its not on the endangered species list. If we allow them to be hunted again that will lead to them becoming an endangered species again and isnt that what we worked all these years to make untrue. We should be saving the wolves not destroying them. It just proves even more that we as man are the monsters not the wolves, though many people still believe that are evil beasts in which to be destroyed.
calves lost
what about the heavy losses to ranchers in all the states where the wolves havebeen reinstated.theres a real problem here as well time and money lost,i lost 32,000 dollars to the wolves the wolves have figured it out cattle are easier to kill than deer.
two many wolves
what happens in areas that have to many wolves and are looseing livestock at high rates.where does it stop,in mn. there was a figure you guys come up with 1,600 wolves to be delisted now we have over 4,000 wolves these figures are from the wolfdefenders this is fact so why shouldnt they and why havent they been delisted.here in mn. its almost all ag and pasture land we rank second to alaska in wolves.we have had 30-40 below zero winter here and the only food source is deer for the wolves.when you have to many wolvs and a winter like this year death toll on deer is high and if run enough by the wolves some will abort there young,now how do you feed these wolves its our cattle this is fact can prove this.i lost 38 calves to the wolves 32,000 dollars worth iget paid for three 35 probable but the record only shows death toll of 3 calves and this has happend to 80 ranchers here.now can you exsplain how to control the numbers to where we can live with the wolves without being called evil. ive tried to write on this website before not sure if they just dont want to hear the other side but if you show only one side nobody wins somewhere you have to meet in the middle
It doesn't make a whole lot
It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to build up the wolf population only to do away with it once again. What was the deal/concern with bringing wolves back to large numbers if years later, they were to be targeted again? As far as "ranchers' livelihoods suffering," I say, humans are the ones who moved on these territories to ranch/farm, so we are the ones who should just deal with what comes with that risk instead of being typical "man" and killing all that lies in our path? Self-centered humans who go on about their lives blindly, with narrow-minds, with no forsight for the future. Sucks that very few still manage to find the simplicity and beauty in wildlife. It also sounds contradictory for people to be concerned about the heard animals being killed by the wolves when they are also killing an animal...why the preference for one over another?
for one thing when you say
for one thing when you say we are the ones that should just deal with it ,its not you dealing with it its me .this is a buisness for me,when they kill its my paycheck for my family.you on the other hand have 9-5 job.we had no say here in mn. of how many wolves there should be,but you can not exspect me to feed my buisness to the wolves,if you think for a minute the wolfdefenders give us the money for depradation fairly dont be nieve and narrow minded.my land and cattle our mine nobody elses not yours not the dnrs,how would you feel if you caught a thief in your house would you help him or shoot him.there are big cities probaly just where you are where theres homeless people begging for food and shelter,i bet you look the other way and dont feed them... why the preference for one over another
MORE THAN SAD AND IMMORAL
Ranchers and western feds are committing the chronic short sightedness that we have seen all too often before now.
Their argument has always been that the wolves we re-introduced to Idaho and Montana would kill their livestock. They wanted us to protect them with reembursement for the value of the animals lost to wolves- even though a well structured pack rarely kills livestock. We met their wishes, played by their rules.
Now wolves are in their crosshairs again and if they follow through with the killing of wolves, it will INCREASE PREDATION NOT DIMINISH IT!
When wolf society and pack structure is disrupted by the killing of some of the members, it's chaos for the wolves and their highly structured lives fall into disarray. In chaos, wolves like men behave erratically. As a result, predation on domestic stock often increases. Through the domestication process, man removes the natural wariness and avoidance prey species naturally have, making them 'easy pickings' for ANY predator.
This court ruling is wrong- it is immoral and will provide a worsening not an improvement of the conflict between ranchers, herders and wolves.
Brandy Powers-executive Director, Protective Association for World Species.