“MISSOULA- When the wolf hunt rolls around in September, hunters have permission to remove 220 wolves from Montana’s wolf population. But this hunt includes something the previous hunt in 2009 did not have–a quota and specific wolf management unit for the Bitterroot.

“We have a situation in the West Fork where we have chronically low calf-cow rates of elk,” said Region 2 Wildlife Manager Mike Thompson.

Thompson said there were nine elk calves per 100 elk in 2008, 11 calves per 100 elk in 2009 and 18 elk calves per 100 elk in 2010.

“We expect 20s to 30s on the low end and in the Bitterroot historically there were 40s and 50s,” said Thompson.

To determine how many wolves should come out of the Bitterroot, FWP relied on public comment–which was pretty much split. In the end, F-W-P gave Hunting District 250, or the West Fork of the Bitterroot, its own quota of 18 wolves.

Barring a legal setback, the hunt will go forward and Montana will be back to managing its own wolf population. Of the statewide quota of 220 wolves, 177 wolves are targeted in northwest or western Montana including 36 in the Upper Clark Fork and Big Hole, 22 in the Lower Clark Fork, and 20 in the Blackfoot.”

*Special thanks to  Mark Holyoak (KPAX News) for providing this information.

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**AFTER READING THIS ARTICLE, CLICK ON THE LINK AT BOTTOM AND PARTICIPATE IN IDAHO’S “WOLF PROPOSAL PUBLIC SURVEY.”  THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO LET THE WILDLIFE FISH AND GAME BOARD YOU OPPOSE THIS!

“Idaho’s upcoming wolf hunt will be managed like other big game seasons, with no statewide quota on the number of wolves that can be killed, state officials said Friday.

About 1,000 wolves inhabit the state’s forests and grasslands. Wildlife managers said they want to reduce that number to relieve “social and biological” conflicts from wolf predation on elk herds and livestock.

Idaho Fish and Game is still trying to determine the right number of wolves for the state, said Virgil Moore, the agency’s director. Although that figure hasn’t been established, “we’re going to stay far north” of the federal minimum requirement of 150 wolves and 15 breeding pairs statewide, Moore said.

Idaho’s proposed wolf hunt is similar to seasons for cougars and black bears, which don’t have quotas, either, Moore said. Hunting and trapping the elusive predators won’t send the populations back into the danger zone, he added.

Wolves are challenging to hunt, wildlife managers said. Less than 1 percent of hunters who bought wolf tags during Idaho’s last public hunt shot one. The statewide take was 188.

“Seeing wolf tracks or scat, hearing wolves howl or even catching fleeting glimpses of wolves is not the same thing as seeing a wolf and having the opportunity to take it during hunting season,” said Jon Rachael, the state’s big-game manager.

On Friday, managers outlined plans for the upcoming hunt, which will be finalized July 27 and 28 at the Fish and Game Commission’s meeting in Salmon.

Hunters could buy two wolf tags per calendar year for the Aug. 30 to March 31 season. Use of electronic calls would be allowed.

A proposed 10-week trapping season is being added in parts of the state, including the Panhandle. The December through mid-February trapping season would have an annual bag limit of five wolves.

Fish and Game officials will be monitoring the rates of wolf kills, which must be reported within 72 hours. Moore said the season could close early if the harvest levels exceed expectations.

In January, the Panhandle’s wolf population was estimated at 120, said Jim Hayden, regional wildlife manager. At least 27 wolves would have to be killed to keep the population in check, he said.

Hayden said the Panhandle’s elk herds haven’t been as hard-hit by wolf predation as herds in the Lolo area. However, elk calf mortality is on the upswing in the drainages of the St. Joe River and Little North Fork of the Clearwater. Elk herds in those units are declining by about 15 percent each year, Hayden said.

Even with the liberalized hunting seasons, Moore said that the state will probably need to use wildlife agents to cull Idaho’s wolf packs. Aerial hunting by authorized agents is the most effective way to kill wolves that prey on livestock, he said.

Defenders of Wildlife was pleased that the state didn’t include aerial hunting or use of snowmobiles in its public hunting proposal, said Suzanne Stone, the organization’s Northern Rockies representative. But the lack of a statewide wolf quota concerns her.

“Their claim is there are no quotas for mountain lions and bears. The difference is that you have far fewer wolves,” Stone said. “There are 3,000 mountain lions in Idaho, 20,000 black bear and 100,000 elk.”

Wolves play a beneficial role in the ecosystem, she said, culling diseased deer and elk from herds and preventing them from overgrazing streamside vegetation. Biological studies indicate that the Northern Rockies region needs several thousand wolves for the species to fulfill its ecosystem role and to allow for a diverse gene pool, Stone said.

“Wolves play a very valuable role in nature, and I think that is what’s being overlooked in this rush to reduce their numbers to such low levels,” Stone said.”

Special thanks to Becky Kramer, Staff Writer for “The Spokesman Review” for providing this information.

http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/wolf/proposals.cfm

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“Just hours ago, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and new Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe announced details of Wyoming’s wolf management plan that would allow wolves to be shot on sight across most of the state.

Pups at their dens, pregnant females, parents bringing food back to the pups – they could all be killed for any reason across most of the state during most of the year. This is not only unethical, it undermines the continued recovery of the Northern Rockies grey wolf.

Tell the Fish and Wildlife Service that you’re outraged by their capitulation to anti-wolf extremists in Wyoming. Call the Service toll-free at:
1-800-344-WILD  (9453)

And deliver this simple message:

“My name is [Your Name] and I’m calling from [Your Town], [Your State] to let Director Dan Ashe know that I’m outraged by the Fish and Wildlife Service’s support for Wyoming’s wolf management plan. This proposal is unscientific and unconscionable and would allow wolves to be shot on sight in most areas of the state outside Yellowstone National Park.”

Gracious thanks to “Defenders of Wildlife” for providing this information!

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**You can send a letter of petition through the link at bottom of this post!

 

“Bullies Get Their Way in New Mexico’s Wolf Recovery Program

The Trinidad Times, Laura Paskus, July 1, 2011.

 

On June 9, the New Mexico Game and Fish Commission voted to end the state’s participation in the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program. That program is the federal government’s attempt to restore wolves to an area straddling Arizona and New Mexico.

 

In the 1980s, the federal government set the goal of establishing a minimum population of 100 wolves within their historic range. It was anticipated that the canines would reach that number in 2006. Currently, there are just 50 wolves.

 

New Mexico’s abandonment of Mexican wolves was not a surprise given last

year’s election of Gov. Susana Martinez, the Republican who replaced

Democrat Bill Richardson. Since she took office, she has made appointments

to several state commissions that helped consolidate power in the hands of

industry and anti-regulation representatives. Her administration has also

directed the reorganization of the state’s Environment Department, choking

off some of its best programs. As for the New Mexico Game and Fish

Commission, four of its seven members are her new appointees; one also

serves as a board member of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association.

When bullies speak, Gov. Martinez listens. Just prior to the Game

Commission’s vote on wolves, for instance, anti-wolf activists as well as

the Catron County Commissioners sent letters to the state wildlife

commission and Gov. Martinez accusing wolves of putting their children and

ranching livelihoods at risk. The critics went to far as to distribute a

disturbing photo of a child in a wood and wire cage – a cage that was

designed to keep him safe from wolves while waiting for the school bus.

If the recent vote to withdraw support for wolves was no surprise, it

remains a serious blow. Somewhat surprisingly, the state’s wildlife

department had become an effective advocate for wolf recovery. In 2008 and

2009, it opposed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s plans to remove wolves

suspected of preying on livestock. Thanks to that stance, the federal agency

changed its policy, and those two wolf packs still live in the wild where

they have not been preying on livestock.

Now that the state wildlife commission is no longer a partner in the federal

wolf recovery program, the department’s role has become murky. The state

will apparently refuse any federal money to fund employees to work on the

program, and the state’s representatives will no longer participate in the

recovery team. The details are still unclear.

But the wildlife department must continue to enforce state and federal

wildlife laws within New Mexico’s boundaries, and it must investigate wolf

shootings and killings as criminal cases. The department had applied for a

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant to pay 50 percent of the reimbursement

promised for livestock killed by wolves; department spokesman Lance Cherry

says the state is now exploring options on how to administer that grant

without using its own staff.

It seems clear that the commission’s decision to surrender to the bullies

was rash. But while Tom Buckley, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, calls the state’s decision “unfortunate,” he insists the wolf

recovery program will continue — albeit short-staffed.

However, Michael Robinson, a staffer with the nonprofit Center for

Biological Diversity, which has sought the return of Mexican wolves for

decades, worries that the government will resume its predator control

program and start removing “problem” wolves from the wild. It’s “not because

the biology has changed,” he says, “but because we have different elected

officials.”

When public officials are so easily influenced, creating and managing a

sound policy becomes impossible. It’s equally unfortunate that scientists

employed by state and federal agencies lack the courage to publicly defend

their work and the species they are trying to recover. Until strong,

intelligent voices drown out the blowhards, emotions will rule, politicians

will call the shots and the public will be confused and frightened by rumor

and misinformation.

This is cause for outrage, not apathy or despair. “It’s reasonable to be

pessimistic about wolf politics and management,” says Robinson. “It’s not

reasonable based on their biology.”

He’s right: Let’s not forget that the Southwest’s wolves survived many years

of strychnine poisoning and government bounties. Surely, they can survive

the bullies, too.

Laura Paskus is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (hcn.org). She is writer in Albuquerque.

To read the full article, click here.

****

PLEASE WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR TODAY.

In your letter, please thank the paper for this story, talk about the tremendous importance of Mexican wolves to the Southwest, point out that this decision does not reflect the will of the people in New Mexico, who overwhelmingly support the reintroduction program, and call on Governor Martinez and the NM Game Commission to reverse this harmful decision against a beautiful animal that has only around 50 members left in the wild.

 

You can email your letter to The Trinidad Times at: info@trinidad-times.com

Here are editorial contacts for more papers that have published stories on the NM Game Commission’s decision:

Los Angeles Times – letters@latimes.com“

 

**Special thanks to “Lobos of the Southwest” for posting this article.  Please visit them for more updates on Mexican Gray wolves at:  http://www.mexicanwolves.org/index.php 

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Rammell illegally killed an elk in the wrong zone.  Poaching, even of elk, must not be tolerated, as wolves rely heavily on them for food.

[KPVI News 6 | Idaho Falls]  “Former Idaho gubernatorial candidate, Rex Rammell, was found guilty Friday afternoon of misdemeanor poaching in a trial that included a bizarre end.

The jury in the case against Rammell returned a guilty verdict in criminal court.  Rammell was charged with illegally killing an elk in the wrong zone.  Rammell represented himself in court and did not give an opening statement or question any witnesses.  The self-represented defendant did however try to present his side of the story during closing arguments.

The jury quickly came back with a guilty verdict on Friday afternoon.  Following the guilty verdict being read, Rammell was sentenced to serve 180 days in jail with 175 of those days suspended.  Rammell will have to serve five days behind bars. He also received a fine for $1,000 and ordered to pay court and filing fees.  The magistrate judge suspended Rammell’s hunting license for two years and he must donate the elk carcass to charity.

Rammell told the judge on Friday that he will be appealing the sentence, so the judge agreed to hold his sentence until a later date.  Rammell also faces a felony charge of attempting to influence a jury.  His preliminary hearing related to that charge begins next week. ”

Special thanks to
: KPVI News 6 for providing this information!

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Washington Wildlife Commision to discuss wolf plan–June 16th, 2011

Panelist Bob Tuck of Selah, a former state wildlife commissioner stated, “ecosystems are not vending machines. I don’t need to put in my quarter — ka-chunk — and have a trophy elk pop out. That’s not what this is all about.”

Anthony Novack, a state wildlife biologist who has done extensive field research on wolves in Idaho. “Wolves are very selective. By the nature of how they prey, how they run down animals, they really do cull the weakest ones in the herd. The slow do not survive.

“Of the female elk (wolves) took in Montana, roughly 40 percent were geriatric; they weren’t going to be having calves again. So … wolves have a lesser impact on those elk herd numbers. Hunters have a bigger impact because they take healthy, prime-aged animals.”

ENDANGERED SPECIES — The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission has scheduled a conference call this morning at 8:30 to discuss the lack of harmony beaming from the state’s Wolf Working Group meeting last week.

Basically, the citizen group that’s been working for years to help craft the state’s wolf management plan is polarized on several issues, mainly on the number of wolf breeding pairs would be allowed before the state would begin “managing” their population.

A final plan is expected to be released for public comment in August.  So, how many wolves are enough?  That is the primary question.

Special thanks to the Spokesman Review Outdoors Blog by Rich for providing this information.  To review rest of the article, please visit http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2011/jun/16/washington-wildlife-commision-discuss-wolf-plan/

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Was the Minnesota Zoo justified in its decision to shoot this escaped wolf?  Please read the following article written by Maricella Miranda of Twin Cities Pioneer Press and comment!

“Last year when a Mexican gray wolf ran loose in the north metro, officials waited days for the right moment to capture it.

The Wildlife Science Center assured police the wolf didn’t pose a public threat, said Peggy Callahan, the center’s executive director.

Police listened and helped tranquilize the wolf in New Brighton.

A Mexican wolf on the run Wednesday met a different fate at the Minnesota Zoo. The escaped wolf became a danger when it found its way onto a public path with children and other visitors. To assure public safety, zoo staff shot and killed the animal.

“We did our job, and we did it according to preapproved policies,” said Tony Fisher, the zoo’s animal collection manager.

On Friday – three days after the escape – the Apple Valley zoo continued answering emails asking why the 8-year-old male wolf was shot and killed instead of tranquilized.

Callahan also questions why the animal needed to be euthanized. If staff had moved all visitors into buildings, the wolf could have been cornered and tranquilized, she said.

“I think we handled it better than they did,” Callahan said.

Because the wolf was on a public path on the Northern Trail “near a large number of guests,” tranquilizers were not a safe option, according to the zoo, because they work slowly and are imprecise.

Tranquilizers can take up to 15 minutes to work, can make an animal aggressive when shot and might not fully release while an animal is moving, the zoo said.

Schmidt, wolf curator at the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minn., agrees tranquilizers are not always the answer, especially when public safety is involved.

“Drugging is not an exact science,” she said.

Schmidt wouldn’t say if she supported the zoo’s actions, but she said the situation would have posed a greater threat to all wolves if the escaped animal had attacked a human.

“The negativity that is created by a wolf fight with a human is significant,” she said.

Schmidt manages a facility housing five wolves, and she makes sure the animals can’t dig, wiggle or jump out of their enclosures, she said. That becomes tricky when something – such as an animal carcass or another wolf pack – attracts them.

The wolf at the Minnesota Zoo likely was enticed to escape.

Zoo staff suspect the wolf was pursuing two wolves brought in from the flooded Dakota Zoo in Bismarck, N.D. Chasing them likely motivated the wolf, which was off-exhibit, to slip through a gap in a holding-area fence into a secondary enclosure.

Zoo staff planned to tranquilize the wolf there, but the animal jumped an 8-foot fence into the public area, Fisher said. Staff then resorted to shooting the wolf.

“We don’t want to create the impression that all wolves are bad, and all wolves need to be shot,” Fisher said. “We’re a conservation organization – and that’s not the message that we want to get out there. This wasn’t a wild wolf. This was a captive wolf.”

Unlike wolves raised in the wild, captive wolves are not as afraid of people, Fisher said. They are more likely to get closer to people, but could quickly become aggressive if cornered.

The escaped wolf looked scared more than anything, Callahan said.

She hasn’t spoken with the Minnesota Zoo about Wednesday’s escape and has never worked with this particular wolf, Callahan said. But her 25 years of experience with wolves and seeing published photographs of the animal during its escape led her to believe it was afraid, she said.

When a wolf ran from her Columbus-based nonprofit center Feb. 14, 2010, it was scared, Callahan said.

She said vandals, who were never caught, set three wolves free at her wildlife facility. Two were quickly recovered, but the third was loose for four days until wildlife center staff and police helped corner it near Long Lake Road and Interstate 694.

Police never felt that the public was in danger, said New Brighton Police Director Bob Jacobson.

Callahan said she worries that killing the endangered animal could further threaten its species. An estimated 50 Mexican gray wolves live in the wild today and about 300 in captivity.

“There are so few of them,” she said.

Maricella Miranda can be reached at 651-228-5421 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              651-228-5421      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

FYI

Although Mexican gray wolves are rare, there are other wolf subspecies in North America. If you were to encounter a wolf, the International Wolf Center suggests the following actions:

– Raise and wave your arms in the air to look bigger

– Face the wolf while backing away slowly

– Make noise

– Throw objects at the wolf

– Report the sighting to local authorities”

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