Right now wolves are allowed to range throughout Wyoming, but almost all of them are in Northwest Wyoming. The deal would let Wyoming have its way with wolves . . . kill them all outside of NW Wyoming. Wolves would be managed to maintain the required population in NW Wyoming.
I have always believed Wyoming political and economic elites basically wanted to keep nature confined to NW Wyoming, and this is a clear example of that thinking.
Story in the Jackson Hole Daily. By Cory Hatch.
Note: the link was broken, now fixed. RM
Comments
(i think the link to the article needs to be fixed).
this is bad news for Colorado — it would remove any chance for a couple of wolves to set up shop in Colorado.
Just another example of Bush administration sleaze.
I would argue that since the Final Rule declared the entire state of Wyoming as part of the recovery area, and since this proposal radically changes the recovery area, the FWS would have to, at a minimum, go through the entire NEPA process to rewrite this aspect of the rule.
Todd is correct; the link does not work. I had to get to the story through my regular bookmark to the JHN&G.
It’s fixed now. RM
Manage wolves?! That is hogwash! Why do we need to delist wolves and open them up to killing, BY ANY MEANS?! What have they ever done except maintain the balance in nature? I know I may be “preaching to the choir” but any plan that allows killing of wolves is unconscionable.
How can our family and friends do more so that a voice of reason is heard and we stop this insanity before it is too late?
If for no other reason I would think economics would stop the slaughter of wolves. I recall cold, miserable November day in Yellowstone when you wouldn’t think there would be ANY reason for tourists to be in the park. We came around the corner and there was a traffic jam with tourists trying to catch a glimpse of a wolf pack in Lamar Valley feeding. Several came from great distances (we are from Michigan) just for the sole chance of seeing a wolf!
Please direct us as to how we can do more to help the wolves.
Thank you.
Wolves travel large distances,, it’s what wolves do. I am for management, but what about the wolves moving out of this area to find new territories? If a wolf is dispersing and not disturbing livestock on their way to Utah or Colorado, I don’t feel they should be shot on sight for simply being a wolf..
The folks running the state of Wyoming don’t agree with you. I think this device will fail in the courts, but in these days of government by cronyism and corruption, you can never tell.
In the last days of his adminstration, President Carter created the ANWR. In the last days of his administration, President Clinton signed the roadless bill into effect. Both of those measures were unpopular with Republicans. Now that they are about to lose control of the house and senate alot of what the repubs are doing now seems to be the same type of thing. Passing anti-environment measures out of spite. Turn about is fair play, it is said, but at least (even in the last minute kinda sneaky and underhanded way that they did them)Carter and Clinton were doing GOOD things.
I thought that too 😉
and these folks about doing things that are hostile to our future, and they are not really losing power yet because Bush has 2 years more and the Republicans have not clearly lost the Senate. Many expect them to make a bid for joint control come January if Senator Johnson isn’t well, and he won’t be.
So basically, Yellowstone National Park is a large mammal prison for the Northern Rocky states? No bison in Montana, no wolves in most of Wyoming, and no grizzlies in Idaho.
It would be interesting to know what sort of pressure is being put on Ed Bangs. From what I know he supports management, but this really doesn’t sound like him.
It’s pretty hard for one bureaucrat to stand up to a department loaded with ideological political appointees and/or those with no ethics.
The Department of Interior has had a real air of corruption about during the Bush Administration with ethics investigations into several key political appointments.
That why it is good the conservation organizations have lawyers to keep them from wandering too far from law during the death throes of this Administration.
Ralph have you ever met or spoken with Ed Bangs? I have heard rumors that he is really not the right person to manage wolf recovery as he is not all that sympathic to the wolf. I have never been able to substantiate that however.
I’ve talked with Ed many times. He’s sympathetic to the wolf, but he is strong in his views. He managed wolves very much like he told me he was going to in a meeting I had with him in Helena way back in late 1993.
What’s going on today, however, I think is not Ed, but stuff from the top. There was little discussion when Dale Hall became head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but he was responsible for the near collapse of the Mexican wolf restoration program when he was head of that region. Hall headed up that region of the Service.
I talked with one biologist who interviewed for the job heading up the Mexican wolf program. After talking with Hall, he withdrew his application, and told me Hall was a &^%!@ and a @%^((*%$. More profanity followed.
Hall is in bed with the extractive industry. On top of that, all of the political ranks of Interior are hostile to wolves.