A Project of Sage Steppe Wild
Note that this replaces the Third edition. That edition can be found slowly moving down into the “bowels” of the blog.
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Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan’s Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of “Hiking Idaho.” He also wrote “Beyond the Tetons” and “Backpacking Wyoming’s Teton and Washakie Wilderness.” He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
Comments
Fish & Wildlife has finally got a new Wyoming “Weekly” Wolf Report online, appearing March 1 but dated February 19 ????. Anymore , these are monthly reports , even though winter is the busiest season for both Wolves and their handlers. And lawyers, apparently.
http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/wyomingstatus2010/02192010.html
While we await the 2009 Annual Report, it’s worth noting this USFWS page does have a Box Score of known numbers of Wolves inside Yellowstone and outside in the rest of Wyoming. In Greater Wyoming ( an oxymoron) , wolves were known to kill or probably taken 22 cows and calves; 197 sheep, and 7 domestic dogs in 2009. In return , wildlife agents removed 30 wolves in 2009.
I am of the opinion that both sides of the Wolf debate are toning down the rhetoric and sequestering the dynamic information about Wolf activity and control in Wyoming this winter. I believe this is due to the lawsuits coming to a boil. It’s High Noon for wolf management, and the usual flares of rhetoric have been tempered , or nonexistent.
P.S. The ( dubious) Absaroka Elk Ecology Study is drawing to a close in the field. The collars are due to fall off the tagged Elk this month, for retrieval and data dumps. The AEES is a $ 650,000 3-year study of Elk conditions in northwest Wyoming being run by the Wyoming Game and Fish agency as lead for several state and federal agencies. The study itself was paid for by various big game and sportsmen’s conservation groups, such as Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation , Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, Boone and Crockett, Safari Club et al. No bona fide environmental or non-game conservation groups were invited to participate financially or otherwise. Again , my opinion, this AEES study is being built straight towards a conclusion to show the harmful effects wolves are having on migratory and local Elk herds in the Sunlight-Crandall- Clarks Fork drainages of NW Wyoming, and those ” findings” will be used to boilerplate a statewide anti-Wolf hunting and control stance by Wyoming Game and Fish .
I don’t trust this AEES study as far as I can throw a game warden’s truck. But I’ll leave it to the scientists and peers to review the data and paper when the time comes.
Who can we trust when it comes to wolf management? In Wyoming, that is a hard question to answer.
Dewey.
Thanks,
Their report of annual livestock depredations is very interesting
Very few livestock killed this year except for one big sheep incident. Note that the ratio of calves to cows killed was about 2:1.
There were 2 calves killed by wolves probably and 2 sheep probable. Where is all the stuff about 8 head of livestock killed by wolves for every one actually discovered? 😉
C’mon Ralph, you know myth trumps reality and facts when it comes to wolves and ranchers..;*)
Well came up with this one today, it may be on interest to some, seems they are getting ready to trap and get rid of California Sea Lions on the Columbia..
http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/mar/01/wash-ore-to-begin-trapping-sea-lions-again/
Save Bears-
With the fish ladders at the dams creating such an easy place for the sea lions to capture salmon, I would support the removal of the California sea Lions.
The Dams have made the Snake/Salmon/Boise/Weiser/Payette/Owyhee river salmon, here in Idaho, more endangered than the sea lions, so my vote, as an salmon-starved Idahoan on this issue, goes with the salmon. I would prefer that the dams go, but those big dams on the lower Columbia are here to stay.
My recollection is that the fish ladders are far from a success in getting the salmon upstream, so you get the concentration. Removing…trapping or killing…the sea lions is only a band aid, and really doesn’t address the real problem of the salmon upstream being in severe decline. Are there any other methods being used or experimented with besides the usual ladder approach? Dam removal would be best, but I agree..those dams are not going to be breached until they silt up.
It’s pretty well understood that the issue with dams on lower Columbia and Snake as it pertains to anadramous fish migration, it is the outgoing smolts and the havoc the dams have on them. Indian gill nets cause more issues than the ladders for upstream migration. Salmon fishing last year was pretty damn good.
Again, I recommend reading RLMiller’s article on the Dailykos – “Return of the Sagebrush Rebellion” – re: the supposed “land grab.”
What happened to the SFW-Defenders post from ealier today.?
I want to read the article when I get home later tonight. My work computer is blocked from opening the link to the webisite the article was located
Wyo Native,
I noticed not many were reading it, so I deleted it. Maybe I shouldn’t have. You can find it on Ted Williams Fly Rod and Reel on-line.
https://research.idfg.idaho.gov/wildlife/Wildlife%20Technical%20Reports/Ungulate%20Ecology%20Study%20I-III%20PR07.pdf
http://www.kivitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12051885&nav=menu536_2
Sun Valley mayor wants wolves out of town
Associated Press – February 26, 2010 3:04 PM ET
Please don’t post the entire article here. It violates copyright law. – Admin
I know that a few bloggers here spent time in Bavaria with the US Army and therefore might have a passint interest to hear, that a wolf from the Italian population dispersed into southern Bavaria recently.
See: Hunters urge calm as wolves return to Bavaria
http://www.thelocal.de/society/20100226-25525.html
Basically this is not such a big issue because wolves from Italy occasionally migrate into Bavaria. The last one was run over by a car in 2006. Nevertheless it is interesting, that – with a substantial wolf population now established in eastern Germany, thanks to dispersers from Poland – there is again pressure into the south. Thus it seems unlikely that these genetically different populations will meet sooner or later – too far the distances between and too many “Autobahn” to cross. Unfortunately, there seem to be no wolves left in the Czech Republic to wander into the Bavarian Forest National Park in the east of Bavaria. Only very rarely are prints seen in the winter snow.
Peter,
What subspecies are these wolves?
I have heard from Dr. Dungler that wolf reports in Austria have increased a little. Being at the crossroads of three wolf populations, that seems encouraging.
Peter
Thanks for the link. I know the area well. It’s a good place for wolves, but I can see them getting into trouble given that deer herds are managed strictly for hunting. Good luck.
I am coming up on 20 years since leaving Bad Toelz. I miss it a lot.
RH
http://www.newsminer.com/view/full_story/6504070/article-National-Park-Service-supports–expanding-no-trapping-area-near-Denali?instance=home_lead_story
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported “WOLF WAR” in a typeface worthy of a real war. But the story of wolf “buffers” adjacent to Denali has always been more about cooperation between state and federal governments, than friction between them.
Ralph,
the ones coming from the south are Canis lupus italicus also known as the Apennine Wolf, the ones from Poland are Canis lupus lupus, the common European Wolf.
I am glad my country is contributing some good polish wolf’s genes ..:)
One of the main suspects of amphibian disappearance is a common weedkiller called Atrazine. A new study is out showing evidence that,
“Ten percent of the exposed genetic males developed into functional females that copulated with unexposed males and produced viable eggs.”
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/technology/6872798/common-weedkiller-turns-male-frogs-into-females/
Another great article on Dailykos by RLMiller: “HikeOn: Grizzlies, climate and extinction in high places”. He nails it again – the climate change causing white bark pine destruction, its effect on grizzlies, the USFG’s refusal to list the pica as endangered and he predicts they will try to do the same with the white bark pine. NRDC has filed a lawsuit to list the white bark pine, as you probably already are aware.
Izabelum, I think Poland has always been a stronghold for wolves in Europe so they would definitely contribute some good genes. 😉 Good to see some wolves returning to their former haunts in other parts of the world. Can anyone clarify, is that the same region where the Black Forest is? That would be something to hear a wolf howl in those woods.
ProWolf in WY,
no, this is not the Black Forest area that is in southwest Germany. The area with the wolves from Poland is on the eastern edge of Germany roughly from Dresden eastwards to the border with Poland. There is a map on
http://www.wolfsregion-lausitz.de/verbreitung/verbreitung-in-deutschland
Brannenburg is to the southwest of the Chiemsee lake, well up in the Alps near the Austrian border. The area is southeast of Munich.
Thanks for the info Peter.
Update on the Montana horse abuse case: the two Georgia boys who abused horses on their “dream pack trip” two years have been sentenced. Very heavy fines.
http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_b54bd4e4-27a1-11df-be4d-001cc4c03286.html.
Please don’t post the entire article here. It violates copyright law. – Admin
A paltry sum total of $34,544. It should have been twice that, and a public service stint that included going around to public service clubs and explaining what they did, and their repentence for it., or maybe swamping out stalls at an animal shelter for three months, and sleeping on a cot in the back room.
My choice of penalty was hanging, drawing,and quartering.
RH
Gee, the rednecks might have to sell their trailer in the trailer park.
A 49-year-old Kalispell man accused of illegally shooting and killing a wolf has pleaded guilty to violating the Endangered Species Act.
Robert E. Patton appeared in federal court in Missoula on Tuesday and is free on special conditions.
Prosecutors say he reported killing a wolf that was approaching him while he was hunting deer between Kalispell and Libby on Oct. 31, 2008.
But a veterinary medical examiner with the National Wildlife Forensics Lab in Ashland, Ore., determined that the wolf was shot in the back left side.
Patton faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. No sentencing date has been set.
http://www.missoulian.com/news/local/article_e375eb44-26d3-11df-b0fd-001cc4c002e0.html
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/03/04/1104027/yellowstone-wolf-pack-documented.html
In the past I have written about the “progressive” things happening between Mexico & US in the Big Bend country of Texas. In June of this year Mexico protected an additional 850,000 acres of Chihuahuan Desert. When added to Big Bend NP, Texas State Park, Black Gap Desert Bighorn refuge and the 1 million acres already protected in Mexico there is now about a 3.3 million acre “protected area” on both sides of the border.
Monty
Good news. I wonder though what the impact of the drug trade is in the Big Bend area. When I left active duty in 1992 Big Bend was gaining notoriety in the US Army as a major smuggling route. At the time, the Army was trying to muscle into anti-drug operations for the budgetary benefits.
What’s the update?
RH
An op-ed on fees and how they are preparing us for privitization of parks…
http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/recreation_fees_big_part_of_public_land_privatization_plan/C41/L41/
More on the demise of the Druids
http://www.billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_33d60bd8-2755-11df-b3d9-001cc4c03286.html
Wise Use Crazies backing Salazar into a corner
http://www.billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_33d60bd8-2755-11df-b3d9-001cc4c03286.html
Video of a Peruvian mountain lion, kept behind a chainlink fence, that attacked a boy, at http://video.ap.org/?f=NMSAN&pid=J0cynnPRWfXY8py_j_udQIBUxFbC_jIs
Sage grouse listing issue – front page Seattle Times on-line and in print.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/home/index.html
UNR College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources is being closed:
http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20103020342
Nice!
Montana making it easir to kill “problem” wolves.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/03/05/1105897/mont-giving-more-authority-to.html
I just heard on the news that Idaho has passed a resolution to keep hunters names private, have not seen the print story as of yet, so if this has been posted previously, I apologize.
http://www.plowyellowstone.org/
The Wild Utah Project has a collection of studies regarding public lands grazing and riparian areas on their library page.
http://wildutahproject.org/resources
Also, I would like to apologize to everyone regarding the actions of the 2 US Senators from my home state of Kentucky, McConnell and Bunning. Please note however that I did not vote for them.
Chris, thanks for this link. It appears to contain a lot of really useful material collected in one place.
Idaho U.S. Representative Walter Minnick says he is going to donate $10,00.00 of money he received from from a tainted PAC to charities. He lists $1000.00 of the $10,000.00 as a donation to the Owyhee Cattleman’s Association. I didn’t know that the Owhee Cattleman’s association was a charity. I wonder how much of the $1000.00 will end up donated back to Minnick as campaign contributions from the cattlemen.
http://www.ktvb.com/news/Fish-and-Game-director-wants-expanded-wolf-hunting-86728002.html
Fish and Game director wants expanded wolf hunting
by Associated Press
Please don’t post the entire article here. It violates copyright law. – Admin
Come on MSG….time to come back to this site and give your director, ole buddy, ole pal, some loyalty support. That public affairs job you want probably needs a little boost. Take that dysfunctional administrative bull group you think you are a part of and let them see you are putting some weight to it.
You (the greater you) have the alibi for all that ails your elk management…and relief for all those complaints you use to get from your subjective hunters.
from the statesman
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/03/06/1107189/fish-and-game-director-wants-expanded.html
Road salt is poisoning water bodies: During winter thaws, some streamshave salinity levels just under those found in the ocean
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/science/road-salt-is-poisoning-water-bodies-study-finds/article1490631/?cid=art-rail-windows
Road salt kills bighorns in Canada as well. I chased 4 beautiful Bighorn Rams off of the Trans-Canada hiway one evening that were licking salt, only to have them come back after I left. A large truck struck and killed all 4 of them There was so much blood on the road the next morning that the coyotes were lapping up puddles of it.
some propaganda to make it seem like the state actually cares
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/03/07/1108288/idaho-fish-and-game-investigating.html
A little PR.
I got this at this wolf hating website huntwolves.com. Be warned if you check out this website. There are a bunch of wolf hating nutcases on it.
RMEF responds to wolf groups
Please don’t post the entire article here. It violates copyright law. – Admin
North Rim wolf revival?
http://www.azdailysun.com/news/local/state-and-regional/article_2b1a6d72-2a11-532e-b4ab-6512ecd739cc.html
***The Flagstaff-based Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project wants to allow the beleaguered Mexican gray wolf to migrate northward and establish packs on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. ***
I have been a proponent of wolf reintroduction to the canyon area for years. I would also like to see the Mexican Wolves in the Blue Range be able to roam as much as possible. Early in the reintroduction one of the Blue Range wolves made it to Flagstaff but was struck by a car on US 89. However, if we want wolves on the North Rim, we will have to put them there. Wolves are great travellers, but it would be sheer luck for one wolf to make it to the north rim much less a breeding pair.
A well written and depressing article about corporate control in making a deal to save the Everglades. Sugar rules.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/us/08everglades.html?hp=&pagewanted=all
You are right on both counts…
Tell me this is nothing more than a right wing effort to intimidate folks…Like I want to go to a place to have a breakfast or a peaceful cup of coffee with a bunch of Dirty Harry’s hoping for a chance to “make their day”. This kind of stuff just widens the gap…
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/us/08guns.html?th&emc=th
http://bozemandailychronicle.com/news/article_f3f1f2d0-2a50-11df-956f-001cc4c002e0.html
More insanity from Montana…
Too many wolves? Too many damned, stupid cows is more like it.
http://www.helenair.com/news/local/article_15bb611e-28e7-11df-8756-001cc4c002e0.html
Actually, I believe Ralph or Ken put that new ruling up as a main story, that happened a few days ago
I thought that was Idaho….
Ken Cole put up an additional story tonight. See http://wolves.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/wwp-suit-grouse/
jimt
http://wolves.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/montana-allows-unfettered-killing-of-wolves-by-wildlife-services/
my bad..
Grand Teton NP Senior Wildlife Biologist receives award for grizzly and pronghorn work:
http://gtnpnews.blogspot.com/2010/03/steve-cain-receives-award-for.html
I cant link to this since it came in an email but I can give you more details from the official email if you are interested:
This is from the National Elk Refuge biologist
“Wyoming Game and Fish Department reported that some bighorn sheep have been observed coughing in the Gros Ventre area. In 2002 these symptoms were associated with a pneumonia die-off where 10 out of the 27 sheep that wintered on Miller Butte perished. Any observations of coughing sheep, sheep mortalities, or sheep that are behaving in a peculiar manner should be reported”
Idaho considers letting ATVs ride Bruneau Sand Dunes to raise money for parks.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/03/08/1109433/parks-and-rec-begins-path-toward.html
So much for peaceful fishing trips to the Bruneau lake. I’d support paying more in access fees if it would keep ATVs away.
Can you imagine the number of people from around the West that would want to tackle the largest dune in North America on their quads or bikes? The place would be a nightmare worse than the St. Anthony dunes are already.
What’s next? Double tracks in Harriman?
Someone worth sending a quick email about this:
Nancy Merrill
Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation
PO Box 83720
Boise ID 83720-0065
Jan Johns, Administrative Assistant, 208-514-2251
jjohns@idpr.idaho.gov
This is something I am personally not excited about in the least. This area is a beautiful quiet place and a great camping area.
The dunes are also some of the tallest in America and are magnitudes more dangerous than the shallower dunes many off road recreationists are familiar with at St.Anthony. This is not a place to be playing around at for many reasons. Some days the St.Anthony sand dunes comprise the majority of lifeflight operations in Idaho Falls. How many need to get hurt and injured for the sake of a few dollars?
Would the cost of admission charges match the expenses incured to the county for search and rescue and other emergency medical operations?
Thanks for posting this Nathan. There are going to be all kinds of obnoxious schemes like this.
Maybe instead of getting money from ATVs, we could have an auction to close areas to ATVs. Those who bid, assuming a victory could fish, hike, hunt, picnic, run around naked, or whatever, without ATVs where they used to be.
Mike, that would be great if wolves were restored to the North Rim.
They will be. I’m optimistic.
Chris, I hope to see the day where predators are restored all over their former ranges. There are plenty of areas lacking grizzlies and wolves that could use them.
http://westinstenv.org/wildpeop/2010/03/08/defenders-of-wildlife-general-counsel-appointed-to-us-justice-dept/
Was it me, or did the author seem angry?
Sr. Reporter: Game & Fish statement on employee suspension over jaguar investigation
“The Arizona Game and Fish Department has suspended someone — so far, we don’t know who — as part of its internal investigation into the handling of the jaguar Macho B.”
http://azstarnet.com/news/blogs/senor-reporter/article_6866486c-2bde-11df-adfb-001cc4c03286.html
This link is to another segment of the Macho B story on the main page in the same AZ Daily Star (the previous link leads to the Senior Reporter’s Blog page).
This is the comment section of the article and there is a tab linking to the main story.
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/article_383bfcf8-2bd5-11df-b770-001cc4c03286.html?mode=comments
Here’s a curious article about a wolverine sighting in California:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/09/MNPJ1CATHU.DTL
And another example of misguided wildlife management, this time seals vs. salmon:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/09/MN7M1CCN93.DTL
Maybe this (at least maybe the pics – klick to enlarge) is of some interest:
http://www.lausitz-wolf.de/index.php?id=756
If not, webmaster, please delete. It´s about how we are doing things over here, working for the wolves. Featured is our field work in wildlife parks to promote the wild wolves in Germany. This is an example from last weekend. PR work for the wolf is one thing, the other is practical support where needed. Members have already done night watches near sheep herds to deter wolves or helped to build protective fences. Everything here is on a much smaller scale than in the US.
Wolves may have killed teacher
CHIGNIK: Police unsure whether death happened before, after bite
http://www.adn.com/2010/03/09/1175725/wolf-blamed-in-death-of-villager.html
“99 percent” chance wolves killed teacher
http://www.ktva.com/ci_14642730?source=most_viewed
Rumors abound that wolves killed village teacher
http://www.ktuu.com/global/story.asp?s=12112882
Wolves may have killed teacher
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/09/1102882/wolf-blamed-in-death-of-villager.html#ixzz0hmCH1PpG
Here’s an interesting story: They put the AZ worker who killed that jaguar on leave.
http://azstarnet.com/news/science/environment/article_2cad266b-1420-52cf-bf83-ce0ae47d2221.html
Terri,
Thank you for that update.
Taking on the liars, cheats, thieves, and frauds in the health insurance industry and corporate America:
RH
Utah is trying to get this ridiculous law to the Supremes. Let’s hope saner heads prevail. Story as of 3-9-10
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14641991
Republicans now have TWO litmus tests…Roe v. Wade and now climate change.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-climate-politics10-2010mar10,0,32332.story
The following excerpt is from a newspaper blog report by the Arizona Daily Star Senior Reporter Tim Steller. To those who are well versed in wolf management and/or those well read on the subject, please consider reading the article and providing comments within Steller’s Blog. After all, this blog is http’d as wolves.press.com….
Thank you.
___________________
Quote:
‘Arizona Game and Fish answers questions on wolf release in Mexico’
“I sent Arizona Game and Fish spokesman Bob Miles a list of questions on Feb. 3 for a story that I wrote last month about Mexico’s plan to release endangered wolves. Although the questions I listed were intended to be examples, not a complete list, they are what Game and Fish answered in an email I received Wednesday.”
….So please, take a look and let me know what you think.”
End Quote
____________________
http://azstarnet.com/news/blogs/senor-reporter/article_af91f200-28a4-11df-9b9b-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story
This is interesting. It is in one of my favorite places.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100309/sc_livescience/ussittingonmotherlodeofraretechcrucialminerals
Wolf pack hanging out around Butte, Montana:
http://www.helenair.com/news/article_78b59d7e-2c08-11df-ac55-001cc4c002e0.html
http://mainehuntingtoday.com/bbb/2010/03/10/panel-roundtable-canadian-gray-wolf-introduction-into-yellowstone/
You should post that Ralph. This Dr. Valerious Guist wants the wolves eliminated because of the parasites they carry. That guy Fanning is also on there.
Thanks jon,
I just posted a long comment about their recent obsession with this parasite (the dog tapeworm) on another thread. I won’t re-write it again here, but this is really nothing new, and they are using fear as their method as usual.
All I will add here is that except for some poor, downtrodden people, those who get this kind of infection should be candidates for the “Darwin Award.”
Wash your hands children! Don’t sleep with your dog if it chews on carcasses, eats feces, etc.
I should add that this is case of deliberately misplaced fear. For example, it is estimated by the Center for Disease Control that sixty million people in the United States are likely infected with Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite associated with raw meat and contact with cat feces.
Women infected with this who are pregnant are likely to have severely deformed children.
Remember that dogs carry this disease (Echinococcus). We live with them. We don’t live with wolves.
Just read through this piece of crap. Beers notes the official number of wolves at 1600 in the the three GYE states and then says it’s an order of magnitude too low. That would be 16,000 wolves, which is more wolves than exist in Alaska and the Yukon combined. I think we can stop reading there.
RH
Robert Hoskins,
It has always been typical of these folks to be wrong in their numbers by an order of magnitude. Being 10x off seems to be their trademark.
Trouble is, I don’t think Jim Beers knows what an order of magnitude is. He says it because it makes him sound scientific. Instead he sounds like an ass.
RH
If it looks round like an ass, and issues foul sounds like an ass……it isn’t a duck. :*)
Ralph, what thread did you post it in? Thanks
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/mar/09/idaho-needs-to-remember-its-pledge-on-wolves/?print-friendly
For years I and others have been talking about the damage “capitulatory corporate conservation groups” do. Here’s an excellent piece on the damage done to climate change policy by the big national and international corporate groups for their pecuniary gain:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100322/hari
The key quotation:
“How do we retrieve a real environmental movement, in the very short time we have left? Charles Komanoff, who worked as a consultant for the Natural Resources Defense Council for thirty years, says, “We’re close to a civil war in the environmental movement. For too long, all the oxygen in the room has been sucked out by this beast of these insider groups, who achieve almost nothing…. We need to create new organizations that represent the fundamentals of environmentalism and have real goals.”
Civil war indeed.
RH
http://www.adn.com/2010/03/10/1178020/residents-unnerved-by-pack-of.html
Hunters are trying to find and kill the wolves SUPPOSEDLY responsible for killing the school teacher.
jon,
I thought this story was a bit odd. On one hand, it was said the wolves were hanging around the town (and so maybe dangerous). On the other hand, they can’t find these human habituated wolves.
The USFWS has put up a new website providing the US perspective on conserving wildlife through CITES:
http://www.uscites.gov/
http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/apps/releases/view.cfm?NewsID=5341
Ran into this one today:
Wolf Numbers up in the NRM:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MT_ROCKIES_WOLVES_COUNT_MTOL-?SITE=MTKAL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=ap_template.html&CTIME=2010-03-11-19-43-53
Fish and Wildlife/ Ed Bangs finally got around to releasing the 2009 Wolf recovery Annual Report for Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, Thursday March 10.
http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/annualrpt09/index.html
The 3-state overview is 9 pages.
Wyoming report is 50 pages.
Montana is 178 pages
Idaho is 78 pages
– all are PDF files
Wolves in WA, including the potential of the Olymic Peninsula:
http://crosscut.com/2010/03/12/animals-wildlife/19666/
Interesting article. I would wonder if wolves could sustain a large population on the Olympic Peninsula.
More on the move in Congress to privatize public lands…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill%20wade/a-bogus-choice-between-cr_b_497264.html
Ralph, isn’t it time for a new version of this to go closer to the front?
Wolf rally in Jackson:
http://www.trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_cd15e5e3-cb55-5e79-bbcf-8578364d33da.html
A lot of the comments actually make sense. I didn’t think a lot of us here in Wyoming were so enlightened. 😉
Cody Coyote nailed it in his comment. One of the dirty little secrets of big game outfitting in NW Wyoming is that outfitters are whacking the hell out of bull elk to the point that you can hardly find a six point anywhere. It’s true all through wolf country. I’ve been watching it for years. Outfitters are so heavily overcapitalized that they’re running hunters through camp on the assembly line. And it shows.
RH
Robert, that is exactly the case. It is like an assembly line for hunters. When they can’t find a huge bull it is automatically the wolves’ fault. Maybe I should try to go to this rally.