Well, who doesn’t? Most everyone thinks of the wolf, like a coyote or similar species as a wolf. The problem here is a long one. I’ll be brief. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to de-list the wolf from the endangered species list. To do so, each state representing an area where the wolf would be de-listed has to formulate a wolf management plan that the USFWS agrees to. Idaho and Montana have complied and have a management plan approved by USFWS.
Wyoming refuses to list the wolf as a game managed animal. They are calling it what it is – a predator. In technical terms what that means is, a predator is viewed as an animal that can be shot on sight. A game managed animal, would have strict regulations in managing habitat and hunting seasons or trapping seasons allowed, if any.
Wyoming’s Governor Dave Freudenthal, at a recent wolf seminar called “Wolves, Wyoming’s Reality”, called the wolf management plans that Idaho and Montana have as: “aren’t worth a bucket of warm spit”. It is clear that Governor Freudenthal lines up on the side of ranchers and those who don’t want and never did want the wolf re-introduced into the Yellowstone area originally.
The entire process of getting the wolf de-listed in Wyoming has been tied up in the courts for some time as well.
You can read more about this story here.
Tom Remington
