Attorney general takes issue with wolf comments
POWELL, Wyo. (AP) – Gov. Dave Freudenthal and Attorney General Pat Crank have taken issue with comments by a Wyoming Game and Fish Department official that the state’s wolf plan might not be adequate.
Dave Moody, the Game and Fish Department’s large game coordinator, is in charge of drafting the state’s final plan for managing wolves within Wyoming.
Moody told the North American Interagency Wolf Conference in Montana recently that wolf management legislation approved by the Wyoming Legislature and the governor this winter was cumbersome and could delay removing the species from federal protection.
Crank said he disagrees with Moody’s assessment. “We believe it is a workable plan,” Crank said.
Freudenthal said all state officials need to be working toward the same goal and expressed concern that Moody’s views might conflict with the state’s goals.
The wolf issue hits home in Wyoming where many people want the wolves removed from the Endangered Species List.
In his remarks, Moody said he felt the most troublesome provision is the one which designates wolves as predators and subject to unregulated killing when they wander out of Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and surrounding protected areas.
But Crank said that was the whole purpose of getting the legislation passed, so the state can work closely with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials in drafting a comprehensive wolf management plan.
“The legislature worked incredibly hard on that particular bill,” Crank said. “We believe it provides the flexibility we need to manage wolves both in the state of Wyoming and in the region.”
Moody said if Wyoming’s law proves unworkable, it could endanger the entire wolf management plan for Wyoming as well as Idaho and Montana.
The issue may not be as big if it was not for the fact Moody is the person in charge of drafting the final plan for the state.
“He and the folks who work for him handle the management and research for trophy-game animals,” said Bill Wichers, deputy director of Game and Fish. “His shop has the expertise in this area of plan writing and they are in charge of putting together the final plan for the state.”
“Some of what Dave said is not the department’s official view of the wolf planning issue,” said Wichers, who is Moody’s boss.
Freudenthal, in a brief interview, said there could be a problem with Moody’s views and his job.
“The part that bothers me is if he is really in charge of drafting the plan and he feels that way, we’ll have to look at that,” said the governor. “We need someone who is committed to getting this thing done.”
Wichers said Game and Fish officials continue to work toward the goal of getting the animals delisted.
“Our target is still to get wolves delisted under state management authority, and we believe the legislation and plan we are getting finalized in the next two or three months will allow the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to begin the delisting process for wolves,” Wichers said.
In fact, he said state Game and Fish officials have had extensive contact with federal officials in “developing the draft final plan based on” what is included in the legislation, plus other factors.
“We are going to be blending that into the final wolf management plan,” he said.
Wichers said the state is expected to present that plan to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission in June or July.
He said part of the final plan must ensure that Wyoming, Montana and Idaho will be able to maintain a “viable wolf population in the northern Rocky Mountains. That is the plan we are going to develop.”