Codyites full of ideas for wolves
By MIKE STARK
Gazette Wyoming Bureau
CODY, Wyo. – When the federal government passes management of wolves over
to Wyoming, the state needs to be able to control the population,
safeguard livestock and big game and get adequate funding.
Those were the key themes expressed by the public Thursday night at a
crowded meeting hosted by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
State officials are preparing to draw up a wolf-management plan in the
coming months. But, before they get too far, they wanted to hear from the
public about its top concerns.
More than 80 people attended at the meeting in Cody, far exceeding
turnouts at the other six public meetings held throughout the state
earlier this month.
Plenty of discussion took place, but because those attending were split
into small “working groups,” the Cody gathering avoided the yelling and
heated arguments that tend to flare up during any meeting about wolves.
Reg Rothwell, supervisor of biological services for Game and Fish,
acknowledged that there probably never will be overwhelming agreement
about managing wolves.
“Quite honestly, this agency is between a rock and a hard place” because
the issue is so divisive, Rothwell said.
But, if the federal government is going to remove wolves in Wyoming,
Montana and Idaho from the Endangered Species List, each state needs to
have a management plan to show that wolf populations won’t decline.
“We’ve got wolves now, and we’re going to have them, so we need to develop
a management plan that suits the needs of Wyoming,” he said.
Each table of two to six people was asked to come up with the top three
concerns about wolves in Wyoming.
Many people expressed frustration about the possibility that the federal
government would hand wolf management over to Wyoming without offering any
money to carry it out.
“The feds put ’em here, the feds should pay for ’em,” said Big Horn County
Commissioner Keith Grant of Lovell. “These wolves were jammed down our
throat. It’s an unfunded mandate, and it’s not right.”
Debbie Black of Powell said she’d like to see everyone in the country pay
for the wolves, possibly through a checkoff box on tax forms or by some
other method.
“The state of Wyoming shouldn’t have to foot the bill,” she said. “The
American people should pay for it.”
Others said it’s important that livestock, elk, moose and sheep be
protected, to the extent possible, from a growing population of wolves.
“The numbers need to be controlled,” Dennis Dillinger said.
He said his chief issue is making sure people, their pets, livestock and
big game aren’t harmed by wolves.
Wayne Jones of Cody said the state should allow wolves to be hunted so the
population stays under control.
“Otherwise, they’ll keep getting thicker,” he said, adding that hunting is
one of the best ways to control animal populations. “If they do that, I
won’t have a problem.”
Ferrell Mangus of Lovell said that, if wolves have to be in Wyoming, they
need to be kept in check. Otherwise, consequences could occur, he said.
“There won’t be any elk left, and I’m a hunter,” Mangus said.
But Chuck Neal, of Cody, said the state shouldn’t restrict where the
wolves can live or how many there are.
“I think wolves should be allowed on public land wherever there’s suitable
habitat,” he said.
Others wanted to make sure that ranchers are compensated when their
animals are killed by wolves, as is now the case. Also suggested were more
accurate methods of estimating the wolf population and better scientific
studies from the government.
Wolves were reintroduced to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in 1995 and
1996. Wolf populations in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana had surpassed 500 by
the end of last year.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the wolves, is expected
to propose removing the wolves from the Endangered Species List early next
year.
After the public meetings this month, Game and Fish officials will start
drawing up a draft plan on Aug. 1. The draft is scheduled to be presented
to the Game and Fish Commission on Oct. 28. The public will get to comment
on the plan from Oct. 29 to Dec. 12.
Comments will be analyzed for the next month or so. The Game and Fish
Department also will conduct a telephone survey on the wolf plan. The
commission is scheduled to decide Feb. 24 whether to approve a final draft
of the plan.
Because the wolf issue has become so politically polarized, Rothwell
admitted that the state will have a tough time writing the plan.
“There’s a really wide divergence of opinions, and somehow we’re going to
have to sift through that,” he said.
In the end, he said, Wyoming’s wolf plan probably will be one “that no
one’s going to like.”