DWR officials propose plan to control problem wolves
SPRINGVILLE — When it comes to wolves in Utah, residents are urged not to take the law into their own hands — but state officials are proposing a plan that would let ranchers shoot problem animals.
That was the message of Craig McLaughlin, mammals program coordinator for
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5.
the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, to a crowd of nearly 350 that packed a Springville auditorium Tuesday night to hear the DWR’s plans for the future of wolves in Utah.
“For wolves to do well, they would need to be accepted by the people,” McLaughlin said, presenting the plan to the DWR regional advisory council. “We have an expanding population in the Rockies and they are dispersing to other states. They can adapt anywhere there is food and they are tolerated by humans.”
Wolves, which have been listed as endangered species by the government for nearly 30 years, are now protected by federal law but could be downgraded to threatened status “any day now,” he said. “They have been proposed to be delisted as early as 2004. At that point, the state would assume all management authority.”
Utah must come up with its own master plan to deal with wolves and related issues before that deadline, he said. DWR officials will recommend shooting any wolf that preys on livestock.
“Once they make the shift from wild prey to livestock, they will probably continue in that pattern,” McLaughlin said. “Rather than give them a slap on the wrist, they will be killed.”
Allison Jones, biologist with the Utah Wolf Forum, said in an interview with The Daily Herald that the organization would not oppose lethal control of problem wolves once the animals are taken off the endangered special list.
“If they can’t stay away, it is usually necessary to kill the wolf,” she said. “Conservation biologists and ecologists who understand wolf behavior tend to agree with this remedy, in the case when wolves are repeatedly getting in trouble with livestock. The vast majority leave livestock alone, but a few wolves look for livestock.”
McLaughlin said a new bill just passed in the Utah Legislature calls for the federal government to speed up the time frame for giving states control over wolves — and “urges the DWR to reject all additional wolf recovery programs in areas, including Utah,” he said.
Calvin Crandall, a Springville rancher and member of the DWR regional advisory council, asked what ranchers can do now if they see a wolf on their property attacking their livestock.
“Please don’t take the law into your own hands,” McLaughlin responded. “Call the Fish and Wildlife Service.”
In an interview Tuesday, Crandall said he would like to see the state adopt a “no-wolf policy.”
“I’m very concerned about the wolves — not only their impact on the livestock but also on the people,” he said. “Will they attack people? I don’t know. It’s a concern. I would like to see the policy continue that they take them back up to the Yellowstone Park area. I would like to see a no-wolf policy in the state.”
Jones called the fear of wolves attacking humans “a myth” and said a no-wolf policy is “unrealistic.”
“In North America I know of no documented fatal attacks by wolves on humans,” she said. “They don’t hurt people; it just doesn’t happen. People need to educate themselves on the wolf issue, on the ecology, on their affects on wildlife. The wolves are already here, they are protected by law and they will continue to be protected at the state level once the management is turned over to the state.”
Caleb Warnock can be reached at 344-2543 or cwarnock@heraldextra.com.
SPRINGVILLE — When it comes to wolves in Utah, residents are urged not to take the law into their own hands — but state officials are proposing a plan that would let ranchers shoot problem animals.
That was the message of Craig McLaughlin, mammals program coordinator forthe Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, to a crowd of nearly 350 that packed a Springville auditorium Tuesday night to hear the DWR’s plans for the future of wolves in Utah.
“For wolves to do well, they would need to be accepted by the people,” McLaughlin said, presenting the plan to the DWR regional advisory council. “We have an expanding population in the Rockies and they are dispersing to other states. They can adapt anywhere there is food and they are tolerated by humans.”
Wolves, which have been listed as endangered species by the government for nearly 30 years, are now protected by federal law but could be downgraded to threatened status “any day now,” he said. “They have been proposed to be delisted as early as 2004. At that point, the state would assume all management authority.”
Utah must come up with its own master plan to deal with wolves and related issues before that deadline, he said. DWR officials will recommend shooting any wolf that preys on livestock.
“Once they make the shift from wild prey to livestock, they will probably continue in that pattern,” McLaughlin said. “Rather than give them a slap on the wrist, they will be killed.”
Allison Jones, biologist with the Utah Wolf Forum, said in an interview with The Daily Herald that the organization would not oppose lethal control of problem wolves once the animals are taken off the endangered special list.
“If they can’t stay away, it is usually necessary to kill the wolf,” she said. “Conservation biologists and ecologists who understand wolf behavior tend to agree with this remedy, in the case when wolves are repeatedly getting in trouble with livestock. The vast majority leave livestock alone, but a few wolves look for livestock.”
McLaughlin said a new bill just passed in the Utah Legislature calls for the federal government to speed up the time frame for giving states control over wolves — and “urges the DWR to reject all additional wolf recovery programs in areas, including Utah,” he said.
Calvin Crandall, a Springville rancher and member of the DWR regional advisory council, asked what ranchers can do now if they see a wolf on their property attacking their livestock.
“Please don’t take the law into your own hands,” McLaughlin responded. “Call the Fish and Wildlife Service.”
In an interview Tuesday, Crandall said he would like to see the state adopt a “no-wolf policy.”
“I’m very concerned about the wolves — not only their impact on the livestock but also on the people,” he said. “Will they attack people? I don’t know. It’s a concern. I would like to see the policy continue that they take them back up to the Yellowstone Park area. I would like to see a no-wolf policy in the state.”
Jones called the fear of wolves attacking humans “a myth” and said a no-wolf policy is “unrealistic.”
“In North America I know of no documented fatal attacks by wolves on humans,” she said. “They don’t hurt people; it just doesn’t happen. People need to educate themselves on the wolf issue, on the ecology, on their affects on wildlife. The wolves are already here, they are protected by law and they will continue to be protected at the state level once the management is turned over to the state.”