First wolf in 70 years captured in Utah
RICH VOSEPKA, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, December 3, 2002
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Now that the
gray wolf has returned to Utah, the question for wildlife mangers,
ranchers and environmentalists is what to do about it.
The answers will vary and conflict is almost certain, but a top official
with the nation’s wolf program says people in Utah will eventually get
used to wolves.
Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1988 by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It’s been anticipated from the start
that the wide-ranging predators would migrate to neighboring areas with
suitable habitat and prey.
Their presence in Utah was confirmed Saturday, when a trapper near
Morgan, about 22 miles over mountainous terrain from Salt Lake City,
caught a 2-year-old male wolf in a trap set for coyotes. It is the first
proof that wolves have returned to Utah after being eradicated 70 years
ago. Tracks indicate that a second wolf is in the area as well.
“Normally, when wolves come into a new area, people get excited about it,”
said Joe Fontaine, assistant coordinator for the federal Wolf Recovery
Program. “There’s going to be a lot of rumors running around.”
Over time, he says, people’s tolerance and understanding for wolves
increases. He’s been dealing with wolves — and people’s reaction to
them — since the Western reintroduction program began.
The Utah wolf, which was captured alive, was returned to the Druid Peak
Pack in northeastern Yellowstone National Park, 200 miles to the north, on
Monday night. But additional wolves found in Utah will stay put, Fontaine
said.
The Fish and Wildlife Service has met its recovery goals for the
endangered gray wolf. There now are close to 700 wolves in Montana,
Idaho and Wyoming, the core of the recovery area. The agency expects to
reclassify the wolf, moving it off the endangered species list, possibly
by the first of the year.
“As long as they’re not getting into any
trouble, we’re going to leave them alone,” said Diane Katzenberger, a Fish
and Wildlife Service spokeswoman in Denver.
That would give states more control over wolf management decisions. But
for now, Utah wildlife officials are taking a “wait and see” approach,
said Miles Moretti, assistant director of the Utah Division of Wildlife
Resources.
Depending upon the conditions of the federal de-listing plan, Utah’s
options could range from trying to prevent a wolf pack from establishing
itself at all, to identifying certain areas suitable for wolves to
propagate, he said.
C. Booth Wallentine, CEO of the Utah Farm Bureau Federation, doesn’t
welcome the wolf’s return: “We do not believe there is a safe place in
Utah for wolves, where they won’t constantly do damage,” Wallentine said.
Utah doesn’t have the vast tracts of wild land that exist in Idaho,
Wyoming and Montana, where wolf recovery efforts have been focused, he
said. Livestock depredation is certain.
This summer, 15 sheep were killed near the Monte Cristo Range, not far
from where the wolf was trapped on Saturday, he said.
“Fifteen head of sheep in one or two days — you can’t ask a sheep
rancher to take that kind of loss,” Wallentine said. “Of course we are
opposed to the establishment of a population in Utah, but we know they’re
going to come.”
Wallentine thinks the wolf that was returned to Yellowstone will make its
way back to Utah to establish its own turf.
The arrival is delightful news for others.
“It’s a very exciting event,” said Lawson LeGate, senior regional
representative for the Sierra Club. “There’s plenty of land in Utah
where wolves can flourish.”
LeGate says the wolf’s return is a symbol of something bigger: “We’re in
danger of losing the heart and soul of our American spirit when we lose
the last of our wild species, the last of our wild places.”
The success of the Western wolf population is proof that the Endangered
Species Act is working, he said.
State wildlife officials will now have to work to come up with their own
plan for dealing with wolves.
Officials in Idaho have already written a management plan. Montana is
expected to finalize its plan by the end of the year.
Wyoming is holding public hearings on a management proposal, and the
meetings have drawn hundreds of people during the past few weeks.
Those states are in the heart of wolf country. They need to have plans in
place before the wolf is taken off the endangered list.
Dealing with wolves isn’t just a question for biologists, Moretti of the
Utah DWR said.
“It’s such a social issue, there’s going to be a lot of views both
ways,” Moretti said, and Utah’s management plan will take that into
account.
“We would definitely do this through the public process,” he said.
Moretti said he doesn’t expect much progress on Utah’s plan until the
federal reclassification is finalized.
In the meantime, wolves remain endangered and are a federal
responsibility, he said.
Whatever Utah decides to do, Wallentine says he’s expecting lawsuits.
©2002 Associated Press