Freudenthal worries about fed view of wolf plan
Associated Press
CHEYENNE – Gov. Dave Freudenthal says a conversation he had with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife director left him concerned whether Wyoming’s wolf
management plan will be accepted.
“I’m a little nervous about the tone of the comments,” Freudenthal said
Tuesday.
Freudenthal said he talked to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director
Steve Williams in Big Sky, Mont., while attending the Western Governors’
Association meeting Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Wyoming, Montana and Idaho must have plans in place for managing gray
wolves before the animal can be taken off the federal endangered species
list. The plans must assure the wolf population will remain at sustainable
levels, and all three states have adopted wolf plans.
The next step toward delisting is a peer review process, in which
scientists and wildlife managers review the plans to determine if they
meet their described goals and ensure the wolf population continues to
thrive.
Concerns have been raised about Wyoming’s plan because it has a dual
classification of wolves – as trophy game subject to regulated hunting in
some parts of the state and as predators that could be shot with few
limitations in others.
Williams, the federal government’s official policy spokesman on wolf
issues, did not say anything specific indicating that Wyoming’s plan was
not sufficient, Freudenthal said.
Still, he said, “I didn’t come away optimistic.”
Williams inquired whether Wyoming would consider making its plan a little
tougher to protect wolves to ensure that their numbers stay up,
Freudenthal said.
The governor said he told Williams that strengthening the plan is
unlikely, and there is actually pressure to weaken the plan.
Freudenthal said people on both sides of the wolf debate want the federal
government to reject Wyoming’s plan.
Some want the plan rejected because they think it protects wolves too
much, while some hope the plan is rejected so the wolves will stay on the
endangered species list with full protections.
Freudenthal said he is aligned with the crowd that doesn’t want wolves in
Wyoming.
But the wolves are here to stay, like it or not, he said, so the best
thing Wyoming can do is develop a plan acceptable to start moving the
wolves off the endangered species list.
Otherwise, the wolf population will continue to grow, and their range will
expand as well, Freudenthal said.
The scientific peer review of the state proposals is likely to take a
month or two, and officials have said a delisting proposal could then come
as early as year’s end if all three state plans pass review and promise
the survival of the region’s wolf population.
Freudenthal said Williams told him the panel of scientists and wildlife
managers will be in place soon.