Hunters question wolf plan
ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. (AP) – License fee revenues from Wyoming hunters should
not be used to fund the management of the gray wolf once the animal is
removed from the endangered species list, residents told state Game and
Fish Department officials. Some of the 20 or so mostly hunters and
sportsmen from southwest Wyoming said Monday night they want the wolf to
be classified as a trophy game species so the animal can be hunted once
it’s federal protections are removed.
Residents also expressed fears about wolves overrunning some of the Game
and Fish-operated elk feedgrounds in western Wyoming and about what sort
of stipulations the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service might put on the state
if the feds fund management of the wolves.
The department is holding eight public meetings this month, which will be
used to draft a state management plan for the gray wolf.
The plan will be presented to the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission when it
meets Oct. 28, said Game and Fish Supervisor of Biological Services Reg
Rothwell.
Rothwell said wolf populations in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming most likely
be sufficient at the end of the year so that a petition to delist the
animal can be submitted.
All three states must have post-delisting management plans in place that
have been approved by the federal government prior to a delisting
petition.