Meeting draws howls against wolf proposal
By Jason Lehmann, Enterprise Staff Writer
A federal proposal to relax wolf regulations in Montana and Idaho was derided by angry stockgrowers at Thursday eveningýs (April 15) meeting with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials, saying it wouldnýt necessarily bring relief from wolf attacks.
The proposal would allow stockgrowers in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA) and central Idaho to kill wolves on sight if theyýre caught attacking or harassing livestock, herding and guarding animals, and pets.
A permit would still be required to shoot wolves on public lands.
ýWe have roughly twice as many wolves as we thought we would at this point and time,ý USFWS Wolf Recovery Coordinator Ed Bangs told a packed crowd at the Livingston City-County Complex Thursday night. ýThe (Fish and Wildlife) Service proposes to modify the experimental population rules (in the GYA and central Idaho) … to allow more opportunity to (kill) problem wolves on private land.ý
Bangs said the proposal would also allow state agencies to kill wolves if they can prove the predators are killing too much big game like elk, deer, and moose.
ýThe state (Montana) has done a great job managing big game populations, and weýre going to rely on their expertise,ý to determine whether big game populations are suffering because of wolves, Bangs said.
ýI want to make it absolutely clear we are committed to getting wolves delisted,ý he said. ýBut until Wyoming does something different, wolves are going to stay listed for a while.ý
Montana and Idaho had its management plans approved in 2002, but Wyoming had its plan rejected since it allows stockgrowers to kill wolves on sight in most of the state. Killing a wolf is a felony punishable by jail and a $100,000 fine.
Bangs stressed the proposal isnýt meant to pressure Wyoming into creating an acceptable plan.
ýWeýre trying to give as much authority as we can to states that have acceptable (wolf management) plans,ý he said.
Despite nearly 800 wolves presently roaming central Idaho and in the GYA in Montana and Wyoming, Bangs said heýd ýbe surprisedý if the population went over 1,000, drawing unmentionable utterances and snorts from the audience.
Bangs said combined public and federal lethal control will keep wolf numbers below 1,000.
From there, stockgrowersý anger began to show.
ýEd, Iým not a biologist, but it occurs to me dogs come into heat and dogs get bred,ý Paradise Valley rancher Justin OýHair said. ýYouýre dangling this carrot in front of us and I think itýs ridiculous. Wolves are multiplying ý you said it yourself ý twice as fast as you thought they would.ý
Carbon County Commissioner John Prinkki urged Bangs to get the proposal approved ýas quickly as possible.ý
ýIt (livestock deaths) may be a small thing on an economic scale in this country,ý Prinkki said, ýbut itýs a huge issue. We need this tool.ý
Prinkki and other Carbon County commissioners passed a resolution earlier this year deeming wolves ýproblem predators.ý The resolution stated wolves even ýforced one area rancher to sell out to a real estate developer opening 8,560 acres to development.ý
Former Livingston City Commissioner Lenny Gregrey said he doesnýt own cattle or sheep or ýeven a pet.ý
ýBut these people have a problem and youýre responsible,ý Gregrey told Bangs. ýWhat you are is a Dr. Frankenstein and youýve screwed all these people here.ý
An angry Jerry OýHair, also a Paradise Valley stockgrower, told Bangs: ýYouýve put these critters on our land and you tell us we must abide by it,ý calling the 1994 wolf reintroduction a ýphenomenon beyond belief.ý
Some said the proposal is toothless since wolves are nocturnal predators.
Bob and Hubie Weber said theyýve never seen a wolf, despite losing dozens of sheep in December to the predators on their adjoining ranches 13 miles southeast of Livingston.
ýHow the hell are we supposed to control ýem?ý Bob Weber asked.
Others in attendance suggested giving ranchers night-vision rifle scopes, or establishing a bounty that would encourage wolf harvesting.
Public comment on the proposal will be accepted until May 10. Comments can be sent via e-mail to westerngraywolf@fws.gov, or mailed to: USFWS, c/o Ed Bangs, 100 North Park, No. 320, Helena, MT 59601. Comments can also be faxed at (406) 449-5339.