Park County poised to take over on wolf situation
By SCOTT McMILLION, Chronicle Staff Writer
LIVINGSTON — Park County Commissioners would give themselves the authority to kill wolves if the federal government doesn’t hurry up and remove its protections, under a resolution the commission is now considering.
“Should wolf delisting be delayed the Park County Commissioners reserve their right to protect our county and citizens by ordering lethal wolf control,” the resolution says.
The document was written by the Park County Stockgrowers, according to commissioner Jim Durgan. He said he supports it.
“I support the general concept,” he said, calling the document a “statement of our philosophy and intent. We can’t go out and start shooting wolves at will.”
Still, the resolution has some strong language.
Even when wolves are removed from the federal endangered species list — if that ever happens — if the county isn’t happy with how the state manages wolves, it should take matters into its own hands, the resolution asserts.
“Should delisting not bring meaningful and immediate relief to these residents, we reserve the right to take whatever action necessary to do so,” it says.
However, if the county were to kill wolves now, it would violate federal law and somebody could face heavy fines and imprisonment.
If county officials started killing wolves after delisting, they would violate state law.
“It’s clearly illegal,” said David Gaillard, of Predator Conservation Alliance, a Bozeman-based environmental group. “Why pass a resolution trying to encourage illegal activity? That doesn’t get us anywhere.”
The resolution, which is still in draft form, cites wolves preying on livestock and wildlife and a federal government that is “inadequately managing wolves in Park County.”
It notes that Montana has 56 counties and says the commissioners “will accept an equal proportion of wolves in Park County to all the other counties within the state of Montana.”
The resolution calls for delisting wolves according to the plan fostered by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. It also calls on the federal government to give the state up to $954,000 yearly, the amount FWP estimates it will cost to manage wolves.
Gaillard said his group fully agrees with both of those requests.
Jim Barrett, director of the Park County Environmental Council, said the resolution “is harmless, other than it makes us look bad.”
“When the American public generally supports wolves, this doesn’t generate any fondness for ranchers,” he said.
Delisting is stalled while federal wildlife officials and the Wyoming Legislature try to hammer out a wolf management plan acceptable to both parties. The Montana and Idaho wolf plans have already been accepted by the feds, but they say they won’t delist wolves in the northern Rockies until Wyoming creates an acceptable plan, too.
Durgan said there will be a public meeting in Livingston to discuss the wolf resolution. The meeting begins Friday at 7 p.m. in the basement of the city-county building.
Other counties in Montana and Wyoming have adopted similar measures.
Durgan said he hopes passing the resolution will speed the delisting process. And it gives people a chance to make their feelings known.
“It will give people a feeling they had a little say in it,” he said.