Park County seeks wolf control
The Associated Press
CODY, Wyo. (AP) – Park County Commissioners adopted a resolution stating that something must be done about the expanding wolf population in Wyoming.
Commissioners say the resolution is the county’s way of making a statement to state and federal officials about the problems wolves are causing in northwestern Wyoming.
“I believe wolves need to be controlled as soon as possible,” said commissioner Tim French. “I feel within four years, the wildlife populations will be decimated.”
The resolution says wolves are having a negative impact on big game hunting and ranching in the area.
Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995.
There were 36 wolves at that time and recent figures indicate that there are now nearly 300 wolves in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.
Commission chairman Tim Morrison said a major concern of his is that the entire state of Wyoming is listed as a reintroduction area for wolves, while only small portions of Montana and Idaho are designated for reintroduction.
Also of concern is the number of wolves that are considered a pack.
Commissioners are pressing for that number to be five animals and they also want the number of packs limited to 13 in Wyoming.
French said a pack of wolves recently “trotted into the National Elk Refuge.”
That, according to all the commissioners, is a major concern because they believe the number of elk and moose in the area is steadily decreasing.
In the resolution, commissioners cite hunting as a “major component of the custom and culture of our citizens as well as being integral to the subsistence of many citizens.”
They say the “presence of wolves will dramatically reduce, and may eliminate, recreational hunting and subsistence hunting opportunities to the citizens of the County of Park and State of Wyoming, severely affecting our local economies, culture, customs and our citizens’ freedoms.”
The Wyoming Legislature has also been debating the wolf issue.
One of the biggest debates revolves around the classification of the wolves.
They are listed as endangered species and cannot be hunted.
State officials want “dual classification” of the wolves. That means in designated areas around Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, the state could issue permits to take the animals as trophies.
The other side of the classification is listing them as “predators” in the rest of the state, meaning wolves could be shot on sight.
Some say that if the state adopts that policy, the federal government will not relinquish control of the management plan, thus leaving them listed as endangered.
But state officials, and the commissioners, have insisted on the dual classification listing, saying the state must have control over management to control the wolf populations.