Residents voice input on wolves in the state
Caleb Warnock THE DAILY HERALD
No wolves in Utah, ever.
Utah County residents voted overwhelmingly in support of that statement at a meeting with officials from the Division of Wildlife Resources and Utah’s Wolf Working Group on Friday night. The meeting, attended by about 100 people, was held to gather public input about the future of wolves in Utah.
Those in attendance were asked to write down their top three concerns and suggestions about the future of wolf management in Utah on posters. Those were then collected and hung on the walls and everyone was asked to vote for the issue or suggestion they felt should be Utah’s top priority.
Of the 51 suggestions and concerns listed, 42 votes were cast for the statement “No wolves in Utah, ever.” Seventeen votes were cast for the statement “No wolves,” listed on a separate poster. All other suggestions and concerns received eight votes or fewer.
Craig McLaughlin, mammals program coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said each of the 51 suggestions and concerns submitted by residents on Friday would be collected and used by the Utah Wolf Working Group as it begins to make recommendations for the state’s wolf policy. Friday’s meeting was one of a series held across the state to get resident input about what such a plan should entail.
“We will summarize the information, losing nothing, and give it to the working group and they will decide how to incorporate it into their deliberations,” he said. “It is up to the state of Utah to come up with a plan to manage wolves in Utah.”
In October 2002, a male wolf from Yellowstone National Park became the first confirmed wolf in Utah in nearly 70 years when it was caught in a coyote trap about 25 miles north of Salt Lake City. McLaughlin said Friday the state will not actively reintroduce wolves, but wolves will continue to come to Utah, if they have not already arrived.
Gray wolves living in a region including northern Utah, which have been listed as endangered species by the government for nearly 30 years, were downgraded to threatened status in March 2003.
The federal government is expected to remove wolves from the list of threatened species next year. At that time, management of wolves will be turned over to the state government.
In preparation to take over management, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, acting on a joint resolution of the Utah Legislature, named 12 people in June 2003 to a group that will develop a wolf policy for the state.
At Friday’s meeting, Jeff Warren of Springville said he did not want wolves in Utah.
“My biggest concern is that they are now moving into the state of Utah and they are under federal jurisdiction so we have no management control,” he said. “We have management control of all other game and non-game species, and we can manage wolves. I’d like to see them delisted by the federal government so we can institute our own management plan.”
Joan Degiorgio of the Nature Conservancy said she drove from Salt Lake City to attend the meeting.
“I feel like wolves are coming and they are a natural part of this ecosystem, and I’m in favor of having them here,” she said. “They have certain habitat requirements, and I would like the state to find the best habitat and find out if it is public or private land, or used for ranching or would be a conflict, and work in those areas.”
Members of the wolf working group include two Utah State University faculty and two members of the Utah Wolf Forum, in addition to one member each from the Utah Wildlife board, Utah Audubon Council, Utah Wildlife Federation, Utah Woolgrowers Association, Utah Farm Bureau, Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the Ute Tribe and the Utah Association of Counties.
Those who did not attend the meeting can still submit comments by writing to Wolf Comments, c/o Division of Wildlife Resources, 1594 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City, UT, 84114, or by e-mailing wolfcomments@utah.gov.