State sets up deadline to complete wolf plan
State wolf management plan scheduled to be adopted on Feb 24, 2003
By Deanna Darr
Jackson Hole Guide
The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission last week approved a timeline for
developing a state wolf management plan that calls for a completed
document by February 2003.
The schedule calls for work to begin on July 1, according to Larry
Kruckenberg, special assistant for policy with the Wyoming Game and Fish
Department. Once completed, the plan will guide state wolf management
efforts when the species is removed from the federal endangered species
list.
The initial phase of gathering information from the public, including a
series of eight to 10 public meetings around the state, will be completed
in July, followed by development of a draft plan from August through
October, Kruckenberg said.
A draft wolf management plan will then be presented to the Wyoming Game
and Fish Commission at its meeting on Oct. 24. Official release of the
draft document will then follow, and a 45-day public comment period will
run through Dec. 12.
Comments gathered during the public comment period will be evaluated and
included in the plan, and recommendations will be presented to the
commission on Jan. 24, 2003. Those recommendations will shape the final
plan, which is scheduled to be officially adopted on Feb. 24, 2003,
Kruckenberg said.
The schedule allows only eight months for actual development of what
promises to be a controversial plan to take over the management of gray
wolves from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. But state officials
believe they can still develop a complete plan in the short time period.
“We believe, based on experience with similar efforts, that it’s a
reasonable schedule,” Kruckenberg said.
He added that the state is feeling pressure from Idaho, which has its wolf
plan completed, and Montana, which is close to finishing its plan. All
three states must have plans approved by Fish and Wildlife before the
delisting process can begin.
Kruckenberg added that Wyoming will benefit from the efforts of
neighboring states to develop their wolf management plans. Wyoming will
also be able to use some of the information provided by a 1996 draft
interim wolf management plan, he said.
The schedule also allows the Game and Fish commission to see the plan
three times before it is adopted, and it gives the public three different
ways to provide comments on the plan, Kruckenberg said.
First is the series of public meetings to be held across the state. A
schedule for those has yet to be developed. The second is the public
comment period following the release of the draft plan. Finally, there
will be a telephone survey of Wyoming residents, similar to what was done
for during development of the state’s grizzly bear management plan,
Kruckenberg said.
He added that officials expect the wolf plan to be much more controversial
than the grizzly plan, which was recently adopted.
Funding for the plan will come largely from federal sources. Kruckenberg
said $10,000 will come from the Region 6 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Wolf Project budget, an additional $10,000 will come from the Region 6
Endangered Species Fund, and $93,000 will come from the Federal Fiscal
2002 State Wildlife Grant Program.
The remaining $37,000 of the estimated $150,000 it will take to complete
the plan will be provided by the state in the form of in-kind
contributions, consisting largely of staff time spent writing the plan,
Kruckenberg said.
Federal funds for implementing the management plan are also being sought
by all three states, he said.