Utah DWR Wants Control Of Wolves
by Eric Ray
(KCPW News) The proposal to remove wolves from the protection of the Endangered Species Act in the northern Rocky Mountains is causing some heated arguments in states where the recovery program is centered. Animal advocates oppose the de-listing while many farmers, ranchers, and even state wildlife departments are in favor.
However, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has its own issues with the proposal. According to Kevin Bunnell, the Mammals Program Coordinator for the DWR, no evidence of wolves in Utah has been found this winter and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife has no intention of bringing wolves to Utah. Because of this, Bunnell says the DWR would like to have Utah de-listed statewide instead of just in the small sliver of the state covered in the current proposal.
Bunnell says, like other states, the DWR believes it’s best to manage the wolves at the state level. Utah already has a management plan in place should wolves be de-listed.