Utah House approves wolf relocation bill
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – The Utah House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a bill that would determine how to relocate wolves within the state once the animals are de-listed from endangered status.
For relocation purposes, the wolves would be classified along with big game. The House’s 67-0 vote moves the bill to the Senate.
Under current law, state wildlife officials can classify wolves only through consultation with local governments and private landowners.
The bill anticipates the wolves’ arrival in Utah and the federal government’s de-listing of wolves from endangered status, letting the state manage the predator.
A gray wolf from Yellowstone National Park was captured by a coyote trapper in Morgan County last fall and taken back to the park.
This bill applies standard game relocation procedures within Utah to wolves.
Gray wolves are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act. But a reintroduction program in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho is going so well that federal officials are on the verge of handing over wolf management to the states.
The state plan would identify which areas are suitable for wolf populations and how to deal with problem wolves that kill livestock.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is already working on a wolf management plan, holding a series of public hearings.