Wolf biologist back at work
By BRODIE FARQUHAR Star-Tribune staff writer
Wyoming predator biologist Dave Moody went back to work Monday and was called “an employee in good standing” by an official of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, which suspended Moody last week.
Moody was suspended last week, with pay, after his comments to the 15th annual North American Interagency Wolf Conference at Chico Hot Springs, Mont., on April 9. Moody spoke of the challenges he faced in crafting a wolf management plan, after the state Legislature passed a bill that treats the wolf both as a trophy game animal in a limited area around Yellowstone National Park, and a predator everywhere else in the state.
In his comments to fellow biologists, Moody noted that wolves will be regularly moving in and out of protected areas, regularly running the risk of being shot as predatory animals. In Wyoming, predators can be shot on sight.
That mixture of regulated killing of wolves as trophy animals, and unregulated killings of wolves as predators, would be problematic, warned Moody. “That does not provide long-term, adequate protection” of wolves currently under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, he said, and could delay the species’ delisting.
Brian Foster, human resources director for Game and Fish, confirmed that Moody was back to work, hadn’t missed any pay and “is an employee in good standing.”
In a Game and Fish press release, Director Brent Manning said, “Moody is a valuable employee with our department. He will continue to be involved in wildlife management. His expertise and experience are invaluable.” Manning was unavailable for further comment and was out of state. Moody declined comment on the matter.
Moody’s boss, John Emmerich, said, “We are going to work as a team to get the wolf de-listed. We are going to strive for excellence, not perfection. We may have different opinions on how to get to where we want to be, but we will get there.”
Gov. Dave Freudenthal initially took issue with Moody’s comments, saying they conflicted with state goals, especially since Moody is in charge of drafting the final Wyoming plan.
“If he is really in charge of drafting the plan and he feels that way, we’ll have to look at that,” the governor said last week. “We need someone who is committed to getting this thing done.”
Freudenthal, in a Monday voice mail message to Liz Howell, director of the newly formed Wyoming Wilderness Association, said Moody was placed on administrative leave and lost no pay. Earlier reports by the Associated Press and by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), erroneously indicated Moody had been suspended with no pay.
Freudenthal called and left Howell a message Monday after he received an e-mail from her criticizing his handling of the incident.
“I think if you’ll check … Dave Moody was never suspended for anything,” Freudenthal’s message said. “He is in fact, was, on paid administrative leave while they looked into it. I don’t think it’s cost him a nickel. He should be going back to work. I think to my knowledge no one even told him to not talk to the press.
“Hard for me to deal with. … It’s a personnel matter with the agency. I think perhaps the news accounts are not entirely accurate.”
Freudenthal was in New York City on Tuesday, on an economic development trip, said Laura Azar, press secretary.
Chris Boswell, Freudenthal’s chief of staff, said state employees should not feel a “chill” and should not have misgivings about speaking about controversial issues.
“This governor is very committed to open discussion,” Boswell said. He said that if the state had a chance to handle the Moody case over again, it might have been handled differently. Nevertheless, the governor supports Director Manning, Boswell said. “That’s his agency and it is an internal matter,” he said.
Boswell said he regretted that Freudenthal’s voice mail message to Howell became grist for the newspapers.
Welcome news
“We’re glad Mr. Moody is back on the job and hasn’t lost any money,” said Eric Wingerter, national field director for PEER, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group. “It is too bad the department didn’t investigate the matter first, rather than punish him right away,” he added.
Wingerter said the one-week suspension of Moody was clearly retaliatory in nature.
“I’m glad it has ended well for the biologist,” said Steve Thomas, of the Sierra Club’s northern plains region out of Sheridan. “That was a rather shabby way to treat a 27-year veteran of the department,” he added.
Thomas said the Legislature was thoroughly warned that the dual-listing of wolves was problematic and that implementation of that policy would encounter serious problems. Dual-listing of wolves as trophy game animal and as predatory animal, said Thomas, was a political decision, not based on biology.
“I think this is a recipe for relisting the wolf,” Thomas said. “The wolves are going to follow the elk out of the park and the wilderness areas and they’re going to get blasted.”
Reorganization
Moody will shortly be reporting to a different person in the department. In the past, Moody has been and remains trophy game supervisor and has reported to Reg Rothwell, staff biologist with the Biological Services Section. Rothwell is a widely respected biologist and has worked extensively studying wolves and grizzly bears.
According to John Emmerich, assistant division chief, Moody will report directly to Emmerich in the future, rather than Rothwell. Emmerich, former wildlife manager coordinator for the Cody district, said the change was justified in the interests of efficiency. Biological Services will be used as a resource, Emmerich said. Restructuring should be completed by mid-May, he said.
There are other interpretations, of course. Liz Howell, director of the newly created Wyoming Wilderness Association, was of two minds. Having Moody report directly to the assistant division chief could be viewed as a step up for Moody, she said, and perhaps a raise would be appropriate.
“But we can also critically infer that moving Trophy Game out of the control of the Biological Services Department to the assistant division director is putting more control on what Moody says about wolf delisting,” said Howell, “effectively instituting the one-voice policy that muffles good science.”