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Email: timberwolfinfonetwork@gmail.com
Email: timberwolfinfonetwork@gmail.com

Wolf future lies in classification

Wolf future lies in classification

LARAMIE – Wyoming will have to remove the gray wolf from the predator
classification or risk delaying the process to remove the animal’s federal
protections under the Endangered Species Act, Game and Fish Department
officials told a legislative committee.

But agency officials warned that any change in the state’s classification
of the wolf as a predatory animal will most likely be met with stiff
resistance from the state’s agricultural community.

And any delay in the delisting process will mean the state has to manage
even more wolves once they are delisted, wildlife officials said.

The agency officials asked the Joint Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and
Cultural Resources Interim Committee on Wednesday to sponsor a bill that
would change the wolf’s classification.

The gray wolf’s current classification as a predator in Wyoming means the
animal can be killed any time and anywhere, much like the coyote, jack
rabbit and skunk, said Bill Wichers, Game and Fish deputy director of
external operations. However, it is protected by federal law as a
threatened species.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has told the agency it will not begin
the delisting process unless the classification is changed, Wichers said.

Wichers suggested that the state pursue some sort of “hybrid class”
designation for the wolf that would include a predator designation for the
animal on the eastern part of the state and a wildlife classification on
the western side of Wyoming.

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