Wyo aims to keep dual wolf status
By JEFF GEARINO
Southwest Wyoming bureau
CHEYENNE — Wyoming’s Game and Fish Commissioners are sticking to their guns and supporting a dual classification of wolves, even if it means going to court.
The commission decided Friday not to support a bill, HB 155, that aims to avoid a court battle over Wyoming’s gray wolf management plan by removing the predator provisions in the dual classification.
Instead, the commission voted — by a 4-3 margin that was decided by Commission President Jerry Sanders’ tie-breaking vote — to support a second House bill that keeps the dual classification in place, but changes the law to better meet federal demands for delisting.
Commissioners said if nothing else, the bill could strengthen the state’s hand if wolf delisting is litigated.
“Now we’re in the unfortunate position of having to ask the thief to lock the door as he leaves the house,” Commissioner Doyle Dorner said about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s rejection of Wyoming’s wolf management plan.
“I’m inclined to not support doing anything much further except litigation. How long can we continue to give … we’ve given enough.”
Commissioner Ron Lovercheck echoed that sentiment. “If litigation is the way to go, then so be it,” he said. Dual classification “may not be the silver bullet … but it’s the only thing we’ve got on the table that’s law.”
Game and Fish Department directors, state officials and lawmakers met with USFWS Director Steve Williams this week regarding federal objections to Wyoming’s wolf management plan.
The plan’s key provision — the classification of the wolf as a trophy game animal in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and in nearby wilderness areas and as a predator in the rest of the state — required the passage of a law in 2003 that formally changed the wolf’s status.
Wyoming, Idaho and Montana must have federally approved management plans in place before a petition to delist the wolf can be submitted.
The USFWS approved the Montana and Idaho plans, but said last month that Wyoming’s plan may not provide for a sustainable wolf population after delisting.
On Thursday, the House voted in favor of HB 155, which would conform the plan to federal requests and classify the wolf as a trophy game animal statewide. A similar measure in the Senate failed, however.
Trophy game status means the Game and Fish can regulate the take of wolves through hunting or other management actions. The commission could establish hunting seasons and quotas if necessary. A predator classification means wolves could be killed anytime by any method.
A second bill, HB 111, concerning wolves has also been introduced, said Bill Wichers, Game and Fish Deputy Director of External Operations.
“HB 111 clears up ambiguous language … and provides additional regulatory leeway for the commission,” Wichers said. “Rather than prohibiting the take (of wolves), it regulates the take” when wolf numbers reach minimum levels.
HB 111 commits the state to maintaining seven packs or more outside the parks and a minimum of 15 packs statewide, including at least 10 breeding pairs, said Assistant Wildlife Division Chief John Emmerich.
The commission would be required to change the animal’s classification from predator to trophy game if wolf packs, or the number of breeding pairs, fall below that number.
Commissioners Hale Kreycik and Bill Williams pushed for support of statewide trophy game status under HB 155 in a motion that failed on a 4-2 vote.
“It’s a high-stakes game and our best odds are not with (dual classification),” Williams said. “Our best odds are with HB 155 … let’s get the wolf delisted and then see about the (litigation).”
Kreycik said he was “frankly against dual status from the beginning, only from the point that it would delay delisting. Every day we delay delisting, that gives wolves the opportunity to breed … increases their numbers … and expands the areas that they occupy.”
But Commissioner Kerry Powers decried HB 155.
The costs will be high, he said, for a statewide trophy game status under HB 155 that will include damage claim payments to livestock producers from wolf predation on top of management costs.
“I still can’t support any change in the language of the existing wolf law,” Powers said.
“But I would encourage the commission, the department and the state to take a strong position that we do not take over management of wolves without complete, permanent funding” from the USFWS, he said. “However this ends up, it’s absolutely imperative that funding accompany a final delisting rule.”
Commissioners pretty much agreed that if nothing else, HB 111 would, if passed, bolster the state’s case during wolf litigation, whether it occurs at the direction of Gov. Dave Freudenthal or from a suit from conservationist groups who oppose the dual classification.
“HB 111 should put our attorneys on the firmest ground possible to win that legal battle,” Kreycik said. “It’s another tool in the tool box to help with litigation.”