Wolf News Roundup 10/07/2019
by Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!
October 7, 2019
Wyoming Wolf Hunt
With the Sept. 1 opening of the wolf hunting season in many of western Wyoming’s trophy wolf hunt areas, quotas have been reached in four hunt areas, so those areas are now closed.
This includes: the quota of four wolves has been reached in the Clarks Fork Hunt Area 1; the quota of two wolves has been reached in Area 3, the South Fork; the Wind River Hunt Area 5 quota of one wolf has been reached; and the two-wolf quota at The Rim (Hunt Area 10) has also been reached.
Of the total quota of 35 wolves available for legal harvest in the state’s wolf trophy zone, 16 wolves have been killed by hunters as of Thursday, Oct. 3. An additional 19 wolves have been killed so far this year in the remainder of Wyoming, where wolves are classified as predators.
WA Governor Opposes Lethal Control
Washington Governor Jay Inslee sent a letter to the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife asking for changes to the gray wolf recovery program. The governor asked WDFW to provide him with an update to his requests and recommendations for additional action by December 1.
The letter reads, in part, "I understand that conflicts between wolves and livestock do occur, especially as the state's wolf population continues to grow. The department, working with the Wolf Advisory Group, livestock producers, hunters, conservation groups and others, has made significant progress in securing both gray wolf recovery and increasing the social tolerance of wolves on the Washington state landscape. The State's Wolf Conservation and Management Plan (Wolf Plan) has contributed to the recovery of this species, and is a model of citizenry engagement and statewide leadership. I acknowledge that the Wolf Plan is successful in most parts of our state...Chronic livestock depredations and annual lethal removal of wolves in the Kettle River Range in Ferry County, have resulted in public concern and outrage over lethal management actions taken by the department.
"I share the public's concern and am troubled that the Wolf Plan does not appear to be working as intended in this particular area in Northeastern Washington. I believe we cannot continue using the same management approach on this particular landscape. We must look for other strategies that address the unique nature of this particular geographical area, an area which has been characterized as prime gray wolf habitat. We must find new methods to better support co-existence between Washington’s livestock industry and gray wolves in our state. The status quo of annual lethal removal is simply unacceptable."
Irish Rewilding
A Green Party leader has called for the reintroduction of wolves into Ireland, but a governmental minister says that there are no plans in place for such an action, and that releasing wolves would do considerable damage to farming and existing conservation programs.
Belgium Reward
Environmental groups have offered about $33,000 as a reward for information about the assumed death of a wild wolf in Belgium. Although the adult female wolf’s body has not been located, the groups assert that illegal hunting has resulted in the animal’s disappearance.
Check out the links below for details on these stories.
|
