Maybe by fall! More lawsuits to follow.


Wolf deal sweeps past Wyoming Legislature
.CHEYENNE—A landmark compromise plan to remove Wyoming’s grey wolf population from the federal endangered species list overwhelmingly passed the Wyoming Legislature on Monday.

The 57-1 vote in the Wyoming House means the legislation now heads to Gov. Matt Mead for his signature.

Under the deal, reached last year by Mead and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wyoming’s roughly 243 wolves living outside of Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Indian Reservation would be placed under state control. Wyoming’s the only state with wolves covered under federal endangered species protection.

Wyoming’s wolf management plan would allow the animals to be killed on sight in all but the northwest part of the state, where they would be designated as trophy game and could only be hunted with a license.

The plan also establishes a flex zone covering northern Sublette and Lincoln counties, as well as southern Teton County, in which wolves would be protected only from Oct. 15 until the end of the following February.

The deal swept through the Legislature with little debate. State Rep. Lorraine Quarberg, R-Thermopolis, was the only House member to vote against the bill, Senate File 41, during the final House vote on Monday.

If Mead signs the bill as expected, it will then be up to Fish and Wildlife director Dan Ashe to make the final decision whether to enact the agreement. The unofficial deadline to finish the deal is Sept. 30, according to federal and state officials.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials have said that if wolves are delisted by September, they would likely set up a hunting season for this fall.

whats up with the thermop rep???

I know her and her husband very well. I have hunted on their place quite a few times. Both are very conservative and pro-rancher/hunter. Kind of threw me to.

Good for Wyoming.... Wolves need to be controlled!

ravenr
one of us
Posted 06 March 2012 05:56
whats up with the thermop rep???


Probably a case of PMS, LOL!!! If the Feds had left them delisted and the antis couldn't go to court all the time this would have been over at least 5 years ago. Now it will be up to a Judge to tell whatever groups try to get injunctions against it to stick it where the sun don't shine!!! Any suit should go to Judges Johnson or Fruedenthal on the Federal District Court in Wyoming since Wyoming is by itself on this and the Montana Court Malloy sat on should no longer be involved. The latter may have to disqualify herself since her ex Governor hubby was involved in this before Governor Mead took the throne.

I wonder if she wanted a situation with no trophy status? Just a thought.

She might change her vote if one of those wolves got into their cattle herd and killed a few cows/calves...especially with the price of cattle so high.

Steve

quote:

The latter may have to disqualify herself since her ex Governor hubby was involved in this before Governor Mead took the throne.

Lost me on this one.

Lorraine Quarberg probably voted against it as Futrdoc said. My guess anyway.

kudu56---The two Federal District Judges in Wyoming are Johnson and Fruedenthal. Judge Johnson is the one who ruled in favor of Wyoming when they sued the USFWS for going back on their initial wolf delisting. The other is the wife of the previous Governor of Wyoming before Mead took office.

Got ya!

Gov. Dave was from Thermopolis like Quarbergs. I used to live in Thermop, and the Fruedenthals
were very respected by the old time residents. A large parcel of land, which includes Roundtop hill was donated by them to the community before he was elected Govenor.

CHEYENNE — The Wyoming Legislature has sent Gov. Matt Mead a bill to change the state's wolf-management law — a critical step toward ratifying the agreement the governor reached with the federal government last year over how to end Endangered Species Act protections for the animals.

However, uncertainty remains over possible legal challenges to Wyoming's wolf management plan. Many hunters and ranchers in the state worry that a large wolf population poses an unacceptable threat to other wildlife and livestock.

Under the bill now awaiting Mead's signature, the state would allow trophy hunting for wolves in a flexible zone around Yellowstone National Park beginning this fall, while classifying wolves as predators that could be shot on sight in the rest of the state.

"I'm obviously pleased with the progression of the wolf bill," Mead said Monday. His agreement with the federal government requires Wyoming to maintain at least 10 breeding pairs of wolves and at least 100 individual animals outside of Yellowstone and the Wind River Indian Reservation.

Mead said he spoke with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in Washington late last month. "He reminded me that they've taken a lot of pressure on this, but he remains committed to what Wyoming's doing," Mead said of Salazar.

Wyoming had an estimated 343 wolves at the end of 2010: eight breeding pairs and 113 individuals inside Yellowstone and 19 breeding pairs and 230 individuals outside the park, said Steve Ferrell, the governor's wildlife policy adviser.

It remains uncertain whether Wyoming can secure congressional protections against legal challenges to the delisting action. Congress earlier extended such protection to wolf delisting actions in Idaho and Montana.

If Congress fails to fireproof Wyoming's wolf delisting plan against legal challenges, many say they expect the state to be back in court as soon as the ink dries on the final federal delisting action this fall.

Doug Honnold, a lawyer with Earthjustice in Bozeman, Mont., has represented environmental groups in fighting wolf delisting efforts. He said Tuesday he believes it's likely that Wyoming's wolf plan will be challenged without congressional protection.

"Probably the issue that has most people who care about wolves hopping mad is that Wyoming still is taking an approach where in the vast majority of the state that wolves are designated as predators and the shoot-on-sight laws remain in place," Honnold said.

"And what the Fish and Wildlife Service in Wyoming cooked up is to have a relatively small area where the predator status would be shifted for a few months and wolves would have to run the gauntlet," Honnold said. "And we believe that's an inappropriate approach to make sure that wolves are fully protected."

Sen. Bruce Burns, R-Sheridan, is chairman of the Senate committee that handles wildlife issues. He said Tuesday that he doesn't expect Congress will act during an election year to protect Wyoming's delisting plan.

"I think it leaves Wyoming subject to the lawsuits that I think will be filed on the same day the rule becomes effective," Burns said. However, he said he thinks the state ultimately will prevail in the courts, especially given that Congress already has endorsed delisting in Idaho and Montana.

Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, had pushed language last year in a congressional spending bill to prohibit legal challenges to the state's wolf plan, but it was eventually removed. Christine S. D'Amico, press secretary to Lummis, said Tuesday the congresswoman continues to evaluate all possible avenues.

Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, said his membership is generally pleased with the wolf plan. However, he said members are very concerned, "that unless we can get some protections from Congress, the lawsuits will begin."

Magagna said only a relatively few species ever have been delisted from the Endangered Species Act. "Here's an opportunity to show that a major, high profile species can be delisted if we can stop the litigation," he said.

I know the Quarbergs pretty well too. I see her husband quite a bit. I'll have to ask but I'm betting Lorraine wanted the original dual status boundaries and didn't want to compromise.

HELENA — The wolf population in the Northern Rockies rose in 2011 despite the removal of federal protections and hunts held in Montana and Idaho, federal wildlife officials said Wednesday.

The animal's numbers rose by more than 7 percent to 1,774 wolves, as state officials look for more ways to reduce the population under pressure from hunters and ranchers who blame the predators for livestock and big-game losses.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services officials said the population estimates show that Montana and Idaho have done a good job in their first year of managing the species since Congress removed federal protections in May 2011.

"The states have done a very responsible job of having wolf hunts and managing wolves," said Mike Jimenez, a wolf recovery project director for the agency. "They're looking at bringing (the population) down responsibly."

Most of the wolves in the Northern Rockies are in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, though the region also includes portions of Washington, Oregon and Utah.

Federal protections remain in place in Wyoming, where that state's wolf policy had been considered a threat to the species' survival. Gov. Matt Mead signed a bill on Wednesday to change the law as part of Wyoming's efforts to remove Endangered Species Act protections for wolves there.

The new law will allow trophy hunting for wolves in a flexible zone around Yellowstone National Park beginning this fall, while classifying wolves as predators that could be shot on sight in the rest of the state. A final determination on whether to lift federal protections in Wyoming is expected by the fall, wildlife officials said.

Montana and Idaho held their second wolf hunts since 2009 with the aim of reducing the population in their states. Their management plans set a population minimum at 150 wolves and 15 breeding pairs.

Idaho lowered its population by 31 to 746 wolves in 2011, according to the state's Fish and Game department. The department has a goal of reducing the number in the state, but has not set a target population or limit.

Montana had aimed to cut its wolf population by 25 percent in 2011, but the numbers actually rose 15 percent to at least 653 animals. State wildlife officials attribute that to the hunt falling short of a quota of 220 animals and to wildlife officials responding to livestock losses killing fewer than half the problem wolves than they had the year before.

That increase has prompted grumbling by county officials who say state Fish, Wildlife and Parks regulators aren't doing enough to take on the predator problem. Representatives from more than a dozen counties told FWP commissioners on Wednesday that they wanted hunting restrictions loosened so that more wolves are killed in this year's hunt.

"This is as important as the price of gas right now," said Beaverhead County Commissioner Tom Rice.

FWP wildlife director Ken McDonald said the agency was considering several proposals, including getting rid of quotas altogether and reducing the price of non-resident licenses from $350 to $50 to encourage more hunters.

A total of 18,689 licenses were purchased in 2011, including 158 non-residents, and 166 wolves were killed in the hunt that ended in mid-February.

Other suggestions, such as allowing hunters to kill more than one wolf, would require a change in state law. FWP director Joe Maurier said the agency plans to present a package to lawmakers when the Montana Legislature convenes in January.

Commissioners will hear specific proposals for the 2012 hunt in May and make a final decision in July.

"We're going to be much more aggressive in our proposals next season," Maurier said.

Gov. Mead has signed the Bill and it's now up to the USFWS to honor what they agreed to with Wyoming and delist by 9/30.

And then let the "shooting, killing, blowing away, harvesting", I don't care what you call it, of wolves begin.

Again, stealing from Don444: "Wolves suck".

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis

Now it goes to the USFWS and they have to live up to their deal with Wyoming and delist the wolves in Wyoming. Then you will surely see antis filing for injunctions, etc. What is ridiculous is that this is close to the plan that the Feds approved when they delisted them in Wyoming back in 2007-08. Then Judge Malloy up in Montana got involved and things went down the toilet. The plan should prevail if things go back into court because the original plans for the involved states was for the wolves to be in a certain area in certain numbers and those have all been greatly exceeded. If every wolf in the predator zone throughout Wyoming is killed, the trophy area and Park will still hold way more than was ever agreed upon in the introduction plans. If any lawsuits go before Judge Johnson like they should, he has a good head on his shoulders and will probably tell the antis to stick it where the sun don't shine! Cross your fingers boys and girls!!!

The only thing these invasive vermin need is a dirt sandwich. They have slaughtered Yellowstone's Elk herd and killed about 16,000 elk PER YEAR in Idaho, which now leaves that State in a crisis. Many cow's are killed just before they can drop their calves and the wolves just leave her to rot and just take the fetus. The only control they need is extermination. They should have put their efforts on the native timber wolf not brought in gray wolves from the Yukon.