Grand County [Colorado] commissioners demand answers after re-release of depredating wolf

From SkyHiNews.com:

In a Dec. 17 letter, the Grand County Board of County Commissioners condemned Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s decision to re-release wolf 2403 into the county. Commissioners called the move a violation of the state’s Wolf Restoration and Management Plan and a betrayal of ranching families who have already suffered heavy losses.

In the letter sent to Gov. Jared Polis, Commissioners Edward Raegner, Merrit Linke and Randal George said they were “profoundly disappointed” by Parks and Wildlife’s choice to return the wolf after its capture in New Mexico.

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House Bill Targets Wolf ‘Whacking’ With Snowmobiles On Federal Land

From CowboyStateDaily.com:

For the second time in as many years, a bipartisan coalition introduced a bill in the U.S. House to ban using snowmobiles to run over wolves and other predators on federal lands in all 50 states.

The “Snowmobiles Aren’t Weapons Act” (SAW), introduced Thursday, was inspired by a February 2024 incident near Daniel, Wyoming. Local resident Cody Roberts allegedly ran down a wolf with a snowmobile, captured and abused it before killing it behind the Green River Bar in Daniel.

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NSMA wants wolf harvesting pause, questioning [Canadian] program’s impact

From CabinRadio.ca:

The North Slave Métis Alliance says a Tłı̨chǫ Government proposal to extend a wolf harvesting program is being handled inappropriately by the regulator and may not be helping caribou. The regulator, the Wek’éezhìi Renewable Resources Board, says it is following the rules.

The Tłı̨chǫ Government says its program is part of “doing everything that we can to try to help the herds recover” – caribou numbers in the region are down significantly – and only a minor extension is being sought.

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Former Wisconsin conservation warden fined in 2023 wolf killing

From WPR.org:

A former state conservation warden has been ordered to pay a fine for killing a wolf at his northern Wisconsin home two years ago, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

In 2023, Pat Quaintance of Bayfield reported to police that he’d killed the collared wolf during the early morning hours of Christmas Day. Quaintance is a hound hunter and former conservation warden with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, as well as a past president of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.

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US House passes bill to remove federal protections for wolves

From WPR.org:

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that would remove federal protections for gray wolves nationwide.

U.S. House Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, cosponsored the bill this year with Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and 30 other lawmakers, including Wisconsin’s Republican congressional delegation. The bill passed 211-204, largely along party lines.

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Mexican wolves are rebounding, but are they ready for delisting?

From HighCountryNews.org:

2025 has been an eventful year for Mexican wolves. The imperiled predators — a subspecies of gray wolf reintroduced to the Southwest in 1998 — appeared to be bounding toward recovery: According to the latest census, released in March, about 286 wolves roam Arizona and New Mexico, marking a nine-year growth streak. In response, Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., introduced a bill in July to remove them from the list of federally endangered species.

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[Oregon] Rep. Bentz cites livestock losses in push to delist wolves

From RogueValleyTimes.com:

Rep. Cliff Bentz, who represents Eastern Oregon and Jackson and Josephine counties in Congress, warned that the growing population of gray wolves is an increasing threat to livestock and the meat industry and called for their removal from federal endangered species protections. Speaking on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives last week, Bentz said the protections for wolves are restricting livestock owners’ ability to defend their herds. The compensation they receive from lost cattle is inadequate, he added.

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Colorado Parks and Wildlife is attempting to clarify the process for ranchers seeking compensation for wolf-related losses

From SummitDaily.com:

When Colorado voters passed Proposition 114 in 2020, it not only initiated the state’s reintroduction of gray wolves but also required Colorado Parks and Wildlife to help producers prevent wolf conflict and pay ranchers fair compensation for livestock losses.

With the creation of a wolf plan, the state wildlife agency also stood up a new model and process for compensating ranchers for wolf-related livestock losses. Now, taking knowledge from the first two years of reintroduction and a stakeholder group convened this year, the agency is seeking to improve and clarify the process.

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German Government Backs Wolf Hunting To Manage Wild Packs

From Barron’s.com:

The German government on Wednesday backed legislation that would allow regular hunting of wolves in order to manage populations in areas with large packs.

Rising livestock losses to wolves in recent years have provoked intense debate in Germany, pitting farmers against conservation advocates who hailed the resurgence of wolves in parts of the country as an environmental victory.

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Court stops Swedish wolf hunt in 2026 – had been criticized by the EU

From EuropeanNewsroom.com:

Stockholm – A Swedish court is stopping all planned licensed wolf hunting in 2026. The decision applies to all five counties where hunting was to have begun on January 2.

Among others, Sweden’s largest environmental organization, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, had appealed the county administrative boards’ decision on licensed hunting, arguing that “the government has opened the door to extensive and illegal licensed hunting of a protected and severely threatened species.”

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