Wildlife advocacy group sues Wisconsin DNR over 2023 wolf management plan

From Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A wildlife protection group has filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources alleging the agency infringed on constitutional due process and equal protections as well as violated various statutes as it formulated an update to the state’s gray wolf management plan.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Dane County Circuit Court by the Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance; it names the DNR and the Natural Resources Board, the seven-member citizen body that oversees the department.

 

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Michigan panel weighs wolf hunting if endangered protections get removed

From The Detroit News:

The state’s Natural Resources Commission wants to know more before deciding whether to allow the hunting of gray wolves — if Michigan’s largest predator is taken off the federal endangered species list.

Although protected nationally, the state’s wolf population has stayed stable for the past 12 years. The number ranges between 600 and 700 each year in the Upper Peninsula. Nationally there are about 16,000 wolves.

 

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Nature Notes: Nevada is surrounded by wolves

From Elko Daily Free Press:

In 2017, a gray wolf was spotted in Nevada for the first time in nearly 100 years. It was at Fox Mountain, west of the Black Rock Desert and probably wandered east from California’s Shasta pack. The last Nevada sighting before that was in 1922, near Elko County’s Gold Creek. Nevada has probably always been poor wolf habitat and never carried a large population.

Yet Nevada is literally surrounded by wolf populations. The closest is a wolf pack roughly 40 miles from Reno. (All these mileages are very approximate.) So more of these predators are likely to wander into Nevada in the future.

 

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The science behind Colorado’s wolf re-introduction and why people are key to its success

From

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is on track to begin releasing gray wolves in Colorado by Dec. 31, according to agency spokesperson Travis Duncan.

The timeline makes good on a mandate approved by Colorado voters in a 2021 ballot question, Proposition 114, and comes after the state’s wildlife agency entered into an agreement with Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildlife in October to translocate 10 wolves from that state to two areas on the Western Slope, including the Roaring Fork Valley, by year-end.

 

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Judge hears arguments on shortening Montana’s wolf trapping season to protect grizzlies

From Idaho Capital Sun:

An attorney for the state of Montana told a federal judge Monday that the floating wolf trapping season will certainly not start next Monday, which is possible under this year’s regulations, as the judge heard arguments about whether to shorten the trapping season out of concerns for endangered grizzly bears.

Following the hour-long hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy told the two sides he would issue a ruling on whether to grant a preliminary injunction blocking part of the wolf trapping season in grizzly territory “relatively quickly,” as the season is days or weeks from getting underway.

 

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Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission denies conservation groups’ request for less lethal measures against gray wolves

From The Wenatchee World:

OLYMPIA — Conservation groups’ petition to help fix what they say is a broken system — resulting in the killing of nearly 45 gray wolves protected under federal and state laws — was recently denied.

Nonprofits Center for Biological Diversity, Washington Wildlife First and eight other conservation groups filed the petition Sept. 15. It was presented during a hearing Oct. 26 to the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, and was voted against.

 

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New American Red Wolf joins Wolf and Wildlife Center

From Fox21 News:

(DIVIDE, Colo.) — The Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center (CWWC) in Divide is welcoming Fender, an American Red wolf meticulously selected through the Saving Animals From Extinction program.

CWWC said Fender is a one and a half year old male that was transferred from Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington. He arrived on Nov. 17, and CWWC said his arrival marks a momentous occasion for the center.

 

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‘The Alpha Wolves Of Yellowstone’: Stampede Ventures Taps Zack Stentz, Will Stenberg To Script Film Based On Non-Fiction Book Series

From Deadline:

EXCLUSIVE: Stampede Ventures has optioned rights to the first three books in the bestselling non-fiction series The Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone, tapping Zack Stentz (Thor) and his wolf advocate brother Will Stenberg to script a film adaptation.

Published by Greystone Books, the books hail from retired National Park ranger Rick McIntyre. Stentz and Geoff Clark will co-produce through their production company Electric Brain Entertainment, with McIntyre to consult on the project.

 

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Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center welcomes rare red wolf

From CBS Colorado:

The sanctuary’s new wolf, Fender, will be paired with their female wolf, Shawnee, in hopes of preserving the critically endangered species.

 

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Wildfire Brought Wolves Back to Southern California after 150 Years

From Scientific American:

Years of drought and rising temperatures have turned California into a tinderbox. Since 2020 millions of acres have burned across the state. The fires have killed forests and people. But fire also brings life: California’s blazes have renourished soil, supercharged grass growth and set the stage for a top predator to reclaim part of its historical stomping grounds.

After the smoke cleared on 2021’s Windy Fire, a pack of wild wolves settled in the burned-out area just three hours north of Los Angeles. It’s the first time in about 150 years that gray wolves have roamed this part of the Golden State.

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