From the Summit Daily:
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — The commission tasked by voters to develop a plan to reintroduce gray wolves in Colorado by the end of 2023 reportedly will take its time to gather feedback from a wide variety of stakeholders.
The prodding pace has garnered pushback from supporters of reintroduction who say such a long process could make the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission miss the deadline set by voters in November for wolves to be released.
From the Associated Press:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Hunters and trappers who kill wolves in Montana could be reimbursed for their expenses by private groups under a proposal advanced by state lawmakers Monday that critics said is akin to the bounties that nearly exterminated the predators last century.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted to allow the payments amid pressure from livestock and hunting groups that say Montana has too many wolves.
From TheGuardian.com:
A grey wolf has made the longest tracked journey of any wolf over the last century, venturing hundreds of miles from its home range in Oregon to California’s Sierra Nevada.
The wolf, a male called OR-93, has been fitted with a GPS collar, allowing officials at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to monitor his progress as he made his way to Mono County, found in the Sierra Nevada mountain range near the border with Nevada.
From KATU.com and the Associated Press:
BRIDGEPORT, Calif. (AP) — A young male wolf from Oregon has been traveling near Yosemite National Park, the farthest south a wolf has been tracked in California in more than a century.
Researchers have been monitoring the wolf dubbed OR-93 via his tracking collar since he was first fitted with it in June of 2020. They said the animal departed Oregon earlier this year, likely in search of a new territory.
From the Daily Camera in Boulder, Colorado:
A University of Colorado Boulder professor will discuss the impacts of eradicating and reintroducing predators like coyotes and wolves from the American West as part of the upcoming CU on the Weekend lecture series.
Professor Joanna Lambert has long studied the ecological impact of removing predators from ecosystems, and she and other Coloradans will soon get a front row seat to see what happens when they are reintroduced — voters in November narrowly approved a ballot measure to reintroduce gray wolves to the state by 2024. Lambert was also involved as a science advisor on the ballot initiative to reintroduce wolves in Colorado.
From The Bulletin in central Oregon:
LA GRANDE — Two ranching operations in Union County received more than $17,000 total for nonlethal means to protect their livestock from wolves.
The Union County Commission voted Thursday, Jan. 21, to award $9,584.04 to Krebs Livestock and $7,745.96 to Eric Harlow, according to a county staff report.
Krebs Livestock, a company in Morrow County that uses Union County to raise some of its sheep, will use the money to pay for secure night pens, four fox lights, Bluetooth speakers, spotlights, additional herders and the removal of dead livestock. Harlow, a Union County rancher, will use the funding to pay for two additional herders.
From The Herald Times in Colorado:
Last week’s Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission (Commission) virtual meeting included six hours of presentation, discussion, and comments on the process of wolf introduction. Many eyes and ears were fully focused on them. The voters of Colorado have spoken and forced introduction of wolves will occur in Colorado. The question is how, where, and when.
From Princeton University:
Before wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the mid-1990s, they were vaccinated for common diseases and treated for any parasite infections they already carried. As a result, the first few generations of wolves were relatively disease-free, but over the years, various diseases have found their way into the population.
Sarcoptic mange, caused by the microscopic mite Sarcoptes scabiei, first crawled its way into the reintroduced Yellowstone wolves in 2007. Mange is characterized by itchy skin lesions and hair loss, but there is huge variation between individuals in terms of how sick wolves actually become — some experience mild mange symptoms and are able to clear the mites within a few months, while others experience massive hair loss, emaciation and secondary bacterial infections, and eventually die of the disease.
From the Daily Jefferson County Union:
MADISON — The state Department of Natural Resources policy board narrowly refused Republican legislators’ request Friday to implement a wolf hunt immediately, citing concerns that the department can’t move that fast and Wisconsin’s Native American tribes haven’t been consulted as per treaty rights.
The decision marks a setback for farmers who say they’ve been struggling with wolves preying on their livestock for years. Ryan Klussendorf, a Medford dairy farmer, told the board before it made its decision that wolves have been preying on his livestock for a decade and have started stalking children at bus stops. He said he’s tired of listening to people from urban settings like Madison and Milwaukee talk about wolves’ beauty and the harmony of nature while he’s living a “daily nightmare.”
From WCCO TV in Minnesota:
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin want the state Department of Natural Resources to implement a wolf hunt immediately and not wait until fall.
The department’s policy board announced Tuesday that it will hold a special meeting Friday morning to consider the request from Republican members of the Legislature’s sporting heritage committees.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future.