Michigan Senate adopts resolution urging DNR to hold 2021 wolf hunt

From MLive.com in Michigan:

LANSING, MI — The Michigan Senate has adopted a non-binding resolution urging state wildlife officials to organize a hunting and trapping season for Upper Peninsula gray wolves this year now that the animals are no longer protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Senate Resolution 15 passed Tuesday, March 9 along a party-line vote, with all 20 seated Republicans supporting the resolution. It advanced last month from the natural resources committee chaired by Sen. Ed McBroom, who represents the western U.P. in Lansing and sponsored the resolution with co-chair Jon Bumstead, R-Newaygo.

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Norway: Wolves’ fate up to the Supreme Court

From NewsinEnglish.no in Norway:

Norway’s Supreme Court started hearing the state’s appeal of a rare victory for those trying to save the country’s allegedly protected wolf population from the rifles of those who feel threatened by them. Some say the court decision may change Norway’s predator policies forever, or usher in more laws against them.

Ranchers, forest owners and some rural residents fear that zones set aside to protect wolves will be turned into nature preserves. The organization dedicated to protect wildlife, WWF, fears for the future of endangered species.

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Wisconsin Hunters Kill Over 200 Wolves in Less Than 3 Days

From The New York Times:

Hunters in Wisconsin killed more than 200 wolves last week, far exceeding the state’s limit as they scrambled to take advantage of Trump-era wildlife rules that they worry may be tightened by the Biden administration.

At least 216 wolves were killed in less than 60 hours, exceeding the state quota of 119 and prompting Wisconsin to end what was meant to be a one-week hunt four days early, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

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Radio collared wolf that left Isle Royale by way of ice bridge makes incredible journey

From the CBC:

In January 2019, the Polar Vortex arrived across much of the northern United States and Canada and Lake Superior began icing over between Isle Royale, on the Michigan side of Lake Superior and the Ontario coast.

A rare ice bridge formed and for a recently re-located wolf made her escape off Isle Royale.

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Colorado state commission planning wolf reintroduction putting stakeholder feedback ahead of speed

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.

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Bills to curb wolf numbers advance in Montana Legislature

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.

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Oregon wolf makes history on lengthy journey to California

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.

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Oregon wolf tracked near Yosemite park for first time in 100 years

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.

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Colorado: CU Boulder lecture to discuss gray wolf, coyote reintroduction

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.

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Oregon: Ranchers get grants for nonlethal methods to protect livestock from wolves

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.

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