Colorado Legislature considers a bill on livestock losses from wolves

From RFD TV:

In Colorado, a new bill has been proposed to address the ongoing challenges of livestock losses caused by wolves. House Bill 24-1375, sponsored by Rep. Tammy Story, would set aside an unspecified amount of funds to help ranchers pay for the non-lethal tools.

“I’m hoping it will ensure that livestock owners commit to utilizing non-lethal co-existence tools in order to protect their herd and their livelihood,” she said in an interview with The Aspen Times. “At the same time, it provides gray wolves a fighting chance to establish and thrive here in Colorado.”

 

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First Grant County wolf depredation of 2024 confirmed in Fox Valley

From Blue Mountain Eagle:

FOX VALLEY — Grant County’s first confirmed wolf depredation of the year took place earlier this month, state wildlife managers announced on Friday, March 15.

On Monday, March 11, investigators with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife examined a dead 2-day-old calf on private land in Fox Valley and determined it had been killed by wolves active in the Northside Wildlife Management Unit.

 

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Colorado wildlife officials are visiting wolf-impacted communities after rocky start to reintroduction

From Montrose Press:

In some of their first meetings with the general public since wolves were released in December, CPW got pelted with questions from ranchers and recreationalists wanting to dig deeper into the nuances of living with wolves after the groups had time to digest their arrival.

At meetings that unfolded from Feb. 26 to March 3 in Silverthorne, Steamboat Springs, Winter Park and Florence, attendees asked questions about everything from how to recreate around wolves to what happens if wolves attack cows in pooled herds.

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Lack of snow hampers Yellowstone wolves’ winter hunting season

From The Spokesman-Review:

BILLINGS – A lack of heavy snow has meant a lean winter for Yellowstone National Park’s wolves, according to the crews that annually monitor the park’s packs.

Wolves rely on deep snow to tire out their prey to make it easier to bring down much larger animals like elk and bison. Typically, the deeper the snow the better the hunting for the big canines whose large feet help keep them atop the snowpack.

But according to the most recent U.S. Drought Monitor, the northern portion of Yellowstone, and much of western Montana, is experiencing severe drought. Although winter recreationists like snowmobilers and skiers may be howling about the scarcity, for wolves deep snow can be a matter of survival.

 

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Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) Reports State Gray Wolf Compensation Program in Jeopardy

From the Sierra Sun Times:

March 17, 2024 – The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) reports the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Wolf Livestock Compensation Grants program could be in jeopardy due to the state’s impressive budget shortfall. The program was established and funded in 2021 to compensate livestock owners for depredation experienced with the presence of gray wolves.  Since gray wolves began to repopulate California in the mid-2010s, wolf packs have now been established in six RCRC member counties. And with the animal designated as endangered under the California Endangered Species Act, it limits ranchers’ ability to mitigate wolf presence impacts on their livestock.

 

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Bipartisan wolf management bills introduced in Minnesota Congress

From Herald Review:

On February 19, Representative Lislegard (DFL) of Aurora, MN introduced House File 3903.

This bill has two goals: to mandate an open wolf season once the gray wolf is federally delisted; and to establish the Northeast Deer Management Taskforce to develop effective and timely policies to increase deer populations in the northeastern part of the state. The bill is co-authored by Rep. Skraba (R) and Rep. Johnson (R). The companion bill in the Senate, SF3988, introduced on February 20, was authored by Senator Hauschild (DFL) from Hermantown, MN.

 

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Colorado wildlife officials are visiting wolf-impacted communities after rocky start to reintroduction

From The Durango Herald:

In some of their first meetings with the general public since wolves were released in December, CPW got pelted with questions from ranchers and recreationalists wanting to dig deeper into the nuances of living with wolves after the groups had time to digest their arrival.

At meetings that unfolded from Feb. 26 to March 3 in Silverthorne, Steamboat Springs, Winter Park and Florence, attendees asked questions about everything from how to recreate around wolves to what happens if wolves attack cows in pooled herds.

 

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In defence of the big, bad wolf: Why Britain should defy Europe’s anti-vulpine agenda

From Yahoo News:

On the night of 1 September, 2022 – coincidentally, a few days after the harvest moon – deep inside a wooded hamlet of north west Germany, a stray Eurasian wolf killed a little horse. The consequences of that fatal night have been severe. The now-deceased pony in question, Dolly, was in fact the preferred equine companion of the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. And she took the murder personally: not only was this carnivorous animal sentenced to death, the bureaucrat is now waging war against all wolves.

Wolves are protected in Europe; killing them is forbidden except in exceptional circumstances, with a permit. Von der Leyen’s vulpine nemesis was, according to authorities in the Hannover region who used DNA to detect him, part of a “problem pack”.

 

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Minnesota-grown technology helps scientists track wildlife around the globe

From MPR News:

Five years ago, officials with the Washington Department of Agriculture made a frightening discovery.

They found two giant hornets, nicknamed “murder hornets” because of their sometimes fatal stings, and ability to wipe out entire honey bee colonies in mere hours.

 

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Bill would require wolf season once delisting is final

From The Timberjay:

ST. PAUL— Three northeastern Minnesota lawmakers have introduced bipartisan legislation that would require the Department of Natural Resources to implement an open season on gray wolves in the state once the species is delisted as threatened in Minnesota.
Rep. Dave Lislegard, DFL-Aurora, Rep. Roger Skraba, R-Ely, were two of the three co-authors of the bill, HF 3903, which would also establish a northeast deer management task force by Oct. 1 of this year and would require the DNR to work with the task force to develop policies and law changes designed to increase the white-tailed deer population in the Arrowhead. The task force would be comprised of individuals who live or “operate” within the region and calls for membership to include hunters, wildlife managers, tribal members, a representative from the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, or MDHA, and other interested parties.

 

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