Colorado State University researchers find reintroduction of wolves doesn’t have rapid impact on ecosystems in Yellowstone

From CBS News:

Researchers with Colorado State University spent two decades studying the ecosystems in Yellowstone National Park, with the goal of learning whether or not the reintroduction of wolves had any rapid impacts on willows and beavers.

After more than 20 years of collecting data, the researchers found the reintroduction of wolves did not have a rapid or notable impact on those ecosystems in the park.

David Cooper and Tom Hobbs, research scientists with CSU, said the removal of wolves from ecosystems has a much more rapid impact on the area than the reintroduction does.

 

Click here for the full story.

RODENTICIDES WIDESPREAD IN ITALIAN WOLF CARCASSES

From The Wildlife Society:

Anticoagulant rodenticides are pervasive in the carcasses of dead wolves analyzed by researchers in central and northern Italy.

The ubiquitous presence of these chemicals widely used for rodent control is unique among large carnivores in Europe, say the researchers of a recent study published in Science of the Total Environment.

 

Click here for the full story.

Himalayan wolf listed as ‘vulnerable’ in IUCN, prompts concerted conservation efforts

From Mongabay:

After the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified the Himalayan wolf as ‘vulnerable’ in its Red List of Threatened Species in 2023, wildlife experts are pushing for stronger conservation measures for the apex predator, considering various constraints and conflicts in its habitat.

The Himalayan wolf is found in the Himalayan region encompassing India, Nepal and the Tibetan Plateau of Western China. The IUCN report noted that only 2,275 to 3,792 individuals of the Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus chanco) are left in the wild.

 

Click here for the full story.

 

Conservation Groups Launch Legal Challenge After Feds Decide Against Restoring Wolf Protections

From Flathead Beacon:

Ten conservation and wildlife advocacy groups on Wednesday notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) of their plans to sue the agency over its recent denial of a petition to restore protections to gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

 

Click here for the full story.

Wolf captured on camera near road in Colorado

From The Gazette:

Another wolf sighting has been captured on camera in Colorado, about a month and a half after the species was formally reintroduced to the state.

An article from 9News reports that the wolf was spotted last Thursday near Kremmling, with a rancher capturing footage from the road.

 

Click here for the full story.

Washington House committee passes tribal wolf bill

From Capital Press:

OLYMPIA — A House committee unanimously endorsed a bill intended to increase the Colville tribe’s influence over how wolves are managed on 1.5 million acres north of the tribe’s reservation in northeast Washington.

Northern Ferry County and parts of northern Okanogan and Stevens counties fall within the region. It was the northern half of the Colville reservation until ceded to the U.S. government in 1892.

 

Click here for the full story.

Petitions to re-list gray wolf denied

From Powell Tribune:

After a peer-reviewed assessment, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Friday announced two petitions to re-list gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the Northern Rocky Mountains and the Western United States were “not warranted.”

The legal status of gray wolves does not change as a result of this finding, the Service said in the public announcement.

 

Click here for the full story.

Gray Wolf Hunting will Continue in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana

From K2 Radio:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials have announced that it will not restore protections for gray wolves across portions of six states and allow hunting to continue in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.

This after environmental groups petitioned to return wolves in the Rocky Mountains to the federal endangered species list.

 

Click here for the full story.

Why wolves are thriving in this radioactive zone

From NPR:

In 1986 the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, releasing radioactive material into northern Ukraine and Belarus. It was the most serious nuclear accident in history. Over one hundred thousand people were evacuated from the surrounding area because of the health risks radioactive waste poses to humans. Most people have not returned.

 

Click here for the full story.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service completes status review and finding for gray wolves in the Western United States; launches National Recovery Plan

From US Fish and Wildlife Service:

WASHINGTON — Recognizing that the national discussion around gray wolf management must look more comprehensively at conservation tools available to federal, state and Tribal governments, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a path to support a long term and durable approach to the conservation of gray wolves, to include a process to develop – for the first time – a National Recovery Plan under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for gray wolves in the lower 48 states. Today’s announcement does not make any changes to the legal status of gray wolves in the United States.

After an extensive peer-reviewed assessment using the best available science, the Service today announced a not warranted finding for two petitions to list gray wolves under the ESA in the Northern Rocky Mountains and the Western United States. This finding is not action-forcing; the legal status of gray wolves does not change as a result of this finding.

 

Click here for the full story.