Pausing wolves could save $2.1M as state faces shortfall

From TheFencePost.com:

According to reporting by Colorado Politics Chief Political Reporter Marianne Goodland, one of the cuts debated by the Joint Budget Committee to close a budget hole is the wolf reintroduction program. The shortfall was originally reported at $1 billion, and has since been lowered to $750 million, according to Legislative Council Staff and the Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting. The issue is whether to fund the wolf reintroduction program in the 2025-26 budget year or save the $2.1 million in general fund dollars appropriated annually for the program.

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New Federal Grant for US Highway 64 Crossings Could Save Endangered Red Wolves and Other Wildlife

From Animal Welfare Institute:

Private conservation groups raised millions to boost North Carolina DOT application

  • The Federal Highway Administration announces winners of this year’s Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program grant competition to help keep wildlife and motorists safe on roads
  • Red wolves, one of the world’s most endangered species, to benefit from $25 million grant to NCDOT to build a set of wildlife underpasses on US 64 where the road crosses through Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern North Carolina
  • The same crossings will benefit black bears, bobcats, and a host of other species, with new study from Wildlands Network reporting over 2,400 animals killed by vehicles on US 64 since August

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People already live alongside predators in India and Kenya. Here’s how it could work in Scotland

From Phys.org:

On my way to the Scottish Highlands for the first time, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the landscapes and struck by its resemblance to the North American wilderness, albeit without the wildlife.

I felt sad to think that the only howl I was going to hear was that of the wind—like a lament for Scotland’s lost predators: the wolf, the lynx and the bear. Little did I know at the time that one of the places I passed through was called Rannoch Moor which, according to Scottish nature writer Jim Crumley, is an ideal place to reintroduce wolves to Scotland.

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Wolves, walleyes, moose and the Superior Hiking Trail attract funding in record package of Minnesota projects

From StarTribune.com:

Minnesota is poised to spend a record amount of money from state lottery proceeds next year — more than $100 million — to fund conservation efforts ranging from studying young, pregnant moose to replacing the Superior Hiking Trail’s most compromised foot bridges.

The broad slate of 124 outdoors projects across the state, including a closer look at the resiliency of different walleye strains in warming lakes, was overwhelmingly approved last week by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). The grants adopted by the bipartisan, bicameral group will roll out in 2025 if approved by the Legislature.

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Wild Cam: As snow decreases, wolf stomachs rumble

From Wildlife.org:

Lower snow levels in Minnesota winters means fewer vulnerable deer for packs to prey on

The first sign that Thomas Gable and his colleagues were approaching a kill site was the calls of crows and eagles cutting through the winter silence in northern Minnesota.

The ecologist in the Voyageurs Wolf Project at the University of Minnesota was surveying wolf predation last winter when snowfall was particularly low. He and his colleagues had GPS collars on wolves in two packs near Voyageurs National Park. When data were relayed back to Gable and his team’s computer, they looked for the telltale cluster of location points that indicated a potential kill.

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‘Disastrous’ or ‘off to a good start?’: One year into wolf restoration, Colorado navigates divide between wildlife conservation and ranching

From VailDaily.com:

Around one year ago, gray wolves were released in Colorado, implementing the voter-approved mandate to reestablish the predators in the state after being eradicated over 80 years ago. Between Dec. 17 to 22, 2023, 10 wolves were captured in Oregon and released in Colorado’s Western Slope — eight in Grand County and two in Summit County.

While environmental advocates and Colorado Parks and Wildlife laud the reintroduction efforts as successful and remarkable from a biological perspective, the first year has been heavily scrutinized. Ranchers and legislators described it as disastrous, painful, frustrating, stressful and challenging.

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Grants available for producers to help prevent wolf attacks

From FarmProgress.com:

Livestock producers in Minnesota feeling the wrath of wolf attacks have access to funds for reimbursement for costs of approved practices to prevent wolf-livestock conflicts.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture will award $45,000 through Wolf-Livestock Conflict Prevention Grants. Only costs incurred after entering into a grant agreement with the MDA are eligible for reimbursement.

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Colorado began reintroducing wolves 1 year ago. These are the struggles and triumphs of that year.

From Denver7.com:

GRAND COUNTY, Colo. — The accomplishments, turmoil and novelty of Colorado’s first gray wolf reintroduction exactly one year ago have captured the attention of the state and beyond, but controversy continues to follow the historic program as it heads into 2025.

In generalized terms, the past year looked a bit like this: Five wild wolves released. Another five released. The first calf killed. Outcry from ranchers. Adjustments. A string of more depredations. Wolf pups spotted. Outcry from ranchers. Adjustments. Outcry from ranchers. Adjustments. Another string of depredations. A wolf pack captured. Three dead wolves. Preparation for a second release. A petition to stop it.

Anguish. Hope. And lots and lots of questions.

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EU DECODED: How and why is EU downgrading protection status of wolves?

From EuroNews.com:

Wolves are now present in almost all EU countries and their numbers have increased from 11,000 in 2012 to more than 20,000 last year. Italy, Bulgaria, Romania and Spain have populations of more than 2,000.

The species that was almost extinct in the mid-20th century recovered after being granted strict protection status by the Council of Europe’s Berne Convention in 1982 and the EU Habitats Directive in 1992.

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Cohesion among canids: Insights into social behavior

From NPS.gov:

This study explored how animals in social groups, specifically those in the Canis genus (like wolves and coyotes), decide to stay close to each other or not. The researchers tracked 574 individuals from six different Canid species across 15 countries using GPS technology. They wanted to understand what influences the amount of time animals spend together, known as “cohesion.” Researchers defined cohesion by determining if animals within the same group were within 100 m of each other during the collection of each GPS location.

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