A Bill That Would’ve Outlawed Running Over Wolves, Coyotes with Snowmachines Failed in Wyoming

From OutdoorLife.com:

Chasing and killing predators like wolves and coyotes with snowmachines remains legal in Wyoming even after some lawmakers tried twice to ban the practice Thursday.

The two efforts, a bill called Taking of Predators on Private Lands and another an amendment to an anti-wildlife torture bill, failed largely because the agricultural community says running over carnivores with snowmachines is necessary to manage domestic livestock in the state’s most-rural areas. National media and members of the public, on the other hand, are confusing the practice with hunting.

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WSB: Breeding wolves vulnerable to wolf harvest

From Wildlife.org:

The legal wolf harvest in Idaho disproportionately affects breeding individuals—males and females that lead packs—during the breeding season.

Previous research reveals that removing these individuals from packs can hinder population growth.

“Those breeders are more vulnerable during the breeding season—they have breeding on the mind,” said Peter Rebholz, a research biologist at the University of Idaho.

In a study published recently in Wildlife Society Bulletin, Rebholz and his colleagues identified breeders from tissue samples from wolves harvested in Idaho. Then, they determined what proportion of the harvested wolves were breeders and what season they were harvested in.

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Beef producers bring wolf predation back into spotlight [Canada]

From ManitobaCooperator.ca:

Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) says they’re cautiously optimistic about addressing ongoing issues with wolf predation, although some of their members are hot under the collar about it.

Wolves appear to be becoming bolder, a number of producers have stood up to say during industry meetings and over social media.

Stan Hutton, a landowner near Lake of the Prairies, said he has witnessed and heard of increasing wolf attacks from producers in his area. He recently alerted the Manitoba government to wolf activity in the Bodnaruk Hill subdivision at Lake of the Prairies. “It seems like the wolves are less afraid of human contact,” he said.

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To protect grizzlies, judge won’t reconsider Idaho wolf trapping decision

From CapitalPress.com:

A federal judge denied Idaho’s request that she reconsider her earlier ban on recreational wolf trapping and snaring when Endangered Species Act-protected grizzly bears are not in their dens. Federal Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale in March 2024 ruled that trapping and snaring wolves during the grizzlies’ non-denning period from March 1 to Nov. 30 threatens the bears.

She ordered Idaho Fish and Game curtail its wolf snaring and trapping season in the state’s northern panhandle and Clearwater, Salmon and Upper Snake River regions.

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Police ask for help after ninth wolf illegally killed in Oregon since 2023

From StatesmanJournal.com:

Oregon State Police are asking for help to identify the person responsible for illegally killing a wolf in Union County last month. It is the ninth wolf killed in a poaching incident involving Oregon’s most controversial predator since 2023.

Fish and Wildlife troopers responded to Catherine Creek Lane, about 11 miles southeast of Union, on Jan. 29 and located a wolf tracking collar, a news release said. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife identified the collar as belonging to OR-86 — the alpha male of the Frazier Mountain Pack.

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Now is the time for better gray wolf management strategy

From WashingtonPolicy.org:

Gray wolves are in Washington state to stay. Changing how we manage their population will improve relationships between agencies, ranchers, and activists.

HB 1442 proposes a new approach to management that gives counties in which gray wolves are recovered the flexibility to begin developing localized approaches to depredation response, poaching, impacts to ungulate habitats, and more.

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Pair of rare black wolves caught on camera in Polish forest by wildlife researchers

From AP News.com:

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Two rare black wolves, likely siblings, were spotted on camera crossing a stream in a Polish forest, a conservation organization said Sunday.

The unusual sighting, captured last year on a video camera set up by SAVE Wildlife Conservation Fund Poland project coordinator Joanna Toczydłowska, has prompted the organization to collect scat (droppings) in the forest in the hopes of learning more about the black wolves’ genetics.

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Restoring predators, restoring ecosystems: Yellowstone wolves and other carnivores drive strong trophic cascade

From Phys.org:

A new study reveals the profound ecological effects of wolves and other large carnivores in Yellowstone National Park, showcasing the cascading effects predators can have on ecosystems. In Yellowstone, this involves wolves and other large carnivores, elk, and willows.

The research, which utilized previously published data from 25 riparian (streamside) sites and collected over a 20 year period, from 2001 to 2020, revealed a remarkable 1,500% increase in willow crown volume along riparian zones in northern Yellowstone National Park, driven by the effects on elk due to a restored large carnivore guild following the reintroduction of wolves in 1995–96, and other factors.

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In Response to 2024 Wolf Torture, Killing, Wyoming Seeks to Write New Chapter

From MountainJournal.org:

Wyoming has long had a complicated relationship with wolves. Now, two bills introduced at the legislative level are looking to curb cruelty to wolves and other predators.

Officials discuss recapture protocols as Colorado gray wolf skirts New Mexico border near Raton

From TaosNews.com:

A female gray wolf with a radio collar was exploring territory in Southern Colorado a month ago, roughly 100 miles north of Raton, according to the latest Colorado Parks and Wildlife gray wolf activity map.

But what happens if a gray wolf crosses from Colorado into New Mexico?

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