[California] Lawmakers Push Bill to Remove Gray Wolves from Endangered Species List

From SierraDailyNews.com:

The ongoing debate over gray wolf management in California highlights the tension between conservation efforts and the realities faced by rural communities. Under both the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the California Endangered Species Act (CESA), gray wolves are protected, making any form of lethal removal without special authorization illegal. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is primarily responsible for managing wolf populations, employing non-lethal methods such as deterrents and monitoring to mitigate conflicts.

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Should we be afraid of the wolf? – Rare Earth – BBC

From BBC.CO.UK:

The wolf has mounted an extraordinary comeback.

Once hunted to extinction across Western Europe, the animal has taken advantage of the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the depopulation of the countryside to spread from east to west, reaching as far as the suburbs of Amsterdam and Brussels. Only Britain, Ireland, Malta, Cyprus and Iceland now lack the top predator that haunts our fairy tales.

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Downgrading wolf protection is slippery slope for EU nature laws, says animal rights group

From Euractive.com:

Weakening the protected status of wolves risks using the wolf as a scapegoat. Animal rights group Humane World for Animals Europe says the new proposals could open the way for a more serious erosion of EU nature laws.

Last week, the European Commission proposed to amend Annexes IV and V of the EU Habitats Directive, downgrading the protection status of wolves under EU law.

A catalyst for this recent proposal is a December 2024 decision to lower the protected status of wolves in the Bern Convention.

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Cattle killed by wolves could net Oregon ranchers bigger state payouts. If Democrats defy environmentalists

From TheOregonian:

Oregon ranchers want higher payouts from the state to recoup their losses for cattle and other livestock killed by wolves. But the fate of a bill that would increase those payments will be determined by whether enough Democratic lawmakers, who hold the majority in Salem, are willing to defy environmentalists and support the proposal.

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How Wolves Became Yellowstone’s $82 Million Tourist Attraction

From OutsideOnline.com:

On January 11, 1995, approximately 17,000 elk bedded down in Yellowstone National Park. When they woke up a few hours later, a new scent was in the icy air: wolves. It had been 69 years since the last Canis lupus roamed the world’s first national park. As a result of hunting, government-sponsored eradication programs, and human expansion, wolves were all but extinct in the U.S. But on January 12, 1995, eight wolves from Canada were moved to Yellowstone in an effort to curb the exploding elk population that was destroying vegetation other animals needed to survive. It was a controversial move: area ranchers worried the new carnivores would prey on their livestock.

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How rare will wolf sightings be in Colorado?

From TheAspenTimes:

Colorado’s voter-initiated reintroduction of gray wolves has thrust a new predator into the High Country.

There are currently around 30 wolves in the state — a combination of reintroduced animals from Oregon and British Columbia, pups and those that have traveled from neighboring states. For the most part, wolf activity has been concentrated in the northwest counties of Grand, Summit, Routt, Eagle, Jackson and Pitkin — placing the animals in areas where Coloradans are living, ranching and recreating.

The Aspen Times spoke with Brenna Cassidy, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s expert wolf biologist, on what living alongside the predators will look like as the population continues to grow.

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Dutch told to keep dogs on lead or risk a wolf attack (and a fine)

From TheTimes.com:

From this weekend, dog owners in the Dutch Utrecht region face fines if they walk their pets without a leash in wooded areas where wolves are on the prowl.

It follows repeated incidents in which wolves have attacked dogs as the Netherlands, Europe’s most densely populated mainland country, struggles to deal with the predator.

The leash requirement, according to experts, means wolves will “see the dog and its owner as one” and significantly reduces the chance of an attack. Dog walkers will be given a six-week “adjustment” period before facing fines of €120 if their pets are not on a lead, with a maximum length of 10 metres.

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[Minnesota] Elected officials talk wolves at Hunters for Hunters meeting

From ElyEcho.com:

Steve Porter of Hunters for Hunters welcomed a crowd of around 100 people to the Babbitt Municipal Center on Feb. 22. He explained the organization started about a year and a half ago. The first meeting in Squaw Lake had 400 people in attendance along with six elected officials.

Porter said the audience was largely made up of deer hunters who had spent the season in the woods without seeing any deer.

“Minnesota is in a crisis with an epic failure of wolf management,” said Porter.

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Michigan lawmakers want gray wolf population control rights back

From WLNS.com:

LANSING, Mich.  — Some lawmakers in Michigan are pushing for Congress to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list—allowing population management to be returned to the states.

23 state representatives introduced a resolution Tuesday to urge Congress to reinstate the Department of Interior’s prior removal of the gray wolf from the endangered species list. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the gray wolf (excluding the Mexican wolf) from the list in 2020. However, a court order in February 2022 once again protected gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act.

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Wolves Becoming a Bigger Problem in Northern MN.

From WJON.com:

The wolf population in Minnesota is mostly in the northern portion of the state and those living there are seeing some negative affects from them.  Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News says wolf-related livestock depredation complaints are at a 10-year high in northern Minnesota.

He says there was a report of a wolf attacking a deer on someone’s front yard in town.  Schmitt says the lack of food in the woods for wolves have pushed them into towns.

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