From The Wildlife Society:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has finalized plans to designate Colorado’s gray wolf population as a “nonessential experimental population,” loosening restrictions on take traditionally granted to federally listed species.
From 27WKOW:
MANITOWISH WATERS, Wis. (WKOW) — The wolf management plan advanced by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources gained key support, inching the initiative closer to approval.
At a meeting Wednesday of the Natural Resources Board, the body tasked with overseeing various aspects of the DNR’s operations, Chair Bill Smith signaled that he supported the controversial Wolf Management Plan.
From Eurasia Review:
Protecting large areas of land from human activity can help stem the tide of biodiversity loss, especially for vertebrates like amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds, according to a new study in Nature.
In particular, vertebrate population declines were five times slower in conservation areas compared to animals living in areas not protected from development or conversion to agricultural use.
From Eagle Herald
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The leader of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources policy board signaled support Wednesday for the department’s contentious new wolf management plan even though the document lacks a hard population cap that hunters and farmers have demanded.
From Dutch News:
The Netherlands is now home to nine separate wolf packs, according to provincial wildlife agency BIJ12 which monitors wolf sightings.
Wolves have been slowly returning to the Netherlands after an absence of 200 years and the nine pairs of wolves which have made the Netherlands their home had at least 39 cubs this year.
From Billings Gazette:
After being functionally absent from the continental United States for approximately a century, wolves are back on the landscape and continually expanding into new areas.
Kristin Barker, research coordinator for the Beyond Yellowstone program, says, “The return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park has been touted as a key driver of restored ecosystem functioning, but what evidence do we have to support that claim, and how applicable is it outside protected areas like national parks?”
From EuroNews:
Wolves are back in Belgium and their growing presence is creating tensions with farmers, who fear for the safety of their livestock.
They want to reopen the debate on wolf hunting in Europe, which forbids it under both the EU’s Habitats Directive and the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitat.
From AZ Animals:
The hunt can be a vicious activity for wolves. Wolves hunt together in packs. This is the way they are able to hunt and chase down their prey smartly. Typically, prey that is much larger than they are. We can see here from the video below that in the face of dozens of massive animals, these wolves took their time to pick one out.
From 9News:
COLORADO, USA — New research, published Monday, predicts where wolves could eventually thrive in Colorado. U.S. Forest Service Research Ecologist Dr. Mark Ditmer pinpointed wildernesses near Aspen: Hunter-Fryingpan and Collegiate Peaks.
“If they’re staying in large wilderness areas they’re less likely to be moving through public lands or causing potential conflict,” said Ditmer.
From Wisconsin State Farmer:
Many farmers and others who live or recreate in the northern half of Wisconsin view the current wolf management plan drafted by the Department of Natural Resources as more of a wolf protection plan or wolf population expansion plan rather than a serious plan to limit the state’s expanding gray wolf population to semi-wilderness areas that have a biologically sustainable carrying capacity.
Following several meetings of the Wolf Management Plan Committee during 2021, the DNR released the plan to the public just one day after the November 2022 elections. The plan would take effect once wolves were removed from the Endangered Species list. Responding to criticism, DNR released a slightly revised version Aug. 1. Several farm organizations expressed disappointment with both plans.
The International Wolf Center advances the survival of wolf populations by teaching about wolves, their relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future.