From nltimes.nl in the Netherlands:
The construction of a fence intended to protect livestock from wolves has started in Friesland. Former Queen’s Commissioner and VVD member Hans Wiegel drove the ceremonial first pile into the ground near Boijl, on the border of Friesland and Drenthe. At the same time, numerous experts have voiced concerns over the initiative, NOS reported.
One of the initiators was a sheep farmer Jehan Bouma. Together with three other livestock farmers, he advocated for the wolf fence, which is to be placed along the entire 150-kilometer long outer border between Friesland and Drenthe. Bouma and his partners raised 30,000 euros for the first piece of the fence through crowdfunding.
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As many as a third of Wisconsin’s wolves were killed after the species dropped from the endangered species list, study says
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
As many as one-third of Wisconsin’s gray wolves likely died at the hands of humans in the months after the federal government announced it was ending legal protections, according to a study released Monday.
Poaching and a February hunt that far exceeded kill quotas were largely responsible for the drop-off, University of Wisconsin scientists said, though some other scientists say more direct evidence is needed for some of the calculations.
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Collared female wolf struck and killed on highway in Canada
From The Bow Valley Crag & Canyon in Canada:
A collared female yearling wolf was struck and killed by a vehicle on the TransCanada Highway, near Castle Junction, in Banff National Park on June 24, 2021.
Public Relations Officer with the Banff Unit Justin Brisbane said the wolf was a member of the Bow Valley Wolf Pack, and was one of two wolves collared by Parks Canada on June 5, in order to monitor its movements and prevent habituation.
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In search of Japan’s lost wolves
From The Japan Times:
There aren’t supposed to be any native wolves left in Japan.
Once roaming wild across the nation’s abundant forests and mountains, the Japanese wolf’s population was decimated by disease and humans hunting them down in the name of protecting livestock. By the early 20th century, it was presumed extinct.
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‘One of our worst nightmares’: Joy, anxiety as third wolf pack enters California
From SFGate.com in California:
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife identified a new pack of gray wolves in southern Plumas County this spring, bringing the total number of officially recognized packs in the state to three.
The three wolves in the Beckwourth pack were first spotted in May 2021 on a trail camera, and the tracks of two wolves were noted earlier that year in the same general area in February 2021, according to Fish and Wildlife.
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Montana FWP to decide future of wolf quota areas near national parks
From the Independent Record in Helena, Montana:
Among the many new wolf regulations the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission is taking public comment on are some potential changes to uniquely managed areas adjacent to national parks.
The commission is soliciting comment on a gamut of regulation proposals until July 26 in response to new laws passed by the Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte. The laws include a directive to lower Montana’s wolf population; allowing snares to trap wolves; and extended trapping seasons with commission discretion to shorten them.
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife partners with CSU to study wolf reintroduction process
From CBS 4 in Denver:
DENVER (CBS4) – Colorado Parks and Wildlife continues to research the reintroduction of gray wolves into the state. Wildlife officials announced a new partnership with Colorado State University on Thursday.
While CSU is known for its agriculture and animal studies, this time the university is helping with public engagement. Together, CPW and CSU will analyze the public and stakeholder engagement process associated with the wolf reintroduction. The research will be funded by a RAPID National Science Foundation grant.
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One wolf was poached in WA. Here’s why it’s a big deal
From Crosscut.com:
When wolf biologist Trent Roussin first saw the gray wolf on May 26 in the Sheep Creek area of Washington’s Stevens County, it wasn’t immediately apparent that she had been shot. The wolf was lying on the ground miles behind a locked gate; it was quiet, Roussin says, and not particularly messy or bloody. When he and his colleagues realized she had been poached, he wasn’t surprised. But he was disappointed.
“It’s really a bummer, is the first thing you think,” says Roussin, who works at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. State-endangered gray wolves, once extirpated from the area, started recovering in Washington in 2008.
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Public comment runs 10-1 against Montana’s new wolf hunting, trapping regs
From the Missoula Current:
In a meeting to get the public’s comments on proposed changes to a wolf hunting season, opponents outnumbered supporters by a margin of nearly 10-to-1, with many criticizing night-hunting, snaring, baiting traps and some threatening to cancel vacation plans to the Treasure State.
On June 24, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commissioners put out a matrix with different wolf hunting proposals and management tools, including the addition of measures endorsed by the 2021 Legislature, which included much of what drew public criticism on Wednesday night.
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Netherlands: Despite serious objections, “Wolf fence” introduced to protect livestock in Friesland
From nltimes.nl in the Netherlands:
The construction of a fence intended to protect livestock from wolves has started in Friesland. Former Queen’s Commissioner and VVD member Hans Wiegel drove the ceremonial first pile into the ground near Boijl, on the border of Friesland and Drenthe. At the same time, numerous experts have voiced concerns over the initiative, NOS reported.
One of the initiators was a sheep farmer Jehan Bouma. Together with three other livestock farmers, he advocated for the wolf fence, which is to be placed along the entire 150-kilometer long outer border between Friesland and Drenthe. Bouma and his partners raised 30,000 euros for the first piece of the fence through crowdfunding.
Click here for the full story.
California is home to a new pack of wolves
From the Sierra Nevada Ally:
Since 2017, the Lassen pack of wolves, as they’re known, has been the only documented pack of wolves in California until last Friday when the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) updated their known wolves document and added the Beckwourth pack.
“According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, field efforts are ongoing. And it’s not yet known whether the pack has reproduced this year,” said Pamela Flick, California program director for Defenders of Wildlife. “But they did some preliminary DNA analysis, and at least one of the wolves is a Lassen pack pup from 2019. And it’s a female.
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