From Steamboat Pilot & Today:
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives last week passed a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert proposing to delist gray wolves from the the nation’s endangered species list.
The bill, called The Trust the Science Act, was included in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for the 2024 fiscal year, which House members passed Nov. 3 — less then two months before Colorado reaches a year-end deadline to reintroduce a gray wolf population in the state.
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WDFW October 2023 Gray Wolf Conservation Report
From Big Country News:
This report provides an overview of gray wolf conservation and management activities in Washington during October 2023.
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With Colorado set to reintroduce gray wolves, bill backed by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert seeks their removal from endangered species list
From Steamboat Pilot & Today:
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives last week passed a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert proposing to delist gray wolves from the the nation’s endangered species list.
The bill, called The Trust the Science Act, was included in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for the 2024 fiscal year, which House members passed Nov. 3 — less then two months before Colorado reaches a year-end deadline to reintroduce a gray wolf population in the state.
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How Wolves Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change
From Nonprofit Quarterly:
Colorado plans to reintroduce wolves by the end of 2023. The proposal was tentatively given the green light by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which issued a draft statement of approval.
In their draft decision, the US Fish and Wildlife Service wrote that Colorado can establish what’s called a “nonessential experimental population”—a designation for groups on which the entire species’ survival doesn’t depend. This will allow for control of the gray wolf population within Colorado and provide conservation of the species. The Colorado plan falls under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, in the section devoted exclusively to species recovery.
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Rule allowing wolf kills in Colorado will also green light reintroduction, supporters say
From Vail Daily:
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife document finalized Tuesday will allow for the harassing and killing of wolves that are predating livestock in Colorado, something currently illegal under the Endangered Species Act.
But the provision, known as the 10(j) rule, could become moot in the coming years as appeals to an overturned effort to delist wolves as an endangered species are litigated in U.S. District Court in California.
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Federal wolf rule for Colorado to take effect Dec. 8
From The Daily Sentinel:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife has finalized a rule designating a nonessential, experimental population of gray wolves in Colorado, meaning it will be in place in time to provide the state more flexibility in managing the species as it begins reintroducing them, which it plans to do before year’s end.
The Fish and Wildlife Service said in a news release that the management flexibility that will be provided under the rule “can help to address potential conflicts between wolves and humans, and wolves and domestic animals while contributing to the conservation of the species.”
The wolf is federally listed as endangered in Colorado. The rule will loosen the federal protections provided to the species in the state, including by allowing killing of wolves in situations such as protection of livestock from wolf attacks.
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Leave It to Beavers? Not if You’re a Wolf.
From The New York Times:
Beavers are influential. By cutting trees and damming streams, these rodents change the world around them, raising water levels and creating habitats for diverse plants, insects, fish and more. They are some of the world’s best-known ecosystem engineers, a term for species that produce outsize effects on their environments.
Wolves are powerful. As apex predators, their facility at killing reverberates down the food web, and their direct effect on prey species may affect vegetation, other animals and even how streams flow.
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Matriarch of Oakland Zoo’s wolf pack euthanized after discovery of untreatable tumor
From CBS News Bay Area:
OAKLAND — The Oakland Zoo announced the death of the matriarch of its six-member gray wolf on Wednesday.
The zoo said, “We are broken hearted to share the news that Siskiyou, beloved mother of Oakland Zoo’s gray wolf pack of six, was humanely euthanized today after our vet team discovered a large mass in Siskiyou’s abdomen during a routine annual examination at our hospital early this morning.”
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Canid conversations: Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary offers a variety of tours to help visitors learn about its residents
From Albuquerque Journal:
During a visit to the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary, one might run across any number of members of the canid family.
The Ramah-based sanctuary is currently home to 78 animals, which includes wolves, wolfdogs, New Guinea singing dogs, coyotes and red foxes. While that is essentially maximum capacity, it’s also par for the course.
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Talking about carnivores means talking about culture, emotional symbolism
From Buckrail:
JACKSON, Wyo. — As highlighted in the 2023 Jackson Hole Wildlife Symposium, now is the time to talk about coexistence, particularly with large carnivores. However, experts suggest conversations about conflict are more rooted in the “cultural and social baggage” placed on predators than they are in the ecological considerations of coexistence.
According to Aaron Bott, a wolf biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, large carnivores are consistently interpreted as cultural and emotional symbols despite being biological entities.
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Eastern Oregon hunter reports killing wolf in self-defense while tracking elk
From Statesman Journal:
A hunter in eastern Oregon reported shooting and killing a wolf in self-defense last week, according to wildlife officials investigating the incident.
Officials said the hunter, whose name was not released, was tracking elk southeast of Seneca when a wolf came out from the timber in front of him.
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