From The Aspen Times:
As Colorado’s collared wolves continue to make their way deeper into the Western Slope, Professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Colorado Boulder Joanna Lambert pointed to previous wolf re-introduction efforts in the United States to bolster Colorado’s re-introduction plan during the Aspen Ideas Festival on Thursday.
“In talking to folks around Yellowstone, you know, those wolves went in 30 years ago … and it was intense, it was vitriolic,” she said. “Now, when you talk to ranchers right outside the park, say up in Paradise Valley, they’re like, ‘Eh, wolves, schmolves. We don’t want them here, and you guys put them in here, but I’ve figured it out.’”
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Is Colorado Ignoring The Best Wolf Deterrence Program in Country?
From Colorado Times Recorder:
There are five large sheep-raising operations in the Big Wood Valley, in central Idaho. Seventeen years ago, they banded together to conduct a long-range experiment focused on whether it was possible to use non-lethal tools and tactics to discourage wolves from preying on their sheep.
Partners in the program included Defenders of Wildlife, Wildlife Services of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and various academics from universities around the world. The protected area was open-range.
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Russian scientists conduct autopsy on 44,000-year-old permafrost wolf carcass
From Reuters:
Wildlife advocates push for federal protection of wolves on Capitol Hill
From Microsoft Start:
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – More than a dozen wildlife groups from around the country visited the Capitol on Wednesday to advocate for the federal protection of wolves.
States like Wyoming, Idaho and Montana do not have regulations in place to prevent the killing of wolves. In 2011, the gray wolf was delisted from the Endangered Species Act by Congress in these three states and several others.
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Colorado awards group $28K for non-lethal wolf deterrents, range riders
From Fox 31:
DENVER (KDVR) — The Colorado Department of Agriculture and Colorado Parks and Wildlife are extending an agreement with the Middle Park Stockgrowers Association to continue supporting on-the-ground, non-lethal wolf deterrents.
The pair of state agencies are adding another $28,000 to support the association’s non-lethal deterrence plan, which includes a nighttime range rider to help prevent further conflicts between wolves and humans or livestock.
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Changes to Wyoming’s predator laws take shape in response to the wolf incident
From Wyoming Public Media:
“Before” the capture, and “after.” That’s how a state-appointed group examined the events that led up to and followed the now infamous incident in Sublette County of alleged wolf abuse.
The nine-member Treatment of Predators Working Group held their first meeting in Lander this week. The lawmakers, agriculture representatives and wildlife advocates took their first stab at reforming Wyoming’s predator laws.
The working group spent three hours reviewing the incident, state management laws and common hunting and agricultural practices. They’re expected to share a proposed bill to the Legislature’s Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resource Committee this fall.
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Reintroduction of Wolves to Isle Royale Shows Fleeting Impact on Wildlife
From Nature World News:
In 2019, 19 wolves were reintroduced into Isle Royale National Park with a view to returning its ecosystem to its natural balance. Climate change made it impossible to bridge ice bridges between the island and the mainland, causing the population of wolves on the island to drop, leaving only two inbred individuals, which made this effort necessary.
The study, which was just published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, used DNA analysis from fox and marten scat and hair to evaluate the effects of the wolves’ return.
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‘Wolves at Our Doorstep’: Advocates introduce gray wolf, address rancher concerns at Aspen Ideas Festival
From The Aspen Times:
As Colorado’s collared wolves continue to make their way deeper into the Western Slope, Professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Colorado Boulder Joanna Lambert pointed to previous wolf re-introduction efforts in the United States to bolster Colorado’s re-introduction plan during the Aspen Ideas Festival on Thursday.
“In talking to folks around Yellowstone, you know, those wolves went in 30 years ago … and it was intense, it was vitriolic,” she said. “Now, when you talk to ranchers right outside the park, say up in Paradise Valley, they’re like, ‘Eh, wolves, schmolves. We don’t want them here, and you guys put them in here, but I’ve figured it out.’”
Click here for the full story.
Wolves reintroduced to Isle Royale temporarily affect other carnivores, humans have influence as well
From Phys.org:
In a rare opportunity to study carnivores before and after wolves were reintroduced to their ranges, researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison found that the effects of wolves on Isle Royale have been only temporary. And even in the least-visited national park, humans had a more significant impact on carnivores’ lives.
The paper, published recently in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, uses DNA from foxes and martens’ scat and hair to understand where these animals were and what they ate before wolves were reintroduced, following the first year of their reintroduction, and as they formed packs across the island.
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Colorado wolves still active in Grand, Jackson counties, while moving deeper into Summit, Eagle counties
From Sky-Hi News:
Colorado’s collared wolves have traveled deeper into Eagle and Summit counties while somewhat withdrawing from parts of Routt and Grand counties, according to a map released by Colorado Parks and Wildlife Wednesday.
The map, posted on the agency’s website, uses Colorado watershed boundaries to indicate where wolves have been detected. It is updated on the fourth Wednesday of every month.
State officials have released the maps monthly since January after reintroducing 10 wolves in Grand and Summit counties in December.
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Running Predators Down With Snowmobiles Could Stay Legal In Wyoming
From Cowboy State Daily:
Despite widespread outrage over a wolf being run down with a snowmobile in the infamous Daniel wolf torture incident, banning that practice in Wyoming doesn’t seem imminent.
Instead, the focus should be on requiring predators be killed quickly, regardless of the method.
That’s the takeaway from members of a legislative working group Tuesday looking into reforming Wyoming’s predator polices in the wake of the Daniel incident.
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