Wolf Weekly Wrap-Up

Montana Proposes Excessive New Wolf Quota for Landowners: Senate Bill 200, signed by Governor Bullock in April 2013, allows Montana landowners and/or their agents to kill wolves that are deemed a “potential” threat to livestock, pets or people.

In response to this new law Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) recently proposed an excessive quota of up to 100 wolves to be killed annually by landowners under this new law. Since 2005, on average only 8 wolves have been killed annually by landowners who claimed that a wolf on their property posed a potential threat. This proposal for an annual 100 wolf quota under the new law would allow landowners to shoot first and ask questions later, and weakens already limited protections given to gray wolves in Montana. With states like Idaho running rampant with their mismanagement of wolves, Montana should demonstrate leadership in sound, science-based oversight of gray wolf recovery, and not succumb to such anti-wolf politics. If you live in Montana, you can help us by submitting comments to FWP. Tell FWP that their proposal to allow up to 100 wolves be killed annually for posing a “perceived threat” is too high and sets a dangerous precedent for wolf management in the state.

Last year’s Wood River field crew.

Notes From This Week’s Successful Tours of Idaho’s Wood River Wolf Project: This week, our field crews in Idaho were joined by international scientists, state officials, and local ranchers who wanted to learn about the non-lethal predator management tools and techniques Defenders and our conservation partners are pioneering at the Wood River Wolf Project. Despite having one of the highest concentrations of wolves and livestock in the same landscape, the project area has the lowest loss rate of livestock and wolves in the state. Without using any lethal control of wolves, the project has protected thousands of sheep annually grazing in Blaine County, Idaho, losing less than 25 sheep over 6 years. Through this week’s workshops and trainings we were able to share our sustainable and affordable non-lethal solutions–turbo fladry, range riding, strobe lights, guard dogs and more– with many of the influential decision-makers about wolf management in Idaho. Check out this great video clip from Boise’s KBTV Channel 7 who attended this event to get the inside scoop on our programs.

Red wolves were the first species to ever return from extinction in the wild.

Stand Up For Endangered Red Wolves! With roughly 100 Red Wolves left in the wild, this species is one of our most endangered. A successful reintroduction and breeding program in the 1980s enabled this species to begin recovery in North Carolina. But today, one of the leading causes of Red Wolf deaths is gun-shot mortality, including deaths from hunters who mistake the small wolves for coyotes. Recently, Defenders and our conservation partners were able to get a temporary reprieve for Red Wolves by taking legal action to halt coyote hunting in the designated Red Wolf Recovery Area. However, putting an end to hunting in their recovery area is only one of the factors necessary to ensure Red Wolves survival. Red wolf recovery efforts must not only be maintained, but also expanded if the species is to survive in the wild. To do this, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) needs to continue to stand behind and fully fund the Red Wolf Recovery Program. Already the Service is under increased pressure from anti-wolf groups to walk away from recovery efforts. You can help! Tell the Service to stand up for Red Wolves and continue its recovery efforts for this critically endangered wolf!

With Your Help, We Are Putting Pressure On Governor Otter In Idaho: Last week we asked you to help us run a series of blockbuster ads in the Idaho Statesman as part of our of our all-out campaign to alert the people of Idaho to the slaughter of wolves being carried out in their state. Thanks to your help, this week we ran several online and print ads in the newspaper. We thought you’d like to see what you helped us achieve! We are still not done turning up the heat on Governor Otter; there is still time for you to  donate to help us continue to run this ad and others in our all-out media campaign in Idaho!