Feds Deny Wyo. Petition to Delist Wolves

[Judi Lynn]

Feds Deny Wyo. Petition to Delist Wolves
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Denies Wyoming Petition to Delist Gray Wolves
The Associated Press

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has denied a petition from the state of Wyoming that had asked to remove the gray wolf population in the northern Rocky Mountains from the federal list of threatened and endangered species.

Wyoming in 2005 had asked the federal agency to establish a distinct population for the gray wolf in the northern Rocky Mountains and proposed taking that population off of the endangered species list.

Just hours before Monday's announcement, Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal and state Attorney General Pat Crank released a letter in which they warned the federal agency that the state intended to sue to compel action on that petition and another petition the state had filed.

Wyoming has proposed classifying wolves as predators in much of the state, which would allow their unregulated killing in certain areas.
(snip/...)

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2231142

[villager]

1. astonishing. Assume those involved in actually doing their jobs

..will soon be shitcanned by the psychopaths.

[Biernuts]

2. Do wolves make good coats? n/t

[villager]

4. ???

[Raine]

3. Sounds like

for once decency came out on top.

[bluestateguy]

5. They're not going to help a Democratic governor

Fortuantely, Dave Freudenthal is still very popular.

[longship]

6. Dead-eye Dick needs to do some more shootin'

"Gotta git me some of dem wolfs."

[happyslug]

7. The problem is the Plan, not the idea of Hunting Wolves

Both IDaho and Montana have filed Wolf Management plans with the Feds. These plans, which include the KILLING AND HUNTING OF WOLVES, but ONLY UNDER A ANIMAL MANAGEMENT PLAN. i.e. some sort of plan that permit the wolf population to expand, but minimize harm to farmers and ranchers.

The problem with the Wyoming plan, is it just wants to kill off any wolf that wanders into Wyoming (much like they do to any bison that wanders into Wyoming from Yellowstone National Park). Bison are NOT endangered, so NOT subject to the Federal Endangered species act, but wolves in the area ARE. Thus Wyoming can kill any Bison that end up in Wyoming and out of Yellowstone for that is NOT a Violation of the endangered Species act, but Wyoming need Federal Permission to do the same for Wolves (For Wolves are listed in the Endangered Species Act).

Thus the problem is Wyoming just do NOT what ANY wolves and that is their propose plan, while the Feds want the Wolf to spread throughout the West.

[pitohui]

8. bison are not endangered?

how did they rig that, bison are a fraction of their historical population?

[happyslug]

9. There is a lot of Bison nationwide

Both in Yellowstone and elsewhere. Some of these populations are quite small (For Example in Allegheny County Pennsylvania, whose County Seat is Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, had for decades the largest Bison herd East of the Mississippi River, about 15-20 Bison). Since the last time I read about that herd in the 1980s, "Buffalo Meat" has grown in demand and thus the widespread raising of Bison throughout the US. Thus between the huge number of Bison in Yellowstone and the numbers outside of Yellowstone it is NOT endangered as that term is used under the law.

On the other hand, Wolves are rare. Predators typically have a need for much larger territory han grazing animals, and thus the number of predators per square mile is low compared to grazing animals. Thus the Elk and Bison of Yellowstone are NOT endangered do to the large number of both inside Yellowstone, wolves and grizzly bears ARE endangered do to their much lower numbers do to the need for each to have much larger territory.

Endangered Species List:
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/wildlife.html

The Wood Bison (The only surviving Bison, the larger Plains Bison was wiped out in the late 1800s), is endangered and is listed, but as I said above, the population of wood Bison is quite large compared to wolves, thus the Feds have permitted Wyoming to kill any Bison that wanders out of Yellowstone. That is Wyoming's management plan for Bison. The Feds have found that acceptable given the huge number of Bison in Yellowstone, but the same can NOT be said of Wolves.

Allegheny County's (Pittsburgh) Bison Herd:
http://www.post-gazette.com/neigh_south/20030903sbison0903p2.asp

The "war" about Yellowstone's Bison:
http://www.pbs.org/buffalowar/war.html
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/bison/chap6.htm
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2006/03/23/news/state/30-bison.txt
http://www.forwolves.org/ralph/bisonrpt.html