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Wolf legislation Montana and Idaho !!

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Wolf legislation Montana and Idaho !!

Postby Lefty » 04 24, 2021 •  [Post 1]

It nice to see some legislation that recognize wolves are a problem. This should help out our big game populations
Lets bring those Wisconsin wolf killers into the state!!!
Minnesota likes to brag that they have the largest wolf population of any state.




Bills to curb wolf numbers advance in Montana Legislature
By IRIS SAMUELS and MATTHEW BROWN
March 1, 2021
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Hunters and trappers who kill wolves in Montana could be reimbursed for their expenses by private groups under a proposal advanced by state lawmakers Monday that critics said is akin to the bounties that nearly exterminated the predators last century.
The Republican-controlled Senate voted to allow the payments amid pressure from livestock and hunting groups that say Montana has too many wolves.
A separate measure advanced by senators would allow individuals to kill unlimited numbers of wolves, hunt at night with artificial lights and night vision scopes and use bait to lure wolves into traps.
The bills passed in 30-20 votes by the Senate largely along party lines, with most Republicans in favor and most Democrats opposed. The Senate will vote on the bills for a third and final time before they are considered by the House.
Supporters said the measures are needed to help officials more closely manage wolf numbers and preserve hunting opportunities for animals preyed on by wolves, including deer and elk. Current rules allow hunters and trappers to kill up to five wolves each.
The reimbursement measure is modeled after a program in Idaho, where a private group pays its members up to $1,000 for costs incurred while scouting, hunting or trapping wolves.
Bill sponsor Republican Sen. Bob Brown of Thompson Falls said wolf trapping is an expensive activity.
“It allows qualified trappers to be on the ground,” Brown said.
Democratic Sen. Pat Flowers of Bozeman, a former regional supervisor for Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, said it was “bounty hunting by another name.”
“We are crossing a line here that we have not crossed in wildlife management in this state,” Flowers said.
A similar bill passed the Montana House in 2019, only to be narrowly defeated in the Senate.
It is one of several measures advanced by Montana lawmakers this session to manage the state’s wolf population.
The House has already advanced measures that would extend the wolf trapping season and let trappers use snares, which animal advocacy groups say are inhumane. The House bills advanced largely along party lines with most Republicans in favor and most Democrats opposed, and await votes by the Senate.
Wolves were largely eradicated in Montana early last century but recovered under federal protection as some of the animals migrated down from Canada and others were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995. Many ranchers and hunting groups bitterly opposed the move because of wolf attacks on livestock and their natural prey, including big game such as elk.
Tensions eased after the animals lost their endangered species protections in Montana in 2011 and public hunting and trapping were allowed.
Wildlife managers kept enough restrictions in place to avoid the worst fears of animal advocates who had warned of wholesale wolf slaughters. The state developed a reputation for moderation compared to the more aggressive wolf-killing practices in neighboring Wyoming and Idaho.
Advocates say the measures approved Monday would obliterate that moderate image, driving away tourists who come to view wolves in places like Yellowstone and Glacier National parks and potentially causing harm to wolf populations.
“A lot of this comes back to the fearmongering and disinformation that’s been around since settlers first came,” said Amanda Wight with the Humane Society of the United States.
The state has about 1,200 wolves.
Roughly 400 have been killed annually in recent years, including about 300 by hunters and trappers, said Quentin Kujala with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks. The remainder are killed by government workers and private landowners in response to wolf attacks on livestock.
State wildlife managers say the wolf population is strong enough to withstand additional hunting pressure. They have not taken a formal position on any of the pending bills.
“We do feel the population is resilient and could sustain additional harvest,” Kujala said in testimony before a senate committee last week.
There is no target number for the population, but 150 animals is considered a minimum threshold for conservation purposes.
Justin Webb with the Foundation for Wildlife Management, which coordinates the Idaho wolf harvest reimbursements, said the program has spurred hunters and trappers to remove more than 1,000 wolves since the payments began. The costs are covered by membership dollars, sponsorships, grants and other sources, Webb said.




For the second time this session, Idaho lawmakers have proposed legislation that would expand opportunities to kill wolves, potentially whittling the animal’s population to a fraction of its current estimated size.
In a 26-7 vote, senators on Wednesday approved a bill that would allow year-round wolf trapping on private land and scrap wolf tag limits. The bill had been fast-tracked through the Senate after Sen. Van Burtenshaw, R-Terreton, introduced it in a committee on Tuesday.

Burtenshaw told the Statesman that industry representatives came to him with the crafted legislation, but he insisted that the bill is not “a war on wolves.” It would, however, allow for the killing of wolves even if they have not attacked livestock.
Sen. Mark Harris, R-Soda Springs, said no one is trying to eliminate up to 90% of the wolf population, down to the bare minimum the state’s management plan calls for.
“The reality is, we’re going to have over 1,000 wolves in the state at all times. But the current management plan is allowing the wolf population to steadily climb,” Harris told the Statesman on Tuesday. “What we aim to do is stop the growth.”
Critics said the bill is overly broad and opens the door to questionable methods of trapping. The bill would allow for “any method” that’s used to take a wild canine to also be used on wolves.
Garrick Dutcher, program and research director of Sun Valley-based nonprofit Living With Wolves, in a statement Thursday said the bill was based on “hyperbole” and are politicizing an animal that remains a vital species in the state.
“The Legislature is running a hurry-up offense and acting on behalf of a small vocal minority at the expense of your wolves and our wildlife management agency with this last-minute misguided effort,” Dutcher said.
BILL KILLS WOLF TAG LIMIT, ALLOWS YEAR-ROUND TRAPSThe measure, Senate Bill 1211, would eliminate the 15-wolf tag limit currently in place for hunting and trapping, and extend wolf trapping season on private property to a year-round endeavor. The current trapping season varies in hunting units across the state but is anywhere from one to six months long, typically beginning in the fall and extending to spring.
The legislation would more than double the state wolf depredation control board’s annual budget from fish and game to $300,000. Under the new law, any government agency or private contractor with a permit could kill wolves regardless of whether they have preyed on farm animals.
It also adds a provision for eliminating wolves “when the population has exceeded the recovery goals of the Idaho wolf conservation and management plan in an effort to maintain a balance of all wildlife populations.” Idaho’s wolf management plan states that it will take action to rebuild the population should the estimated number of packs in the state fall below 15 — or about 150 wolves. The wolf population is estimated at around 1,500 in Idaho.
Burtenshaw and Harris said they didn’t know how much of an impact the bill could have on the wolf population.
SUPPORTERS SAY LIVESTOCK AT STAKE WITH LARGE WOLF POPULATION IN IDAHO
Proponents of the bill said wolves have cost Idaho ranchers hundreds of animals in the past several years. From 2015 to 2020, Burtenshaw said 753 cattle, 952 sheep and 54 other animals were killed by wolves. He said he believes those numbers are underestimated, since wildlife officials sometimes can’t determine how an animal was killed.
But Dutcher said wolves don’t lead to significant livestock losses and doesn’t warrant “such flagrant use of state resources.” Idaho had about 2.5 million cows and calves as of 2019, according to the state Department of Labor. That’s far less than a 1% loss.
Burtenshaw said 584 wolves in Idaho were killed last year, compared to 380 in 2019. Despite those increasing numbers, the wolf population remained relatively unchanged, he said.
Ranchers are continuing to lose livestock, “and that’s why we’re getting so much pressure” to act, Burtenshaw said.
The Statesman has reached out to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game for its figures on wolf depredation but has not heard back.
Fish and Game, which has managed the state’s wolf population since 2011, estimated earlier this year that there are 1,556 wolves statewide. The agency said the wolf population has remained stable in recent years, and moved for expanded hunting and trapping seasons in February of 2020.
The House will need to approve the new bill before it’s sent to Gov. Brad Little.
The Senate bill echoes a House bill introduced in February that sought to reclassify wolves as predators, which would have removed hunting seasons and limits for the species. That bill died in committee shortly after it was introduced.
Andrea Zaccardi, senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, criticized the Senate for fast-tracking a bill that she said could lead to the killing of more than 1,000 wolves.“The consequences of this bill will be horrendous,” Zaccardi said. “This brutal war on wolves must be stopped, and we urge the House to deny this bill.”
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Lefty
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Re: Wolf legislation Montana and Idaho !!

Postby Swede » 04 24, 2021 •  [Post 2]

I would not push this legislation. This could put a lot of pressure on the USF&WS to declare them endangered again. The sad truth is that we may get what we want, but then not want what we get. I do not believe you will get a broad buy-in on just maintaining 150 wolves in Montana and in Idaho. At least for now the States have some measures in place to maintain wolf numbers. I guess we will see how this goes.
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Re: Wolf legislation Montana and Idaho !!

Postby Lefty » 04 24, 2021 •  [Post 3]

Swede that was my worry at one time too. But Idaho has continued to expand lion and wolf opportunities. Luckily ranchers and farmers are pushing big too. Idaho and Montana have proven over and over that the population continues to grow.



The game has kept changing. Utah had the right idea. Wolves in Utah got trapped and given back to Wyoming,,, Here you go just returning what you lost
Unfortunately the extreme fake conservation groups WWF PETA somehow dump money into lawsuits and too often win.
Idaho has 1553 Known ,,,,wolves, that is individually identified and who knows how many unaccounted for wolves.
Originally The Feds agreed that 75 wolves were what Idaho needed. But those funky groups kept changing the numbers.

75 wolves really means 75 adults' wolves
or 20 breeding pairs with young
or 20 successful packs
and the definition of 20 packs mean 20 breeding Alfa males and females with young.
then add , at least 4 two year-old young , 5 last year young.
the needle keeps moving

The wolf introduction was too successful for the animal rights groups. Those groups never wanted a sustainable wolf population. and their plans with grizzly bears doesn't really accomplish their secret agenda ( raise money and stop use of public lands)
Sagegrouse, Tiehm’s buckwheat and the Las Vegas bearpoppy, just arent cuddly like wolves
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Lefty
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