Idaho Fish and Game begins selling wolf-hunting tags

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game began selling wolf-hunting tags Thursday, the same day that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published the rule that immediately removed wolves in Idaho, Montana and portions of Oregon, Utah and Washington state from federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The action comes after the U.S. Department of the Interior on Wednesday declared wolves fully recovered in most of the northern Rockies, returning gray wolves to state management.

Tags are available at license vendors and Idaho Fish and Game offices and cost $11.50 for resident hunters and $186 for nonresidents, with a valid 2011 Idaho hunting license required.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission will set seasons, rules and limits later in the summer.

-- Kelly Burgess
Twitter.com/latimesoutposts

Photo: Gray wolves. Credit: National Parks Conservation Assn.

 

Poll takes the pulse of sportsmen on western gray wolf issue

Gray wolves in the western United States remain a highly contentious issue. Populations of the reintroduced animals have reportedly exceeded expectations, so much so that the predators were removed from Endangered Species Act protection (at least temporarily, until U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy’s Aug. 5 ruling which placed gray wolves back on protected status).

States are looking to overturn this decision and are seeking the authority to manage packs within their boundaries -- including the possibility of allowing wolf-hunting seasons, as were held in Idaho and Montana last year.

Among those stakeholder groups attempting to be heard on the matter -- state and federal legislators, animal-rights activists, ranchers and sportsmen -- are America’s hunters. But when surveyed on the subject as to how best to proceed, they seem to have some gray areas.

Asked if they believe western gray wolf populations have recovered and should be removed from the Endangered Species List, well over half of the respondents to the September HunterSurvey.com and AnglerSurvey.com polls said yes, with 57.1% responding in the affirmative. But about 36% stated that they "did not know" if populations are recovered, with only 6.7% saying they are not.

One thing respondents seem united on is their distrust of the motivations behind animal welfare groups’ opposition to delisting the gray wolf or turning over management authority to the states. An overwhelming 65% believe these groups are acting out of an interest to limit hunting opportunities, with almost 40% saying the organizations are doing so as a means to boost membership and donations. Only 16.1% believe these groups are acting out of genuine concern for conserving and restoring wolf populations. Comments submitted by survey respondents supported these beliefs, with many suggesting animal rights groups will say or do anything they can to put a stop to hunting in any form.

Judge returns gray wolves to protected status, halting wolf hunting plans in Idaho and Montana

A federal judge Thursday returned gray wolves to protection under the Endangered Species Act, effectively halting the possibility of wolf hunting seasons in Idaho and Montana this year.

U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy said in his ruling that de-listing portions of the Northern Rockies wolf population in Idaho and Montana while leaving those in Wyoming protected violated the Endangered Species Act, and that wolf populations cannot be managed based on political boundaries such as state lines.

"The Endangered Species Act does not allow the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list only part of a 'species' as endangered, or to protect a listed distinct population segment only in part as the Final Rule here does," Molloy wrote.

In separate statements, Montana and Idaho wildlife officials decried the decision.

"If we understand the ruling correctly, Judge Molloy is telling the federal government that because Wyoming still doesn't have adequate regulatory mechanisms to manage wolves, you can't de-list the wolf in Montana and Idaho," said Joe Maurier, director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks seeks several changes for 2010 wolf hunting season

The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks department has released its proposal for this year's gray wolf hunting season. It includes numerous changes, including an increased quota, a longer open season and a possible archery-hunting season.

FWP wildlife managers are seeking to increase the statewide quota to either 186 or 216 wolves, up from the 2009 quota of 75 animals. They would also like to create 14 wolf hunting units in three zones, and allow subquotas in some areas during the early season backcountry hunt, including the area directly north of Yellowstone National Park.

"In a word, it’s all about balance," said Ken McDonald, FWP’s chief of wildlife. "Smaller and more wolf management units represent lessons learned from the 2009 hunting season. Some areas contributed more to the harvest than expected and prevented us from addressing management needs in other areas. We want to adjust that to ensure a widely distributed harvest and yet still target areas where we’re seeing impacts on prey, like elk and deer, and where recurring livestock depredations are anticipated."

The Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission will meet Thursday in Helena to consider the proposal. If approved, a public comment period expected to run through June 14 will follow. A final decision is scheduled to be made July 8.

Montana's inaugural wolf-hunting season closes; it's deemed a success

Montana's inaugural wolf-hunting season came to an end this week and has been deemed a success by state wildlife officials.

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks called for the season to close half an hour after sunset on Monday after receiving word that the statewide quota of 75 was nearly reached.

"We hit 72 of the 75 wolf quota with two weeks left before the season was originally planned to close on Nov. 29," FWP spokesman Ron Aasheim told the Billings Gazette.

A total of 15,600 wolf hunting licenses were sold, generating $325,859 for the state license fund.

"It was a successful season. We learned a bunch, and we'll learn more as we evaluate it," Aasheim said. "We know where wolves where taken by county. We know sex. We know age. We'll know the days hunted. It's a pretty sound information base."

One thing that will be studied further is the sustainability of the hunt.

Wolf hunting continues in Montana and Idaho, with each state reaching quotas and closing another zone

Wolf hunting continues in both Idaho and Montana, with each state announcing the closure of a second zone on Monday after reaching quotas.

Idaho Fish and Game has announced the closure of the McCall-Weiser zone in west-central Idaho, where the limit of 15 wolves has been reached. This is the second area closed in the state, with the Upper Snake zone meeting its quota of five earlier this month.

Thus far, 98 of the statewide quota of 220 wolves have been reported killed in Idaho.

In northwest Montana, the North Fork sub-unit, a small area located in what is called Wolf Management Unit 1, reached its limit of two wolves and will close to further hunting today at sunset. The rest of Unit 1 remains open, with 14 wolves left in the total zone quota of 41.

This is the second zone to end its wolf hunting season in Montana. WMU 3, which includes the northern border of Yellowstone National Park, quickly met its quota of 12 within a month of the hunt's opening Sept. 15.

Wolf hunt closed in one Idaho zone after quota is reached

 

Idaho Fish and Game has announced the first area to be closed to wolf hunting, after the quota of five animals was reached in the Upper Snake zone in the eastern portion of the state.

The closed area borders Yellowstone National Park and Wyoming, where wolves are still protected by the Endangered Species Act.

All other portions of Idaho remain open to wolf hunting, with a total of 87 of the 220 statewide quota killed thus far.

Two other zones are nearing their limits. The McCall-Weiser unit has 14 of the 15 animal quota reported, and the Palouse-Hells Canyon zone, with a limit of five, has two predators taken.

The Southern Idaho unit, which is the largest, has yet to report any wolves shot toward the quota of five.

The season runs through Dec. 31 or March 31 depending on zone, or until each zone quota is met.

--Kelly Burgess

Photo: A wolf watches biologists in Yellowstone National Park after being captured and fitted with a radio collar. Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Fisherman fined for trying to disentangle gear from whale

A Massachusetts fisherman has been fined for freeing a whale that had become entangled in his fishing gear.

In a plea deal, Chatham resident Robert Eldridge was fined $500 after pleading guilty in Federal court to violating the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. He had faced up to $100,000 in fines and a year in prison. 

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office in Boston, Eldridge was operating a commercial fishing boat last year and had set gill nets in an area where humpback whales were present, and one promptly got entangled.

Upon learning of the trapped cetacean, Eldridge attempted to free it himself rather than calling the toll-free Marine Animal Disentanglement Hotline -- the number for which he had posted on his boat -- to bring in licensed marine mammal rescue workers.

Unable to disentangle the whale, he eventually cut the gear from the boat, leaving about 30-feet of line on the marine mammal.

In addition to the fine, Eldridge also provided a written statement that can be distributed to other anglers, which acknowledged his actions and in part read:

"I am making this statement in order to alert all persons who fish or enjoy being in the waters off Massachusetts that we must be, at all times vigilant in protecting of the marine mammal species with whom we share the waters."

--Kelly Burgess

Photo: A humpback whale breaches in this file photo. Credit: Associated Press

Idaho wolf hunt quota set; tags go on sale Monday

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission has set a quota of 220 wolves for the inaugural wolf hunting season, scheduled to begin next month.

Tags will go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. at Idaho Fish and Game offices, online and at private outdoor retailers. The cost is $11.75 for state residents and $186 for non-residents. All hunters must also possess an Idaho hunting license, which costs $12.75 for residents, $154.75 for non-residents.

The commission rejected a more aggressive option, which called for a quota of 430 wolves -- 49% of the state's wolf population.

Idaho joins Montana as one of the first Lower 48 states to legally participate in gray wolf hunts. Last month, the neighboring state set a quota of 75 wolves, with hunting season also scheduled to begin in September.

The plan continues to draw protests, though. Several lawsuits by environmental groups regarding the predators' removal from protection under the Endangered Species Act are pending, and could block the upcoming hunt.

Stranded chinook salmon get some helping hands

Thanks to a team effort, chinook salmon stranded in warming waters during their spring-run spawning migration were able to continue their journey Tuesday.

The fish were trapped in Butte Creek near Chico in a pool of water that was warmer than the surrounding area. This thermal block caused the salmon to dive to the bottom in search of cooler waters and halted their forward movement.

Department of Fish and Game and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration staffers stepped in, successfully capturing and transporting 26 salmon upriver. 

"Without human intervention to capture and move these fish, we would have seen a high mortality rate,"  DFG fishery manager Joe Johnson said in a release.

Biologists also implanted the chinook with radio transmitters prior to release.

"The radio transmitters will enable us to track where the salmon go and determine what the results ultimately are for this type of rescue," said Johnson.

Chinook salmon are listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. Though changes in habitat and water management have helped the Central Valley chinook population rebound somewhat, recent surveys indicate a lower number returning to the region than in years past. Because of this, salmon fishing is off-limits in most of the area.

-- Kelly Burgess

Photo: An NOAA biologist releases one of the Butte Creek spring-run chinook salmon with an implanted radio tracking device. Credit: Harry Morse / DFG

Grizzly bears in Yellowstone not experiencing the best of times

There's a troubling trend within Yellowstone National Park: Too many grizzly bears are dying or being killed by hunters, and the animals are being forced to expand range in search of food.

You may recall that Yellowstone's 600 grizzlies were removed from the endangered species list in 2007. Last year, 71 grizzlies died. Of those, 48 were shot by hunters, including at least 20 that were killed by hunters acting in self-defense.

Biologists say the Yellowstone grizzly population remains strong, but they're concerned because beetles in the high country are killing whitebark pine trees, which drop seeds that bears use as a dietary staple. Plus, there are concerns global warming will lead to even fewer whitebark pines.

With a traditional food source harder to come by, some believe, the bears will become grumpier, and danger to humans will increase. "The prospect is that every year is going to be a bad food year because of what's happening to whitebark," Doug Honnold, an attorney for Earthjustice, told the Associated Press.

Earthjustice has sued the federal government in an attempt to have Yellowstone's grizzlies placed back on the endangered species list.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo: A grizzly at Yellowstone National Park. Credit: James Peaco / Associated Press

Gray wolf delisting plan shot down by hunters

The plan to remove the federal protection of gray wolves in some Northern Rockies states has raised the hackles of a group of hunters and ranchers.

Their ire, however, is not because hunting may be allowed, but because the state they reside in is not included in the plan.

The Wolf Coalition, a Wyoming-based group of hunters, farmers and livestock ranchers, is planning to file a lawsuit against the federal government based on the decision to keep packs in the state protected under the Endangered Species Act.

"We ought to be able to take them off the list and allow the state to manage this species as they do other wildlife," said Harriet Hageman, the group's attorney.