What?s Wyoming Going To Do About Their Wolves?

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In July, Judge Donald Molloy declared in a court ruling that Wyoming had significant problems with its wolf management plan and he didn’t like it. He also didn’t like the idea that wolves weren’t utilizing the local transportation system to take up extra-wolfital affairs and interbreed with other packs. He waved his magic wand, patted himself on the back and created fiat science while refusing to listen to the scientists in charge of federal wolf management.

So, now what? The judge returned the wolf to the Endangered Species Act list and was soon followed by what appears to be a completely defunct U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s announcement it wanted to withdraw its proposal to delist the wolf. Molloy granted them their wish.

Soon, Ed Bangs, head of the wolf recovery program for USFWS, says the feds are going to make up a new proposal and hopes to have the wolf back under state management by early next year. More promises!

The ruling from Judge Molloy essentially contained two parts. One part dealt with Wyoming’s wolf management plan. Even though the USFWS, approved Wyoming’s plan, Molloy didn’t and declared it would not protect the future sustainability of the gray wolf.

The second part dealt with Molloy’s made up science that wolves have to interbreed within other sub populations of wolves in order to bolster the likely the animal will survive. There was nothing to this affect in the Environmental Impact Statement and the information given to the states prior to wolf reintroduction.

Nobody is sure in what direction they could go. On one hand, you have the courts that seem to be nicely bought and paid for by the environmentalists. We also have a dysfunctional U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whom some believe have lied right from the beginning about their intentions of wolf reintroduction. Corruption seems to run rampant through the Service to the point that the left hand knows not what the right hand is doing.

Now in Wyoming there are some lawmakers who think that amending the state’s approved wolf management plan to more comply with what Judge Molloy ruled, will satisfy the wants and needs of those suing the federal government to protect the wolves.

Why should we think for a moment that will have any effect at all? History shows us that all the giving and compromises comes from everyone except the environmentalists. Then when they get what they want they go after more, with a clear agenda.

According to the Jackson Hole Daily, Noah Brenner quotes State Rep. Keith Gingery, who has proposed changes to the wolf management plan. There have been public meetings taking place to give people an opportunity to offer input to these plan changes.

“If I took anything away from the meeting, it was that there are just a lot of people who are tired of the issue and want it resolved once and for all,” he said. “If that is a true sentiment, then let’s stop fighting in court and find a solution similar to Montana and Idaho. I think most people are getting to recognize fighting in court doesn’t get you anywhere.”

I will concur that there are a lot of angry people who would like to resolve this issue. There is no such thing as stopping the fighting in court. The Endangered Species Act is designed to foster an unending barrage of lawsuits. With each successive ruling comes more reasons to file more suits.

The forces at work here are those wanting to turn management of the wolf back over to the states and let them manage populations that fit the wishes of the people while at the same time ensuring the wolf won’t get wiped out again.

On the other side are the environmentalists, animal rights and anti-hunting groups who care nothing about what the states want. All they care about is what they want and will not stop until they get it. How many times do we need to walk down the street and fall into that deep hole before we realize the hole is not going away?

Wyoming, Idaho and Montana have to decide, either separately or united, exactly in what direction to proceed. Those filing the lawsuits to protect the wolf have been given everything they have asked for and I see no end to that in sight. The courts as we have seen with the two latest rulings, one by Molloy and the other by Judge Paul Friedman, do just as they please in rendering decisions. They make things up, disregard science and seem to be eager to pander to the environmentalists.

Rep. Gingery’s efforts should be commended however it is a compromise that I’m not sure the majority of Wyoming residents want. It is also only one aspect of a court ruling that deals specifically with two issues, which I mentioned above. Convincing the courts that interbreeding wolves is or isn’t necessary is up to the scientists for the USFWS. Don’t hold your breath that this will happen and even if it did, would the courts be willing to accept their scientific findings?

I wish I had an easy solution to this problem but I don’t. It is complex and requires serious modifications and definitions within the Endangered Species Act itself. I believe that regardless of what direction the states decide to go, it will be a lengthy battle. (Bangs will not get the wolf delisted by early next year.) In the meantime, damage is being done and the environmentalists, supported by the media and key people within the state’s fish and game departments, are doing their best to convince the people that elk and deer populations are healthy in areas where wolves are living.

The millions of dollars spent over the years to manage and create healthy populations of deer and elk are now being wasted. This is money from the hunters that have contributed through license fees and taxes. Hunters are angry as they watch their investments wasted.

It is now up to the states to decide how to proceed.


Tom Remington
Check Out Related Articles

• Sen. Barrasso Says Wyoming “Double-Crossed” By USFWS
• USFWS Playing Politics With Wolves?
• The Endangered Species Act Isn’t The End All
• U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Turning Its Back On Wolf Delisting
• Activist Judge Molloy Tosses Science, Defines “Genetic Exchange”
• 1994 Wolf Environmental Impact Statement For Northern Rockies
• Idaho Wolves Are Great Killing Machines
• Washington Times Calls Friedman’s Wolf Ruling Shameful
• USFWS Ask Judge To Return Rocky Mountain Gray Wolf To ESA List
• Are States Stripped Of Their Power To Manage Wildlife Because Of Endangered Species Act And Commerce Clause?

See the article at MaineHuntingToday.com