The Gray Wolf in the Northern Rocky Mountains, will be taken off the Endangered Species list by the US Fish and Wildlife May 11,08. The wolves were put on the list in 1973. The population of the wolves at that time was about 500. Now after 30 years of protection the population has grown to about 1,500. There are about 100 breeding pairs in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming Eastern Oregon, Washington, and central N. Utah. Each state will be in control of continuing the efforts to maintain the wolf population. Animal groups biologists, property owners, educators and many other concerned groups along with the US Fish and Wildlife will work jointly with the states to maintain a viable working relationship in managing the wolves in the long term. The wolves will be monitored closely for the next five years.
Other wolves outside the Rocky Mountain designated area will remain under the protection of the Endangered species Act.
Although the states only have to keep 10 breeding pairs of wolves or 100 wolves per state to comply with the federal governments regulations. The three states have agreed to maintain 15 pair of breeding wolves and 150 total populations. (How generous is that?) The wolves will not be able to roam their historic range because of the intrusion of man but hopefully the wolves will be able to continue thriving and their recovery status will not be threatened.
Now that the wolves are delisted farmers and ranchers will be legal to shoot any wolf that is attacking their livestock. What I fear is that the farmers and ranchers will take advantage of this regulation as they have in the past and shoot any wolf that they come across. It is widely known that the ranchers and farmers of these areas are anti wolf. And spend $$$$ to try and decimate the wolves once again, as they did in the early 1930's. Even though the farmers and ranchers receive compensation for any animal lost to wolves, these people are crying that the wolves are costing them money. These same people are receiving free or next to free grazing about 25 cents per acre on BLM land or publicly owned lands, subsidized by all tax paying Americans. So their charges against the wolves are not founded. Every one owns the wolves not just the ranchers, farmers, hunters or the federal government. So why should a greedy few have the power to control or decimate or torture a species? A species that has done nothing but try to live as all living things do.
Once the animals are delisted they can legally be hunted in a hunting season, except in the National Parks. But watch out the ignorant may try and change that regulation also.
Big game hunters hate wolves because they believe that the wolves cheat them out of their big game, HOGWASH! In the early 30's the wolves were extinct in the lower 48 states. Wolves were pinned as the devil, evil, man killers, even though there has been no documentation to substantiate this claim, wolves were tortured, poisoned shot trapped, dismembered and decimated because of ignorance.
In Alaska the hunters and outfitters want aerial hunts of wolves because they do not want to share the moose, elk, deer with the wolves. The greed of man is as strong as it was in the early part of the last century. Unfortunately man has not gained any wisdom from the past. But continues to forge ahead, justifying his need to kill any and all things that he decides that he does not like.
The propaganda put out that wolves attack humans, so lets wipe them out, lets move into their habitat and then kill them for trying to live, Like most problems of this planet, humans are the problem not the wolves.
In the USA there are 4.7 million dog bites each year, over 30 deaths caused by mans best friend the domesticated dog. As a society do we willingly kill dogs? No! We even plead for their life after they have killed a human, or maimed a child. Something purebred wolves have not done, (the documented attacks are from dog wolf hybrids a result of man screwing around with nature) why don't we give the same consideration to wolves? Wolves who are shy creatures who do not seek out humans but in fact try to keep away from humans. I think that man should learn to coexist with nature, mans greed needs to be tethered. We are all children of this earth; most men will never learn this, until it may be to late for the human species.
I can truthfully say with the purest conviction that I feel sorry for all animal species that man has touched. I do not feel any empathy for the misfortunes that man has brought to himself, my sympathy lies with those creatures that have the misfortune of occupying the earth with the species that is suppose to be the most intelligent of all, man!