Tagged: wolves

A new Liam Neeson action thriller opening Friday is receiving howls of protest from wolf advocates. They say “The Grey” wrongly portrays wolves as massive, bloodthirsty beasts. And some wildlife groups are organizing a boycott.

Idaho is the first state outside of Alaska to regulate a trapping season for wolves. It came after the animal was removed from the Endangered Species List this spring. Trappers who are hoping to snare a gray wolf are required to take a mandatory class.

If anyone can tell you how challenging it is to trap a wolf, it’s Rick Williamson.

Williamson is a carnivore biologist with Idaho’s Department of Fish and Game. He recently retired from his position as a wolf management specialist with the federal government. He’s is teaching a class of about 25 people how to set a foothold trap.

BOISE, Idaho – Two wolf advocacy organizations officially made their case last week in federal court to get wolves listed as endangered species. They want the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to rule that taking wolves off the Endangered Species list earlier this year was unconstitutional.

The recent ups and downs of wolf de-listing have split environmentalists over strategy. This week, a handful of conservation groups filed an appeal in San Francisco to return wolves to the endangered species list. But other groups feel the battle won't be won in the courts.

SALMON, Idaho - The Idaho Fish and Game Commission voted Thursday for a plan that sets hunting and trapping season for the Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf. The state hopes sportsmen will help keep the wolf population in check.

But critics object to Idaho allowing hunters to use traps for the first time since the wolves were reintroduced.

The night before Fish and Game commissioners voted on the plan, there was a raucous public meeting, dominated by wolf foes. Mike and Irene Popp, a father and daughter anti-wolf team from Kamiah , testified Idaho isn’t going far enough to cut down the wolf population. Nine-year-old Irene made a particular splash.

"Can anyone tell me what's good about the wolves?" she asked.

Cattlemen and hunting groups contend a proposed plan for managing and restoring gray wolves in Washington state allows for too many wolves.

A 17-member citizen advisory group has been meeting for nearly five years about how best to recover wolves in their historic territory while reducing and managing wolf-livestock conflicts.

Jack Field of the Washington Cattlemen Association says the number of wolves overall should be capped.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife released a revised plan last month. It calls for a minimum of 15 breeding pairs to delist the animals from endangered species protections.

Meanwhile, conservation groups disagree with a provision that allows landowners to kill wolves caught in the act of killing domestic dogs.

Environmental groups say a provision in the compromise budget deal in Congress sets a dangerous precedent for endangered species. Congress expects to vote on the bill today. It includes an amendment to remove gray wolves from the endangered species list in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.