Judge restores protections for gray wolves across much of US
3 years, 1 month ago

Judge restores protections for gray wolves across much of US

Associated Press  

BILLINGS, Mont — A judge restored federal protections for gray wolves across much of the U.S. on Thursday, after their removal in the waning days of the Trump administration exposed the predators to hunting that critics said would undermine their rebound from widespread extermination early last century. Wildlife advocacy groups said the judge’s order would most immediately put a stop to hunting in the Great Lakes region, where Wisconsin officials had come under criticism after a wolf hunt last year blew past the state’s quotas, killing 218 wolves in four days. Fish and Wildlife Service in September began a separate review of whether protections should be restored for the region’s wolves, after Republican state lawmakers in Montana and Idaho passed laws last year intended to drive down wolf numbers by making it easier to kill them. “Recent laws passed in some Western states undermine state wildlife managers by promoting precipitous reductions in wolf populations, such as removing bag limits, baiting, snaring, night hunting and pursuit by dogs — the same kind of practices that nearly wiped out wolves during the last century,” Haaland wrote.

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History of this topic

15 wolves from Canada released into Colorado under voter-approved initiative
2 months, 1 week ago

15 wolves from Canada released into Colorado under voter-approved initiative

Associated Press  

DENVER — A second group of wolves has been released in Colorado as part of a controversial, voter-driven initiative to reintroduce the predators to the state. Fifteen gray wolves from Canada were set free in the central mountains over three days last week, but state wildlife officials did not announce the operation until Sunday, a day after it was completed. …

Feds investigate ‘illegal killing’ of reintroduced Colorado wolf
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Feds investigate ‘illegal killing’ of reintroduced Colorado wolf

Raw Story  

Federal wildlife officials announced Thursday they are seeking information related to what they called the illegal killing of a gray wolf reintroduced to Colorado as part of the state’s voter-mandated restoration program. The releases marked the beginning of Colorado’s gray wolf reintroduction program, managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife pursuant to a ballot initiative narrowly approved by voters in 2020. …

Colorado wolf died from a gunshot, spurring a federal investigation
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Colorado wolf died from a gunshot, spurring a federal investigation

Associated Press  

DENVER — A gray wolf in Colorado was illegally shot and later died of the injury, federal authorities said Thursday in the latest flashpoint of Colorado’s controversial, voter-driven initiative to reintroduce the predators to the state. The wolf was part of the Copper Creek Pack which was captured in late August after the pack repeatedly killed local livestock in Grand …

New approach to Rocky Mountain grizzlies sought ahead of the second Trump presidency
3 months, 2 weeks ago

New approach to Rocky Mountain grizzlies sought ahead of the second Trump presidency

Associated Press  

— Environmental groups are asking the U.S. government to do more to protect Rocky Mountain grizzly bears before the next Trump administration decides the big bruins’ future. “Overwhelming scientific consensus agrees that a naturally connected metapopulation of grizzly bears will lead to improved genetic diversity and greater demographic resiliency of the species,” says the petition submitted by Earthjustice lawyers on …

Canada lynx proposed for new habitat protections in US southern Rockies
4 months ago

Canada lynx proposed for new habitat protections in US southern Rockies

Associated Press  

— U.S. wildlife officials finalized a recovery plan for imperiled populations of Canada lynx on Wednesday and proposed new habitat protections in the southern Rocky Mountains for the forest-dwelling wildcats that are threatened by climate change. “They weren’t really committing to conserve lynx in Colorado anymore, and now they are.” Areas of protected habitat also are being added in Idaho …

The Biden administration is taking steps to eliminate protections for gray wolves
6 months, 2 weeks ago

The Biden administration is taking steps to eliminate protections for gray wolves

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

The Biden administration is taking steps to eliminate protections for gray wolves
6 months, 2 weeks ago

The Biden administration is taking steps to eliminate protections for gray wolves

Associated Press  

— The Biden administration on Friday asked an appeals court to revive a Trump-era rule that lifted remaining Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the U.S. Friday’s filing with the 9th U.S. District Court of Appeals was President Joe Biden administration’s first explicit step to revive that rule. Officials also didn’t adequately consider threats to wolves outside those …

Federal agency plans to prohibit bear baiting in national preserves in Alaska
9 months ago

Federal agency plans to prohibit bear baiting in national preserves in Alaska

Associated Press  

JUNEAU, Alaska — The National Park Service said Friday it intends to ban hunters from baiting bears in national preserves in Alaska. The new rule, set to take effect later this summer, would bar sport hunters from using bait, such as bacon grease, pastries, syrup or dog food, to attract bears, the agency said in a statement. Conservation groups in …

US House votes to remove wolves from endangered list in 48 states
10 months, 4 weeks ago

US House votes to remove wolves from endangered list in 48 states

Associated Press  

The U.S. House voted Tuesday to end federal protection for gray wolves, approving a bill that would remove them from the endangered species list across the lower 48 states. In 2011 Congress stripped Endangered Species Act protection from gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains and the Trump administration removed protections across the rest of the continental U.S. in 2020. …

Biden administration restores threatened species protections dropped by Trump
1 year ago

Biden administration restores threatened species protections dropped by Trump

Associated Press  

— The Biden administration on Thursday restored rules to protect imperiled species and shield their habitat from destruction after the measures were rolled back under former President Donald Trump. That’s already government practice, but the 2019 Trump rules caused confusion because they removed an explicit directive to ignore economic impacts, said Fish and Wildlife Service Deputy Assistant Director Gina Shultz. …

Another Major Legal Battle Is Brewing Over The Killing Of Gray Wolves
1 year, 1 month ago

Another Major Legal Battle Is Brewing Over The Killing Of Gray Wolves

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING A coalition of environmental and animal protection groups said Wednesday that it will sue to overturn the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision not to restore Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies. “It’s beyond frustrating that federal officials are harming wolf recovery by denying wolves in the Northern Rockies the powerful federal …

Wyoming ranchers fear wolves released into wild by Colorado government to boost endangered species are on verge of crossing state line - with law letting them SHOOT the predators on sight
1 year, 1 month ago

Wyoming ranchers fear wolves released into wild by Colorado government to boost endangered species are on verge of crossing state line - with law letting them SHOOT the predators on sight

Daily Mail  

The most recent wolf sighting occurred by Walden, Colorado, roughly 20 miles from the border A coalition of ranchers, hunters and business owners is fighting to halt future wolf releases Wyoming ranchers are sounding the alarm after wolves reintroduced into Colorado were spotted near the state line. A gray wolf sighting occurred in Walden, Colorado, roughly 20 miles from the …

Opinion: Wolves are back in Colorado’s wilderness. Here’s why that’s great for Earth
1 year, 1 month ago

Opinion: Wolves are back in Colorado’s wilderness. Here’s why that’s great for Earth

LA Times  

Gray wolves were reintroduced to the Colorado wilderness in December, as mandated by a 2020 proposition that passed by a narrow majority. But in the habitat where wolves will reside on Colorado’s less populated, agricultural/recreational Western Slope, the “yes” vote was not as resounding. It was ‘Rocky Mountain High’ in every direction,” said Joanna Lambert, a wildlife ecology and conservation …

US won’t restore protections for wolves in Rockies, proposes national recovery plan
1 year, 1 month ago

US won’t restore protections for wolves in Rockies, proposes national recovery plan

Associated Press  

Federal wildlife officials on Friday rejected requests from conservation groups to restore protections for gray wolves across the northern U.S Rocky Mountains, saying the predators are in no danger of extinction as some states seek to reduce their numbers through hunting. The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service also said it would work on a first-ever national recovery plan for wolves, …

Colorado releases first 5 wolves in reintroduction plan approved by voters to chagrin of ranchers
1 year, 3 months ago

Colorado releases first 5 wolves in reintroduction plan approved by voters to chagrin of ranchers

Associated Press  

GRAND COUNTY, Colorado — Somewhere on a remote mountainside in Colorado’s Rockies, a latch flipped on a crate and a wolf bounded out, heading toward the tree line. She was one of five gray wolves Wildlife officials released in a remote part of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains on Monday to kick off a voter-approved reintroduction program that was embraced in the …

Federal judge denies cattle industry’s request to temporarily halt wolf reintroduction in Colorado
1 year, 3 months ago

Federal judge denies cattle industry’s request to temporarily halt wolf reintroduction in Colorado

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A federal judge has allowed …

Judge denies cattle industry's request to temporarily halt wolf reintroduction in Colorado
1 year, 3 months ago

Judge denies cattle industry's request to temporarily halt wolf reintroduction in Colorado

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A federal judge has allowed …

Embattled wolves gain a new frontier in Democratic Colorado. The move is stoking political tensions
1 year, 3 months ago

Embattled wolves gain a new frontier in Democratic Colorado. The move is stoking political tensions

Associated Press  

DENVER, Colo. — Wildlife officials plan to release gray wolves in Colorado in coming weeks, at the behest of urban voters and to the dismay of rural residents who don’t want the predators but have waning influence in the Democratic-led state. Suburbs and cities along Colorado’s Front Range, which includes Denver, carried the vote despite strong opposition across less-densely populated …

Wisconsin wolf hunters face tighter regulations under new permanent rules
1 year, 6 months ago

Wisconsin wolf hunters face tighter regulations under new permanent rules

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Wolf hunters in Wisconsin would …

Biden administration moves to restore endangered species protections dropped by Trump
1 year, 9 months ago

Biden administration moves to restore endangered species protections dropped by Trump

Associated Press  

— The Biden administration proposed bringing back rules to protect imperiled plants and animals on Wednesday as officials moved to reverse changes under former President Donald Trump that weakened the Endangered Species Act. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams said in a statement that the changes “reaffirm our commitment to conserving America’s wildlife and ensuring the Endangered Species Act …

Montana woman banned from hunting after skinning ‘wolf’ which turned out to be a domesticated husky
2 years ago

Montana woman banned from hunting after skinning ‘wolf’ which turned out to be a domesticated husky

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A Montana woman who …

U.S. May Lift Federal Protections For Some Grizzly Bears, Opening Door To Hunting
2 years, 1 month ago

U.S. May Lift Federal Protections For Some Grizzly Bears, Opening Door To Hunting

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING BILLINGS, Mont. — The Biden administration took a first step Friday toward ending federal protections for grizzly bears in the northern Rocky Mountains, which would open the door to future hunting in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. Fish and Wildlife Service said state officials provided “substantial” information that grizzlies have recovered from the threat of extinction in the …

US may lift protections for Yellowstone, Glacier grizzlies
2 years, 1 month ago

US may lift protections for Yellowstone, Glacier grizzlies

Associated Press  

— The Biden administration took a first step Friday toward ending federal protections for grizzly bears in the northern Rocky Mountains, which would open the door to future hunting in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. Fish and Wildlife Service said state officials provided “substantial” information that grizzlies have recovered from the threat of extinction in the regions surrounding Yellowstone and Glacier …

Judge revives limits on wolf killing near Yellowstone park
2 years, 4 months ago

Judge revives limits on wolf killing near Yellowstone park

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A Montana judge has temporarily …

Conservation groups sue over Montana wolf harvest rules
2 years, 5 months ago

Conservation groups sue over Montana wolf harvest rules

Associated Press  

— Two conservation groups have filed a lawsuit against the state of Montana and its wildlife management agency alleging it illegally set hunting and trapping policies and quotas intended to reduce the gray wolf population by making it easier to kill the predators. Montana’s Republican-controlled Legislature in 2021 passed bills that allowed the state to reduce the wolf population, authorize …

Wolves shot in Wyoming may be from a Colorado pack
2 years, 5 months ago

Wolves shot in Wyoming may be from a Colorado pack

Associated Press  

DENVER — Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials believe that three wolves shot and killed just over the state’s border in Wyoming may have belonged to Colorado’s closely watched North Park wolf pack. The North Park pack, which often crosses into Wyoming where hunting wolves is legal, gained notoriety last year after birthing Colorado’s first known litter of pups in 80 …

Oregon confirms new wolves in northern Cascade Mountains
2 years, 6 months ago

Oregon confirms new wolves in northern Cascade Mountains

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon wildlife officials said Tuesday they have identified a new family of wolves in the northern Cascade Mountains, bringing the total number of known wolf groups in the region to three. “Wolves will disperse to different places, but when we have resident wolves, like we know they’re sticking in that area, that’s when we create something called …

A fight over wolves pits facts against feelings in Wisconsin
2 years, 9 months ago

A fight over wolves pits facts against feelings in Wisconsin

Salon  

Maybe it was the heat that afternoon in Madison, or maybe it was sheer exhaustion as the meeting approached its sixth hour. Then, this past February, a federal judge ruled that the Fish and Wildlife Service has not followed the "best available science" in delisting wolves, restoring federal protections to all wolves outside of the Northern Rockies. "They're taking a …

Red States’ Wolf Decimation Campaign Hasn’t Worked
3 years, 1 month ago

Red States’ Wolf Decimation Campaign Hasn’t Worked

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Idaho and Montana both passed controversial laws last year with the goal of sharply reducing their gray wolf populations. Montana also passed laws targeting wolves last year, though legislators left the state’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks agency largely in charge of regulating the wolf harvest, eliminating one of the Idaho law’s most contentious elements. William Campbell/Corbis via …

Groups challenge Montana wolf hunting, trapping regulations
3 years, 2 months ago

Groups challenge Montana wolf hunting, trapping regulations

Associated Press  

— Two wildlife advocacy groups are challenging changes to Montana’s wolf hunting and trapping regulations, arguing they were made without public comment. Trap Free Montana Public Lands and Wolves of the Rockies filed the lawsuit in December and asked a judge to eliminate the use of infrared and other night hunting aids and to prevent the Department of Fish, Wildlife …

Montana advances grizzly bear plans that could allow hunting
3 years, 3 months ago

Montana advances grizzly bear plans that could allow hunting

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Montana wildlife officials on Tuesday …

Montana seeks to end protections for Glacier-area grizzlies
3 years, 3 months ago

Montana seeks to end protections for Glacier-area grizzlies

Associated Press  

— Montana is asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to lift threatened species protections for grizzly bears in the northern portion of the state, including areas in and around Glacier National Park, officials said Monday. Removing federal protections would give state wildlife officials more flexibility to deal with bears that get into conflicts, Montana Gov. “It’s time for us …

Senators urge emergency protections for wolves in US West
3 years, 5 months ago

Senators urge emergency protections for wolves in US West

Associated Press  

— A group of Democratic lawmakers on Thursday urged the Biden administration to enact emergency protections for gray wolves in the U.S. West in response to Republican-backed state laws that make it easier to kill the predators. Twenty-one U.S. senators led by New Jersey’s Cory Booker and Michigan’s Gary Peters asked Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to shield wolves from being …

Native American tribes sue to stop gray wolf hunt
3 years, 6 months ago

Native American tribes sue to stop gray wolf hunt

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Six Native American Ojibwe tribes have filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board …

6 tribes sue Wisconsin to try to stop November wolf hunt
3 years, 6 months ago

6 tribes sue Wisconsin to try to stop November wolf hunt

Associated Press  

Six Native American tribes sued Wisconsin on Tuesday to try to stop its planned gray wolf hunt in November, asserting that the hunt violates their treaty rights and endangers an animal they consider sacred. The tribal lawsuit comes three weeks after a coalition of wildlife advocacy groups sued to stop Wisconsin’s wolf hunt this fall and void a state law …

US: Wolves may need protections after states expand hunting
3 years, 6 months ago

US: Wolves may need protections after states expand hunting

Associated Press  

— The Biden administration said Wednesday that federal protections may need to be restored for gray wolves in the western U.S. after Republican-backed state laws made it much easier to kill the predators. It marks an abrupt turnaround for the federal wildlife agency and brought a swift pushback from Montana’s Republican governor, who said officials in Washington shouldn’t be “second …

US tribes demand emergency protection for wolves
3 years, 6 months ago

US tribes demand emergency protection for wolves

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — Dozens of American Indian tribes asked the Biden administration Tuesday to immediately enact emergency protections for gray wolves, saying states have become too aggressive in hunting the animal. But Izzy Baird, a spokeswoman for Relist Wolves Coalition, which has been working with tribal nations on the issue, noted in an email that Wisconsin hunters went over their …

Wildlife groups sue to stop Wisconsin wolf hunt
3 years, 6 months ago

Wildlife groups sue to stop Wisconsin wolf hunt

Associated Press  

MADISON, Wis. — A coalition of wildlife advocacy groups filed a lawsuit Tuesday to stop Wisconsin’s wolf hunt this fall and invalidate a state law mandating annual hunts, arguing the statutes don’t give wildlife officials any leeway to consider population estimates. Scott Walker signed a law in 2011 requiring the DNR to hold an annual wolf hunt between November and …

Biden backs end to wolf protections but hunting worries grow
3 years, 7 months ago

Biden backs end to wolf protections but hunting worries grow

Associated Press  

FARIBAULT, Minn. — President Joe Biden’s administration is sticking by the decision under former President Donald Trump to lift protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S. But wolf management policies in place at the state level have shifted dramatically since protections were lifted, and Frazer suggested the federal government could take steps to restore protections if population declines …

Study says hunting, poaching reduce Wisconsin wolf numbers
3 years, 8 months ago

Study says hunting, poaching reduce Wisconsin wolf numbers

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Adrian Treves, an environmental studies professor, said his team's …

Idaho seeks to kill more than 1,000 wolves as scientists urge Biden to restore animals’ endangered status
3 years, 10 months ago

Idaho seeks to kill more than 1,000 wolves as scientists urge Biden to restore animals’ endangered status

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. They also argue that states are allowing too many animals to be killed, as Idaho approves legislation that would …

Scientists: Grizzlies expand turf but still need protection
3 years, 11 months ago

Scientists: Grizzlies expand turf but still need protection

Associated Press  

— Grizzly bears are slowly expanding the turf where they roam in parts of the northern Rocky Mountains but need continued protections, according to government scientists who concluded that no other areas of the country would be suitable for reintroducing the fearsome predators. “They were looking for areas that could sustain grizzly bears as opposed to areas that would continuously …

US states look to step up wolf kills, pushed by Republicans
4 years ago

US states look to step up wolf kills, pushed by Republicans

Associated Press  

— Payments for dead wolves. And in Wisconsin, just weeks after President Donald Trump’s administration lifted protections for wolves in the Great Lakes region, hunters using hounds and trappers blew past the state’s harvest goal and killed almost twice as many as planned. What’s emerging now is different: an increasingly politicized campaign to drive down wolf numbers sometimes using methods …

Colorado begins wolf reintroduction plans OK’d by voters
4 years, 2 months ago

Colorado begins wolf reintroduction plans OK’d by voters

Associated Press  

DENVER — Colorado could have to navigate years of pending litigation over the Trump administration’s delisting of the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act as it tries to enact its own voter-approved initiative to reintroduce the predator to the state, top wildlife officials were told Thursday. Lisa Reynolds, the state’s first assistant attorney general, told the Colorado Parks and …

Groups ask court to restore protections for US gray wolves
4 years, 2 months ago

Groups ask court to restore protections for US gray wolves

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Wildlife advocates on Thursday asked …

Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of US
4 years, 4 months ago

Trump officials end gray wolf protections across most of US

Associated Press  

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Trump administration officials on Thursday stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S., ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states and tribes in charge of overseeing the predators. Federal wildlife officials contend thriving populations in the western Great Lakes region, Rocky Mountains and Pacific Northwest ensure the species’ long-term survival. In an …

Colorado agency says it’s planning on wolf reintroduction
4 years, 4 months ago

Colorado agency says it’s planning on wolf reintroduction

Associated Press  

DENVER — Colorado’s wildlife agency said Thursday it considers a ballot initiative to reintroduce the gray wolf into the state to have passed after a group that opposes the initiative conceded the race and the agency consulted with the office of Gov. Two opposition groups, Coloradans Protecting Wildlife and the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, issued statements Thursday saying it appeared that …

Wolves rebound, lose protections. Now future up to voters
4 years, 4 months ago

Wolves rebound, lose protections. Now future up to voters

Associated Press  

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. “I’ve got a simple message: It’s not that bad,” said Yellowstone wolf biologist Doug Smith, who with Phillips brought the first wolves into the park in 1995. We still have elk and deer.” On a cold October morning, after examining remains of the bison eaten by the Junction Butte pack near a park road, Smith said …

Trump Administration Slammed for Removing Endangered Species Protections for Iconic Grey Wolf
4 years, 4 months ago

Trump Administration Slammed for Removing Endangered Species Protections for Iconic Grey Wolf

News 18  

US President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday removed endangered species protections for the grey wolf, paving the way for the iconic predator to be more widely hunted. “Today’s action reflects the Trump administration’s continued commitment to species conservation based on the parameters of the law and the best scientific and commercial data available,” said Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. The department …

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