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Wolfwatcher

29 minutes ago

Congress could sidestep Endangered Species Act to delist grizzlies, wolvestinyurl.com/vmyfnnhwCongress is considering three bills that would sidestep the Endangered Species Act to de-list the Northern Continental Divide and Yellowstone grizzly bears, and all gray wolf populations.The measures would undermine the Endangered Species Act, which requires the federal government to make listing decisions solely based on the best available science.What Congress is doing here is, it's trying to take away that decision-making authority from the scientists and give it to politicians in Congress who have no qualifications as biologists or scientists to make these kinds of decisions.In Wyoming, wolf killing is allowed in 85 percent of the state without a hunting license, without any kind of limitations on season, without any limitation on bag limit. You can hunt them with night-vision goggles. You can run them over with snowmobiles.photo: John E. Marriott Wildlife and Nature Photography ... See MoreSee Less

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Wolfwatcher

2 days ago

Montana wolf harvest drops for 2nd year in a row, despite laws to make hunting, trapping easierbit.ly/40CVMB7Montana needs to learn that these wolves are smart and they are continually shot at they remember and hunters lose..Then the numbers are dropping.Accessibility was a huge limiting factor this year,” said Chris Morgan, western vice-president for the Montana Trappers Association. “Most areas that hold wolves saw significant snowfall the first week of November and it only kept coming. It’s nearly impossible to keep sets consistently working well in the type of winter we had.A total of 258 animals were killed this season. That’s down from last year’s 273, which was below the highest on record of 329 taken in the 2020-21 season. This year’s kill rate was also the lowest in the past five years — the two previous seasons saw kills of 295 and 293, respectively.The statewide quota for wolf hunting and trapping was set at 450. The season closed on March 15. Going into this season, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks estimated the state’s wolf population at about 1,100 animals.Following criticism over the Yellowstone wolf deaths, and at the request of the National Park Service, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission agreed to lower the harvest just north of the park to six animals this season. All six were killed. The season in that wolf management unit was closed on Feb. 7 after the quota was reached.Marc Cooke, president of Wolves of the Rockies, said the reduction in Yellowstone wolves killed this season is a good start, but wolf advocates would like to see it reduced even more. His group would also like to see the statewide quota dropped. Cooke speculated the decline in hunter and trapper kills is reflective of a smaller wolf population than FWP is calculating.he wolf hunting season opened on Sept. 15. The wolf trapping season started on Nov. 28, except in areas with grizzly bears where trapping opens on a floating date, only opening once grizzlies go into hibernation. Some districts did not open until Dec. 24 this year.Rep. Paul Fielder, R-Thompson Falls, and other trappers have expressed heartburn over the floating start date. Fielder carried a 2021 bill to expand the trapping season for wolves, which previously opened on a fixed date of Dec. 15. The floating date, which has resulted in later openings for some areas, has cost trappers important time in the early season when winter travel may be more feasible, critics have said.Mr Fielder is the reason for the continued demise of animals in Montane. I continue to wonder about his mental functioning..Killing is a learned behavior and how long has he been killing animals. Perhaps it started in his childhood it is a known factor of establishing this behavior.Fielder introduced HB 628 and a similar bill, HB 627 dealing with snares, this session to narrow where the Fish and Wildlife Commission could curtail expanded seasons and trapping methods. Fielder’s bills aimed to limit restrictions to federally designated grizzly recovery zones, which are smaller than the commission’s limits which focused on “occupied territory.” Both bill were ultimately voted down after opposition from Gianforte raised concerns about conflicts with attempts to delist grizzlies.In a perfect world, opening trapping season in mid-November would help fill quotas, but with grizzly delisting on the horizon we won’t see that any time due to the perceived notions that grizzlies could be caught in traps,” said Morgan, of the Montana Trappers Association.Such is the world at this point in Montana with their abundant wildlife always in peril due to persons like trappers and Mr. FirlderPhoto: Pinterest ... See MoreSee Less

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