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← Tall willow thickets return to northern Yellowstone

By Nathan Lyle | Published May 31, 2020 | Full size is 1024 × 299 pixels

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Wolfwatcher

5 hours 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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Wolfwatcher

12 hours ago

What to know about Colorado's existing wolves and conflicts around reintroduction planbit.ly/40AfMnRRancher Don Gittleson’s worst fear after seeing occasional wolves on his 11,000-acre leased ranch over the prior year was realized the next morning when he saw what little was left of his 600-pound registered Angus calf near his house.Since then, wolf depredations have ebbed and flowed in North Park, with the latest incident involving two collared wolves killing a working cattle dog and a family pet on ranches 4 miles apart March 13 and 14, further fraying nerves.Here are a few things to know about wolf depredations:* Studies show wolves account for around 1% of cattle and sheep deaths in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.* Wolf depredation is a small economic cost to the livestock industry as a whole, but impacts to individual producers can be substantial.Wolves kill canines such as working cattle dogs and pet dogs because wolves are territorial and view dogs as prey competition.Still, confirmed wolf depredations continued over the next year on Gittleson's ranch as well as six other ranches around North Park.So Colorado Parks and Wildlife gave Gittleson wild burros from Nevada to help protect his herd. More recently, he purchased Texas longhorns, horned Herefords and Corriente cattle, a short-horned breed often used for rodeo roping events, to ward off wolves.Colorado had to ask the federal government to allow nonlethal hazing of wolves. Now it wants the freedom to allow some lethal control.Now that wolves are federally protected in Colorado, the state has asked U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a 10(j) rule, which would allow more flexible management of wolves, including the use of lethal force to address depredating wolves. Will they get 10j?This a lengthening article that I will read at the link:bit.ly/40AfMnRPhoto: Pinterest ... See MoreSee Less

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