U.S. considers lifting hunting ban on grey wolves imported from Canada
Two decades ago the predators were relocated to Yellowstone National Park, where they'd been hunted to extinction. The effort was successful ? too successful for some.
The last wolves in Yellowstone were killed in 1926. In 1995, the first 14 grey wolves were brought from Canada's Jasper National Park and reintroduced to Yellowstone, with 17 more the following year. They've since thrived.
MacNeill Lyons / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO
The last wolves in Yellowstone were killed in 1926. In 1995, the first 14 grey wolves were brought from Canada's Jasper National Park and reintroduced to Yellowstone, with 17 more the following year. They've since thrived.
By: Dene Moore The Canadian Press, Published on Mon Jan 20 2014
VANCOUVER?It was a successful experiment in recovering an endangered species ? too successful for some ? and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now ponders lifting protections for transplanted Canadian grey wolves across the United States.
Almost two decades ago, the wolves were relocated to Yellowstone National Park in an effort to return them to where the animals had been hunted to extinction.
The change would result in hunting the nocturnal predators at a time when conservationists feel the animals are only beginning to gain a foothold and the federal agency is facing numerous lawsuits from those opposed to the wolf being removed from the endangered species list.
?I think it was successful in that it demonstrated that, clearly, it can be done,? Paul Paquet, a senior scientist at the Raincoast Conservation Foundation and adjunct professor at the University of Victoria, says of the reintroduction effort.
?Whether it can be sustained is where the question is.?
The problem lies not in whether the wolves can adapt, says Paquet, but whether people who have lived without the top-tier predators for generations can now do so. He believes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should not lift the endangered designation.
?It is true that it can be very difficult to live with wolves if you're trying to make a living as a rancher or a farmer,? Paquet says.
The last wolves in Yellowstone were killed in 1926. The massive park covers the northwest corner of Wyoming, as well as parts of Montana and Idaho.
In 1995, the first 14 grey wolves, from Jasper National Park in the Rocky Mountains, were reintroduced in Yellowstone, with 17 more the following year.
As the wolf population increased, the repercussions ? good and bad ? were seen far and wide. Elk declined but beavers increased. Coyotes declined but their prey increased. Predation of cattle spurred opposition.
In the spring of 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lifted the endangered status of the Northern Rocky Mountain population of grey wolves, and the first legal wolf hunt went ahead in Montana the next year.
By the end of 2012, the agency estimated that the wolf population had reached almost 1,700 adults and in June 2013 it proposed removing the grey wolf from the list of threatened and endangered species across the country.
The long-term goal is to maintain an average of about 1,000 wolves.
Heres the link to the page...
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/..._ban_on_grey_wolves_imported_from_canada.html
Tallbuck1
Two decades ago the predators were relocated to Yellowstone National Park, where they'd been hunted to extinction. The effort was successful ? too successful for some.
The last wolves in Yellowstone were killed in 1926. In 1995, the first 14 grey wolves were brought from Canada's Jasper National Park and reintroduced to Yellowstone, with 17 more the following year. They've since thrived.
MacNeill Lyons / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO
The last wolves in Yellowstone were killed in 1926. In 1995, the first 14 grey wolves were brought from Canada's Jasper National Park and reintroduced to Yellowstone, with 17 more the following year. They've since thrived.
By: Dene Moore The Canadian Press, Published on Mon Jan 20 2014
VANCOUVER?It was a successful experiment in recovering an endangered species ? too successful for some ? and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now ponders lifting protections for transplanted Canadian grey wolves across the United States.
Almost two decades ago, the wolves were relocated to Yellowstone National Park in an effort to return them to where the animals had been hunted to extinction.
The change would result in hunting the nocturnal predators at a time when conservationists feel the animals are only beginning to gain a foothold and the federal agency is facing numerous lawsuits from those opposed to the wolf being removed from the endangered species list.
?I think it was successful in that it demonstrated that, clearly, it can be done,? Paul Paquet, a senior scientist at the Raincoast Conservation Foundation and adjunct professor at the University of Victoria, says of the reintroduction effort.
?Whether it can be sustained is where the question is.?
The problem lies not in whether the wolves can adapt, says Paquet, but whether people who have lived without the top-tier predators for generations can now do so. He believes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should not lift the endangered designation.
?It is true that it can be very difficult to live with wolves if you're trying to make a living as a rancher or a farmer,? Paquet says.
The last wolves in Yellowstone were killed in 1926. The massive park covers the northwest corner of Wyoming, as well as parts of Montana and Idaho.
In 1995, the first 14 grey wolves, from Jasper National Park in the Rocky Mountains, were reintroduced in Yellowstone, with 17 more the following year.
As the wolf population increased, the repercussions ? good and bad ? were seen far and wide. Elk declined but beavers increased. Coyotes declined but their prey increased. Predation of cattle spurred opposition.
In the spring of 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lifted the endangered status of the Northern Rocky Mountain population of grey wolves, and the first legal wolf hunt went ahead in Montana the next year.
By the end of 2012, the agency estimated that the wolf population had reached almost 1,700 adults and in June 2013 it proposed removing the grey wolf from the list of threatened and endangered species across the country.
The long-term goal is to maintain an average of about 1,000 wolves.
Heres the link to the page...
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/..._ban_on_grey_wolves_imported_from_canada.html
Tallbuck1
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