Free Republic

<p>Madison, Wis. -- For years, vacationers and farmers across northern Wisconsin and Minnesota have heard the eerie howl of the gray wolf and fretted the creatures were lurking around their cabins and pastures. The tables are about to turn there.</p>

ORLANDO — While gun rights advocates from all over the map, including the Pacific Northwest, are gathering here for the kick-off of the 27th annual Gun Rights Policy, back home in Washington one can sense there is a “gun” battle of sorts heating up anew, over the elimination of a wolf pack in northern Stevens County. Wolf predation isn’t on the agenda down here in Disneyworld country, but it’s a safe gamble Evergreen State big game hunters and ranchers are waiting for political and legal fireworks to ignite because of the Wedge Pack eradication this week. Marksman have killed the...

Two gray wolves in Washington state were killed from a state helicopter Tuesday afternoon after officials decided the entire pack -- believed to be at least eight wolves -- needed to be killed because of repeated attacks on cattle, officials said. An airborne marksman with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife killed the two wolves about seven miles from the Canadian border -- a week after marksmen and wildlife biologists spent days looking for the pack. A major conservation group working with Washington state to manage its gray wolves agreed that the pack should be culled but also blamed...

A WOMAN zookeeper was mauled to death by a pack of wolves as she fed them in their enclosure. Eight of the wolves are thought to have surrounded and attacked the woman, who was in her 30s. Her body was found by a colleague — but the snarling pack would not let anyone near her. Eventually brave zoo workers formed a human chain and rushed the wolves, forcing them back. Jan Tengeborg, who organised the attempt to recover the body, said: “We couldn’t get into the enclosure because the wolves clearly did not want us in there. You can’t...

I became hyper-interested in canids awhile back when I read something about coy-wolf hybrids in the northeast part of the US. I've been reading about them lately. I know there is an ongoing effort to "re-introduce" wolves into certain parts of the united states. This upsets a lot of folks and makes others giddy with excitement. So, I am sharing my only personal wolf story I can because it is the only one I have. It isn't much since they've been extinct in these parts for a very long time. My cousin used to tell me stories about the old-timers...

The Republican House Tuesday passed its omnibus game and fish bill, but not before lengthy debate on shooting ranges, venison donation and gray wolves. One provision in Rep. Tom Hackbarth’s (R-Cedar) bill stipulates that publicly funded shooting ranges must be available four times a year for use by youths enrolled in firearm safety training — gun ranges at prisons were excluded and range operators under the bill could charge fees. But a number of lawmakers, including a Republican, criticized the provision. “It just creates another problem for our cities,” said Rep. John Benson, DFL-Minnetonka. A Rochester Democrat explained that one...

They are related to the domestic dog, which many of us live with side-by-side each day. But despite their friendly relations, wolves are not known for getting on quite so well with humans. Often living in the wilderness, they are fearsome predators which can bring down animals twice their size. But as these incredible images show, they clearly have a softer side. When a woman - known only as Anita - returned to the pack of wolves which she had socialised with for two years they reacted with sheer delight. As she sat in the snow, the four wolves raced...

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a lawsuit from conservation groups that want to block wolf hunts that have killed more than 500 of the predators across the Northern Rockies in recent months. The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Congress had the right to intervene when it stripped protections from wolves last spring. Lawmakers stepped in after court rulings kept wolves on the endangered list for years after they reached recovery goals. Wildlife advocates claimed in their lawsuit that Congress violated the separation of powers by...

Federal wildlife agents shot and killed 14 wolves from helicopters in Idaho’s remote Lolo Zone earlier this month. The three-day operation, aimed at reducing the number of wolves roaming the backcountry area where elk herds are struggling, was carried out in a partnership between the federal Wildlife Services agency and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Wildlife managers hope a sustained reduction in wolf numbers will allow the Lolo elk herd, which has been severely depressed since the mid 1990s, to rebound. “We’d like to see one of Idaho’s premier elk populations recover as much as possible,” said Jim...

In an obvious tongue-in-cheek propostion, Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter has sent Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber an offer to "replace" the collared wolf from Oregon that was shot by a hunter in Idaho. "I am offering to send you 150 wolves from Idaho," Otter wrote. "Idaho has more than a sufficient number, in fact many more than the federal government originally required we have, and can spare a few." Washington Times.

Wyoming lawmakers appear ready to change the state’s wolf management law to accommodate an agreement that Gov. Matt Mead and U.S. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar reached last year on ending federal protections for the animals in the state. Under the agreement, wolves could be shot on sight in much of the state. The Republican governor has made wolf management a priority, saying the animals threaten agricultural interests and other wildlife. Officials say there are about 300 wolves in the state, and Mead has said the population grows by 10 percent every year. Under the deal, Wyoming would commit to...

DAWSON CITY, Yukon - There are a lot of problems that can befall trail markers — treacherous conditions, dangerous overflow, deep snow and trails littered with fallen brush. But an unexpected challenge for the Canadian Rangers who broke the Yukon Quest trail in Canada? Wolves stealing trail markers.

When viewed from most perspectives Friday, the gray wolf in Wisconsin was unchanged: A native predator that inspired respect, fear, awe and even hatred among humans. But Jan. 27 also marked a significant transition for the wolf. No longer listed as protected by the federal Endangered Species Act, the wolf returned to state management. And in a new development in the modern annals of Wisconsin wildlife management, a bill was introduced Friday that would allow wolf hunting and trapping. The delisting was welcomed by state wildlife managers. "We've been looking forward to this day," said Adrian Wydeven, wolf ecologist for...

As 2012 begins, it's important to take note of groups that are working against your opportunities to hunt, trap, fish and enjoy the outdoors. To that effect, here is what we call The Dirty Dozen: 1) Humane Society of the United States or HSUS—needs no commentary or introduction to hunters and trappers everywhere, but has been in the news and advertisements recently for sharing only one percent with animal shelters of the $187,515,301.00 the group raked in during 2010. Details are at http://www.ussportsmen.org/page.aspx?pid=2954. 2) People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA—outrageous, radical and out of touch with mainstream...

BEND, Ore. — As wolves spread into Central Oregon, advocates and opponents continue to debate their value. Some say the animals, eradicated from the state decades ago, will help bring the ecosystem into better balance. Others argue the predators were eliminated for good reason. Since wolves wandered into Oregon from Idaho in 2008, the state has spent about $800,000 to manage them, according to an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife report. That sum will grow by at least a half million dollars over the next couple of years, and the spending could escalate as the number of wolves roaming...

A resurgent population has prompted authorities to lift federal protections for the gray wolf in Wisconsin and other parts of the Upper Midwest. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday that it was removing Endangered Species Act protections for the wolf in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and portions of adjoining states. After the announcement, Gov. Scott Walker ordered the state Department of Natural Resources to implement a state wolf management plan, which is designed to protect animals while also being able to control a growing population. Wolves - which can travel up to 30 miles a day - have soared...

With confirmation the other day by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game that at least two wolves were responsible for killing a young high school teacher, the debate about wolf management in the Pacific Northwest has erupted anew. Good news: The argument has spread to Minnesota, where the assertion by a Cal State sociology professor who classified wolf opponents as militia nuts has been rebutted by a Minnesota state senator using reason rather than vitriol in relation to that state’s effort to de-list wolves as an endangered species. In the mid-1990s, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released...

Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife The alpha wolf in the Imnaha pack was collared in May and is being tracked by state biologists. A pack of wolves roaming grasslands in Eastern Oregon killed another cow over the weekend. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said a yearling heifer was found dead on a ranch east of Joseph in Wallowa County. ODFW officials said the rancher had coraled his 700 cattle Sunday night in a pasture near his home and that the wolves broke in and chased them out, killing a heifer. The wolves returned the next night...

At least two wolves chased down and killed a teacher who was jogging on a road last year outside a rural Alaska village, according to a report released Tuesday by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Following approval of a revised wolf management plan by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed to remove the gray wolf population in Wyoming from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife. Due to recovery efforts and the provisions of the revised state plan, the Wyoming wolf population is healthy and stable, current and future threats to wolves have been addressed, and a post-delisting monitoring and management framework has been developed. Today’s formal proposal follows an agreement with the state of Wyoming that serves as the blueprint for returning wolf management to...