>Stan Moore notes -- > >Surely, the courts will not allow this brazen >disregard for the Federal Endangered Species Act. I >say "Bring Lawsuits!" Since when are wolves a >significant problem for native game? Astute >ecologists would say it is the ranchers and their >exotic livestock that have degraded habitat for hunted >game, whereas wolves actually improve habitat quality. > > > >Here is the pertinent article: > > >Idaho Ranchers Can Kill Wolves Harassing Livestock > >December 30, 2005 By Laura Zuckerman, Reuters >SALMON, Idaho The image of a wolf howling at the >moon has long embodied the American West, but that >romantic symbol is about to get a taste of harsh >reality in Idaho. > >Next week, Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne and Interior >Secretary Gale Norton are expected to sign an >agreement that would place management of an estimated >500 gray wolves into state, rather than federal, >hands. > >Different Idaho groups, including hunters and >livestock producers, pressured state officials to give >them greater control. Officials in Boise then asked >Washington to make the change. > >The agreement would give ranchers permission to >eliminate wolves that harass livestock. It also would >empower state wildlife managers to pick off wolf packs >that make a dent in the state's deer and elk >populations. > >The wolf's revival in Idaho started a decade ago when >officials released 35 wolves into central Idaho. Their >numbers have grown steadily since then. > >Federal rules have carefully prescribed when ranchers >could act against wolves, requiring ranchers to catch >wolves attacking or eating livestock before they could >kill them. > >The new Idaho rules will give locals more latitude, >but some residents would like see an even greater >offensive against the animal. > >Ron Gillett, head of the Idaho Anti-Wolf Coalition, >wants to "immediately remove them by whatever means >are necessary." > >"They kill everything, all of the game first, then the >predators, then each other," he said, adding that they >are outsiders. > >"These are Canadian wolves," Gillett said. "The only >place they belong in Idaho is in a zoo, neutered." > >Wildlife biologists say wolves roamed Idaho long >before the region's settlement and the threatened >species was hunted to near-extinction before strong >nationwide support prompted its reintroduction to the >American West. > >Carter Niemeyer, self-described "educator, peacemaker, >moderator and referee on wolves" for the U.S. Fish and >Wildlife Service office in Boise, said studies show >that the numbers of livestock and game killed by >wolves are low. "But I know they don't want to let >facts get in their way," he said of anti-wolf >activists. > > > > > > > >__________________________________ >Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year. >http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/
