BuzzH
Well-known member
Check this out...in particular the guy whining about WILDLIFE seeking refuge on WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREAS. How dare that wildlife use a STATE owned WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA...kick the wildlife off and get the cows and sheep in there.
What a joke.
Ranchers criticize Montana's wolf plans
Monday, August 14, 2006
ENNIS, Mont. (AP) -- State wildlife officials take too long to authorize the killing of problem wolves, ranchers and others said Friday at a meeting of the agency oversight committee of the Environmental Quality Council.
"It's like a guy's robbing a bank and you have to go get an arrest warrant," committee member Sen. Jim Shockley, R-Victor, said. "It doesn't make a lot of sense."
More than 50 people attended the meeting that drew Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Jeff Hagener, agency biologists and several state legislators. People from Idaho and Wyoming and members of anti-wolf groups pushing for indiscriminate killing of the predators also attended.
A few members of conservation groups praised FWP for the job it has done since it took over wolf management from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last year.
However, the majority complained that FWP's reluctance to decide to kill a wolf has let too many problem animals get away. Others say the state has at times made it difficult for federal trappers to kill wolves on state land.
Shockley said when ranchers were dealing directly with federal officials, problem wolves could be taken care of quickly. But since the state has taken over, things take too long.
"It was working. Why didn't we just leave it the way it was?" he asked.
Sheep rancher Joe Helle of the Dillon area was among those who complained about FWP's policy of approving any control measures before they take place on state game ranges.
"We're concerned that wildlife management areas will become sanctuaries," Helle said.
But Kurt Alt, FWP Southwest Montana wildlife manager, said the agency, as manager of the game ranges, wants to inspect any potential livestock kills to ensure it can defend killing problem wolves when it's needed.
Alt said that's important because some people have criticized grazing on the game ranges and would rather see livestock removed. He noted the rotational grazing is important for improving grass and he doesn't want to see the grazing end.
"We'll be able to support our actions to our worst critics and our biggest supporters," Alt said. "It does not mean that WMAs will become safe havens for wolves that kill livestock."
The misconception that FWP was banning lethal control on game ranges was the result of a misunderstanding between the state agency and Wildlife Services, said Carolyn Sime, FWP wolf program coordinator. She agreed both agencies need to communicate better.
But although FWP decides when a wolf can be killed, it can't give Wildlife Services permission to trespass on U.S. Forest Service or private lands, Sime said.
Larry Handegard, a federal trapper, said his agency has always had to have permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to kill wolves and now needs it from FWP.
Some people urged the committee to recommend the Legislature pass a bill to sue the federal government so wolves can be taken off the federal Endangered Species List.
"Fish, Wildlife and Parks has forfeited their right to manage these predators," said Bob Fanning, president of Friends of the Northern Yellowstone Elk Herd, an anti-wolf group. "We need this in order to get this out-of-control bureaucratic nightmare under control."
FWP wants to see wolves delisted so it can begin to use hunting and trapping to manage the population, Hagener said. The agency has been frustrated by the federal government's unwillingness to delist wolves in Montana and Idaho, where management plans have been accepted, because Wyoming's management plan has been rejected.
But Hagener said even once wolves are delisted, biologists will manage them to keep a sustainable population.
"We view wolves as part of the wildlife of the state," he said. "We're going to have to learn how to live with them."
What a joke.
Ranchers criticize Montana's wolf plans
Monday, August 14, 2006
ENNIS, Mont. (AP) -- State wildlife officials take too long to authorize the killing of problem wolves, ranchers and others said Friday at a meeting of the agency oversight committee of the Environmental Quality Council.
"It's like a guy's robbing a bank and you have to go get an arrest warrant," committee member Sen. Jim Shockley, R-Victor, said. "It doesn't make a lot of sense."
More than 50 people attended the meeting that drew Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Jeff Hagener, agency biologists and several state legislators. People from Idaho and Wyoming and members of anti-wolf groups pushing for indiscriminate killing of the predators also attended.
A few members of conservation groups praised FWP for the job it has done since it took over wolf management from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last year.
However, the majority complained that FWP's reluctance to decide to kill a wolf has let too many problem animals get away. Others say the state has at times made it difficult for federal trappers to kill wolves on state land.
Shockley said when ranchers were dealing directly with federal officials, problem wolves could be taken care of quickly. But since the state has taken over, things take too long.
"It was working. Why didn't we just leave it the way it was?" he asked.
Sheep rancher Joe Helle of the Dillon area was among those who complained about FWP's policy of approving any control measures before they take place on state game ranges.
"We're concerned that wildlife management areas will become sanctuaries," Helle said.
But Kurt Alt, FWP Southwest Montana wildlife manager, said the agency, as manager of the game ranges, wants to inspect any potential livestock kills to ensure it can defend killing problem wolves when it's needed.
Alt said that's important because some people have criticized grazing on the game ranges and would rather see livestock removed. He noted the rotational grazing is important for improving grass and he doesn't want to see the grazing end.
"We'll be able to support our actions to our worst critics and our biggest supporters," Alt said. "It does not mean that WMAs will become safe havens for wolves that kill livestock."
The misconception that FWP was banning lethal control on game ranges was the result of a misunderstanding between the state agency and Wildlife Services, said Carolyn Sime, FWP wolf program coordinator. She agreed both agencies need to communicate better.
But although FWP decides when a wolf can be killed, it can't give Wildlife Services permission to trespass on U.S. Forest Service or private lands, Sime said.
Larry Handegard, a federal trapper, said his agency has always had to have permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to kill wolves and now needs it from FWP.
Some people urged the committee to recommend the Legislature pass a bill to sue the federal government so wolves can be taken off the federal Endangered Species List.
"Fish, Wildlife and Parks has forfeited their right to manage these predators," said Bob Fanning, president of Friends of the Northern Yellowstone Elk Herd, an anti-wolf group. "We need this in order to get this out-of-control bureaucratic nightmare under control."
FWP wants to see wolves delisted so it can begin to use hunting and trapping to manage the population, Hagener said. The agency has been frustrated by the federal government's unwillingness to delist wolves in Montana and Idaho, where management plans have been accepted, because Wyoming's management plan has been rejected.
But Hagener said even once wolves are delisted, biologists will manage them to keep a sustainable population.
"We view wolves as part of the wildlife of the state," he said. "We're going to have to learn how to live with them."
