Environmental groups are trying to use the courts to prevent wolves and grizzly bears from being hunted. In the state of Washington, where endangered species status protects wolves in part of the state, the Togo pack is the target of wildlife officials after numerous attacks on cattle.
[inline_image file=”1673f315384feb431c31fe767998da54.jpg” caption=”Grizzly bears and wolves in the United States share habitat in the wild.”]
In Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, grizzly bears are in the news and the courts because of a suit filed in 2017 challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) decision to remove grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem from the endangered species list of threatened animals. In this case, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Dana Christensen has not yet ruled on the delisting, but did issue a 14-day temporary restraining order on Aug. 30 to stop a grizzly hunting season in Wyoming and Idaho that was scheduled to begin Sept. 1.
In response, the Wyoming Department of Fish and Game (WDGF) Director Scott Talbot said, “This is unfortunate. Game and Fish has a robust grizzly bear management program with strong regulations, protections and population monitoring for grizzly bears. We believe in state-led management of wildlife and involving the public in decisions like the creation and implementation of a conservative hunting opportunity for those who want that experience.”
Talbot added, “We will now await further information about whether the bears will remain under state management or if they go back to federal management.”
WDGF noted that at this time it will continue to lead grizzly bear management, research, monitoring, conflict mitigation and education.
The judge’s ruling negates the planned 2018 grizzly bear hunting season that is included in the Grizzly Bear Management Plan that outlines how bears in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are handled.
Renny McKay, WDGF communications director, told WLJ the department received more than 7,000 applications for hunting permits. Regulations allowed 12 permits in hunt area 7; this is a part of Wyoming that is unsuitable for grizzly bears, he said. Inside the designated management area, which is hunt areas 1-6, the regulations would have allowed one female or 10 males.
McKay explained that regulations would only allow one person in the field at a time, for a limited number of days. When that time had expired, if limits had not been reached the next person on the list would be granted an opportunity to hunt. Licenses had not been issued in those areas, but hunters were placed on the license issuance list. Currently hunters are being notified of the suspended season.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game Communications Bureau Chief, Alan Kahn, said, per the Grizzly Bear Management Plan, only one permit was issued in that state. That person has also been notified.
Montana did not schedule a grizzly bear hunting season this year.
At this time, it is not known if a hunt will be allowed after the 14-day temporary restraining order expires. WDFG said questions not answered in its press release would be handled by the Wyoming attorney general’s office. WLJ submitted questions but as of press time had not received a response.
Problem wolf shot
As reported in the Aug. 27 edition of WLJ, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) authorized lethal action against the Togo pack due to repeated livestock depredations.
In that case wolf managers in Washington had confirmed the Togo pack’s involvement in six separate livestock depredations since last November, including three in the month preceding Aug. 20. At that time WDFW Director Kelly Susewind authorized the lethal removal under the terms of the WDFW’s Wolf Conservation and Management Plan and its wolf-livestock interaction protocol.
But the lethal action was put on hold when the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and Cascadia Wildlands (CW) filed a temporary restraining order in the Superior Court for Washington in Thurston County, a request that was granted on Aug. 20 by Judge Chris Lanese. He set Aug. 31 as the date for a hearing on a preliminary injunction to determine if the restraining order should be replaced with a longer-lasting court order.
At the Aug. 31 hearing, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Carol Murphy issued an order permitting WDFW to initiate lethal action to remove the adult male wolf that had repeatedly preyed on livestock.
Sueswind welcomed the decision by Murphy to deny a request for a preliminary injunction by CBD and CW. In rejecting the plaintiff’s requests, Murphy said they had not met the legal standard required for her to issue an injunction.
With the temporary ban lifted, WDFW announced in a press release that a collared male from the Togo pack was lethally shot by a WDFW marksman on Sept. 2.
That wolf was known to the department and the rancher who has lost cattle. On Aug. 23 the rancher reported shooting at the wolf in self defense while checking cattle. A WDFW wolf biologist and a county wildlife specialist located the wolf on Aug. 27 and reported that the animal’s left rear leg appeared to be broken. Officials confirmed the dead wolf’s left rear leg was injured.
Wolf managers were scheduled to perform a necropsy on the wolf’s carcass. Information from that procedure was not available at press time. WDFW field staff will continue to monitor the Togo pack’s activities and work with the livestock producer to prevent additional conflicts. — Rae Price, WLJ editor
