Wolf Caught in Utah
Tuesday, December 3, 2002
BY BRENT ISRAELSEN
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
The shepherd who spotted a Canis lupis in the hills southeast of Logan last summer was not crying wolf.
There are, without a doubt, wolves in those hills.
A coyote trapper on Saturday accidentally caught a live gray wolf and found a second set of wolf prints nearby, confirming for the first time that the endangered wolf -- extirpated by ranchers more than 70 years ago -- has returned to Utah.
Federal officials from Wyoming came to Utah on Monday and took custody of the wolf to return it to its pack, the Druid Peak Pack in northeastern Yellowstone National Park, more than 200 miles to the north, said Alan Clark, a manager at the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR).
The trapper caught the wolf in a leghold trap in the mountains north of Morgan, about 30 miles south of where ranchers and wildlife officials reported seeing and hearing wolves last summer.
The wolf, a black male, was wearing a radio collar. Recognizing the animal as an endangered species, the trapper called state wildlife officials, who held the wolf in a cage in Morgan County pending the arrival of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) officials.
The confirmation of wolves in Utah underscores the need for the state to develop a wolf-management plan, say environmentalists and federal wildlife managers.
The wolf -- which has been successfully re-established in the wilds of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana -- enjoys the full protection of the Endangered Species Act, meaning only the federal government can harm or move it.
Within a few months, the FWS is expected to propose reclassifying the wolf's status from "endangered" to "threatened," meaning that federal restrictions on killing or harassing the animal would be eased.
The agency is moving to "delist," or remove, the wolf from the threatened and endangered list in two years, after which management of the wolf will be in the hands of the states.
Utah will probably have the option of making room for the wolf in its wildlife mix or treating it like other predators, with open hunting seasons.
Kevin Conway, director of the Utah DWR, said it is too early to prepare a plan because the state does not know what parameters the FWS will attach to the wolf's delisting.
"It's hard to prepare a plan until we know what the framework is going to be that we're allowed to work within," Conway said.
At least one Utah lawmaker, however, wants wolves out of Utah.
Rep. Michael Styler, R-Delta, is drafting a resolution that would ask the FWS to remove any wolf that comes into Utah.
"We should take them back to where there is an adequate prey base. We don't have that here," said Styler, a farmer.
Ed Bangs, wolf recovery manager for the FWS, disagreed. "There are plenty of places in Utah where wolves can live," Bangs said. "They are not aliens. They are part of Utah's heritage."
As for Styler's proposal to remove wolves that wander into Utah, Bangs said, "We're not going to be doing that. . . . Why spend time and money on a wolf that isn't doing anything wrong?"
The wolf caught in Utah on Saturday was removed only because it was already in captivity.
Otherwise, FWS would not have bothered, Bangs said.
Still, the action drew the wrath of environmentalists, who believe the wolves should be allowed to wander freely as long as they stay out of trouble.
"We are dismayed the Fish and Wildlife Service is going to haul [the wolf] back to Wyoming," said Nina Fascione, species conservation coordinator for the Washington, D.C.-based Defenders of Wildlife.
Bangs said the agency's usual policy is to remove wolves only if they are causing problems.
For example, last summer, the FWS authorized Wildlife Services, a federal agency charged with protecting agriculture from predators, to find and destroy a wolf believed to be responsible for the killing of 15 lambs south of Hardware Ranch, about 20 miles southeast of Logan.
In that case, a wolflike creature was spotted feasting on a lamb carcass on July 7 by a Chilean sheepherder. Two other ranchers and an investigator for Wildlife Services later heard a wolf howling in the area.
Wildlife experts said they were almost positive the predator was a wolf but could not be sure until they had the animal in custody.
They were unable to locate the wolf, which they believe eventually fled the state. It is not the same wolf captured Saturday based on its color.
With that capture, however, wildlife experts are now certain wolves have returned.
"We knew it was coming," said Mike Bodenchuk, Utah field director for Wildlife Services. "With the expansion of wolf populations to the north, it was inevitable. The only question was when."
Bodenchuk said the captured wolf and the wolf that produced the second set of nearby tracks probably wandered south from their packs and followed the Bear River mountain range into Utah. "It's got all the groceries, the elk and deer, that the wolves need."
While Bodenchuk said the wolves were probably both males, Bangs said he believes the male's partner was a female and that the couple were scoping out new territory to establish a pack of their own.
It's almost mating season, Bangs said.
"Breeding season lasts for several months. Young wolves are looking for new loves and a new life, so it's no surprise that one showed up in northern Utah. The fact this wolf walked down from Yellowstone and has a buddy there, it wouldn't surprise me if another one moves in there."
Tuesday, December 3, 2002
BY BRENT ISRAELSEN
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
The shepherd who spotted a Canis lupis in the hills southeast of Logan last summer was not crying wolf.
There are, without a doubt, wolves in those hills.
A coyote trapper on Saturday accidentally caught a live gray wolf and found a second set of wolf prints nearby, confirming for the first time that the endangered wolf -- extirpated by ranchers more than 70 years ago -- has returned to Utah.
Federal officials from Wyoming came to Utah on Monday and took custody of the wolf to return it to its pack, the Druid Peak Pack in northeastern Yellowstone National Park, more than 200 miles to the north, said Alan Clark, a manager at the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR).
The trapper caught the wolf in a leghold trap in the mountains north of Morgan, about 30 miles south of where ranchers and wildlife officials reported seeing and hearing wolves last summer.
The wolf, a black male, was wearing a radio collar. Recognizing the animal as an endangered species, the trapper called state wildlife officials, who held the wolf in a cage in Morgan County pending the arrival of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) officials.
The confirmation of wolves in Utah underscores the need for the state to develop a wolf-management plan, say environmentalists and federal wildlife managers.
The wolf -- which has been successfully re-established in the wilds of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana -- enjoys the full protection of the Endangered Species Act, meaning only the federal government can harm or move it.
Within a few months, the FWS is expected to propose reclassifying the wolf's status from "endangered" to "threatened," meaning that federal restrictions on killing or harassing the animal would be eased.
The agency is moving to "delist," or remove, the wolf from the threatened and endangered list in two years, after which management of the wolf will be in the hands of the states.
Utah will probably have the option of making room for the wolf in its wildlife mix or treating it like other predators, with open hunting seasons.
Kevin Conway, director of the Utah DWR, said it is too early to prepare a plan because the state does not know what parameters the FWS will attach to the wolf's delisting.
"It's hard to prepare a plan until we know what the framework is going to be that we're allowed to work within," Conway said.
At least one Utah lawmaker, however, wants wolves out of Utah.
Rep. Michael Styler, R-Delta, is drafting a resolution that would ask the FWS to remove any wolf that comes into Utah.
"We should take them back to where there is an adequate prey base. We don't have that here," said Styler, a farmer.
Ed Bangs, wolf recovery manager for the FWS, disagreed. "There are plenty of places in Utah where wolves can live," Bangs said. "They are not aliens. They are part of Utah's heritage."
As for Styler's proposal to remove wolves that wander into Utah, Bangs said, "We're not going to be doing that. . . . Why spend time and money on a wolf that isn't doing anything wrong?"
The wolf caught in Utah on Saturday was removed only because it was already in captivity.
Otherwise, FWS would not have bothered, Bangs said.
Still, the action drew the wrath of environmentalists, who believe the wolves should be allowed to wander freely as long as they stay out of trouble.
"We are dismayed the Fish and Wildlife Service is going to haul [the wolf] back to Wyoming," said Nina Fascione, species conservation coordinator for the Washington, D.C.-based Defenders of Wildlife.
Bangs said the agency's usual policy is to remove wolves only if they are causing problems.
For example, last summer, the FWS authorized Wildlife Services, a federal agency charged with protecting agriculture from predators, to find and destroy a wolf believed to be responsible for the killing of 15 lambs south of Hardware Ranch, about 20 miles southeast of Logan.
In that case, a wolflike creature was spotted feasting on a lamb carcass on July 7 by a Chilean sheepherder. Two other ranchers and an investigator for Wildlife Services later heard a wolf howling in the area.
Wildlife experts said they were almost positive the predator was a wolf but could not be sure until they had the animal in custody.
They were unable to locate the wolf, which they believe eventually fled the state. It is not the same wolf captured Saturday based on its color.
With that capture, however, wildlife experts are now certain wolves have returned.
"We knew it was coming," said Mike Bodenchuk, Utah field director for Wildlife Services. "With the expansion of wolf populations to the north, it was inevitable. The only question was when."
Bodenchuk said the captured wolf and the wolf that produced the second set of nearby tracks probably wandered south from their packs and followed the Bear River mountain range into Utah. "It's got all the groceries, the elk and deer, that the wolves need."
While Bodenchuk said the wolves were probably both males, Bangs said he believes the male's partner was a female and that the couple were scoping out new territory to establish a pack of their own.
It's almost mating season, Bangs said.
"Breeding season lasts for several months. Young wolves are looking for new loves and a new life, so it's no surprise that one showed up in northern Utah. The fact this wolf walked down from Yellowstone and has a buddy there, it wouldn't surprise me if another one moves in there."
