Hannah Robinson

A bill introduced by Sen. John Barrasso and Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson last week that would make protection of gray wolves in Wyoming and the Western Great Lakes region to become a state responsibly.

Gray wolves in Wyoming have been under federal protection for the past year since a judge placed them back on the endangered species list in September 2014.

This is a responsibility that is best suited for local management, and the numbers show it, Wyoming Game and Fish Department communications director Renny MacKay said. The Wyoming Game and Fish managed the species from 2012 to 2014 while the gray wolf in Wyoming was off the endangered species list until September of last year.

“This bill for Wyoming and the Great Lakes Region would overturn the court decision that held the rule to delist the wolf in Wyoming,” Endangered Species Policy Director at the Center for Biodiversity Brett Hartl said.

MacKay said the time during Wyoming’s control of the species a valid effort was put forth while working with wolves.

“When we were managing the wolves, we felt like the government and the legislature were working to have a good plan,” said MacKay. “And we were working out that plan.”

Sen. Barrasso stated in a press realease Wyoming has honored a commitment to put together the solid working plan to protect the wolf population in the state.

“Even the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agrees that wolves should be delisted in Wyoming,” Barrasso said. “This is just one of many legislative opportunities we’ll continue to pursue until Wyoming’s wolf management plan is protected and fully implemented.”

However, Hartl said this bill has a statement in it that causes the bill to have an invalid approach. If passed, the bill would make it impossible for the issue to go back to the courts, since it prohibits courts from intervening on the behalf of the wolf.

The Endangered Species Act began in 1973. Generally, a recovery objective is established for a species on the list and when a species reaches above that recovery goal, it gains consideration to be taken off, MacKay said.

“The gray wolf has been above the target recovery population for 13 years,” MacKay said. “In September of 2014, a judge in Washington decided to put the wolf back on the list, giving the federal government control over the species in Wyoming.”

Although Hartl said this minimum number is not found outside of Yellowstone, leaving the legitimacy of the numbers questionable.

Montana and Idaho have had the wolf delisted from the endangered species list within their borders and have seen impacts of hunting and programs of protection dissolved, Hartl said.

“In Idaho they have gunned wolves down from helicopters and hunting has turned into derby competitions,” said Hartl. “They go out and see who can shoot the biggest wolf or the most. Essentially, these programs started out relatively well then dissolved with decreasing populations.”

Hartl said these programs and populations dissolved because there was no way of getting them back on the list. He added he could see the same consequences happening in Wyoming if the delisting bill passed.

MacKay said the proximity Wyoming’s Game and Fish Department has to the wolves helps in its program.

“Generally speaking of the state and working with the wolf population, and any species, we are able to work best with what we can be closest to,” said MacKay. “The two years that we managed wolves we were able to increase the number of individuals we could identify and we gained better data.”

The mentality of Wyoming is still stuck in the 1800s, said Hartl. The wolves were thought of then in the same way Wyoming thinks of them now. They will be trapped, hunted and poisoned considering that’s what the endangered species list protects the gray wolf from.