wolves

Colorado voters will decide on Nov. 3 whether the gray wolf, nearly hunted to extinction a century ago, will have a home west of the Continental Divide in their state. If they approve Inititiative 114, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission would be charged with planning for and carrying out the reintroduction of the gray wolf by the end of 2023, including the possibility of compensation for livestock lost to wolves.

In Montana's Tom Miner Basin, just outside the protected wilds of Yellowstone National Park, ranchers are embracing a variety of non-lethal strategies to deal with an influx of grizzlies, reports Ensia in a story done in partnership with the Food & Environment Reporting Network. It's an experiment that could have broad implications for how the livestock industry manages these and other top predators as climate change restricts their traditional food supply.

In the latest court ruling in a 20-year tussle over gray wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, the U.S. Appeals Court for the DC Circuit put the predator back on the endangered species list, says MLive Media Group. The Interior Department delisted the Great Lakes wolves in 2011, saying the wolf population had recovered enough that federal protection was no longer needed and states could take over management of the animals.

Wildlife managers in Wyoming killed a record number of wolves last year — 113 — after attacks on livestock almost doubled. A report released “by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that wolves killed 243 livestock, including 154 cattle, 88 sheep and one horse, in 2016.

Experts worry that as the gray wolf population just outside of Yellowstone National Park continues to grow, looser hunting restrictions in surrounding states could change pack behavior and hurt one of the most comprehensive research studies on the species anywhere in the world.

Wolves can now by shot on site in 85 percent of Wyoming, after a federal court of appeals in Washington, D.C., ruled last month that the animal no longer warrants endangered species protection in the state, says the Casper Star Tribune.

A U.S. appeals court in the District of Columbia has ruled that gray wolves will no longer be considered endangered species in Wyoming, years after protections for the animals were lifted in other states, says The Billings Gazette.

As the gray wolf population rises in the West, "states are trying to walk the line between the ranchers, who view the animals as an economic and physical menace, and environmentalists, who see their reintroduction as a success story," says a Stateline story reprinted by Route Fifty. The issue is drawn most starkly in Washington State, which allotted $3.3 million and invested thousands of hours of staff time in wolf management.

Hunters on opposite sides of the state shot two large canines this winter that have been identified conclusively as wolves, says Iowa Ag Connection.

There are perhaps 415 wolves in Sweden and the predator has created an uproar among farmers, hunters and environmentalists in the province of Varmland, with the EU involved as well, reports the New York Times.

A cattle rancher in central Washington State says he still believes his herd can co-exist with wolves despite losing a yearling Angus on state-owned grazing land, reports Capital Press.