Oregon’s Bad Wolf Management Plan Coming Home To Roost (As Predicted)

November 1, 2015

 Oregon is ready to delist wolves.

Anyone who’s read the Oregon wolf “management plan” could see this coming a mile away. There was major push-back against “the plan”  in 2010 because the number of breeding pairs needed to reach delisting was and is ridiculously low. So here we are, five years later and Oregon’s woefully inadequate wolf “management plan” is ready to kick in.

Please attend the ODFW meeting in Salem, Oregon on November 9th to speak out against the plan and delisting.

“ODFW staff believe gray wolves have met the criteria to be delisted from the state Endangered Species Act (ESA) and will recommend this action to the Fish and Wildlife Commission at their Nov. 9th meeting in Salem.

The meeting begins at 8 a.m. at ODFW Headquarters, 4034 Fairview Industrial Drive SE, Salem. It is open to the public and public testimony will be accepted during the meeting. Consideration of wolf delisting is the only item on the agenda. Written comments will also be accepted until Friday Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. and can be sent to odfw.commission@state.or.us More information about the meeting is available at” http://www.dfw.state.or.us/agency/commission/minutes/15/11_november/index.asp

===

Washington state has a far superior wolf “management plan”. 

To reclassify from state threatened to state sensitive status: 12 successful breeding pairs present for 3 consecutive years, with 4 successful breeding pairs in each of the three recovery regions.

To delist from state sensitive status: 15 successful breeding pairs present for 3 consecutive years, with 4 successful breeding pairs in each of the three recovery regions and 3 successful breeding pairs anywhere in the state.

In addition to the delisting objective of 15 successful breeding pairs distributed in the three geographic regions for 3 consecutive years, an alternative delisting objective is also established whereby the gray wolf will be considered for delisting when 18 successful breeding pairs are present, with 4 successful breeding pairs in the Eastern Washington region, 4 successful breeding pairs in the Northern Cascades region, 4 successful breeding pairs distributed in the Southern Cascades and Northwest Coast region, and 6 anywhere in the state.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/00001/

===

But Oregon only requires four breeding pairs for three consecutive years in Eastern Oregon  to “be considered for statewide delisting”.  In Western Oregon, the goal is also four breeding pairs. The plan is divided into three parts. Phase three states:

“Under Phase 3 a limited controlled hunt could be allowed to decrease chronic depredation or reduce pressure on wild ungulates if confirmed wolf predation leads to declines in localized herds.”

Even in a state as progressive as Oregon, wolves are not safe. They will eventually be subjected to a wolf hunt and probably much sooner than everyone thinks. This proposed delisting will open a wolf Pandora’s box that will never close.

But let’s be blunt, the ONLY reason wolf management plans exist is to placate ranchers and hunters. Wolves don’t need managing. What we’ve done, by bringing wolves back from the brink in the lower 48, is place them in a cage they can’t escape. Wild wolves are not free. As I type this wolves in Montana and Idaho are being hunted and trapped. And if the USFWS has their way, all wolves across the lower 48,  will lose their ESA protections.

Rick Bass put it most eloquently, when describing the untenable conditions we force wolves to live under:

MAY WE NEVER BE JUDGED BY ANYTHING SO HARSHLY OR HOLD TO AS STRICT A LIFE OR UNREMITTING OF BORDERS AS THE ONES WE TRY TO PLACE ON & AROUND WOLVES…Rick Bass

Wolves have been poached in almost every state they disperse to with the exception of California. Remember Echo, the little wolf who traveled hundreds of miles to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, only to be shot by a trophy hunter, using the “coyote excuse“? This is one of the deadliest threats to dispersing wolves Those two words, give the shooter a perfect alibi. It’s “he said, he said”. Or “she said, she said”. The wolf is dead, it’s the shooter’s word that counts.The sad stories go on and on, we all know them. And of course, even though wolves are still “supposedly protected” by the ESA across the continental US the USFWS does virtually nothing to curb or stop poaching. Poaching investigations go nowhere,  and most poachers go unpunished. The “coyote excuse” is accepted again and again by the USFWS as gospel.  But we all know the real reason why there are few prosecutions of wolf poachers, the USFWS isn’t interested in wolves dispersing out of the Northern Rockies/Pacific Northwest or Great Lakes, to reclaim lost habitat. Wolves currently inhabit less than 5% of their former range. Yet does it come as a surprise that wolf dispersal has been stopped cold outside of the areas I mentioned?   The odds are stacked against them as they face the likes of Wildlife Services, poachers, hostile state governments, hunters and ranchers. Wolves are trapped by man-made boundaries they dare not cross. Boundaries that hold no meaning for them but ultimately contribute to their deaths.

Wolves are unique, sentient beings, incredibly smart wild dogs devoted to their families. Yet hunted wolf populations are subjected to a deadly game of annual Russian Roulette, where wolf mothers, fathers, puppies and pack mates are brutally killed in the name of “management”.

Once pack structure is disrupted, it’s very difficult to keep the family together, as the plight of the alpha male of the Lamar Canyon Pack (755m) demonstrates. After losing his mate, the iconic, 06 Female, to a hunter’s bullet in 2012, he’s still attempting to restore his pack, trying to connect with his FOURTH potential mate. We have Rick Lamplugh, the author of In The Temple of the Wolves: A Winter’s Immersion In Wild Yellowstone, for shining a light on wolf 755m’s sad story.

One Bullet Kills an Entire Pack

Apr 02, 2014 | Rick Lamplugh

Wolf 755M (right) was the alpha male of the Lamar Canyon Pack seen here with 889F (left) the fourth wolf with whom he has tried to restart a pack after his mate was shot and killed outside Yellowstone Nat’l Park.

 The results of legal wolf hunt are presented to the public as palatable statistics. Officials tell us, for example, that in the 2012-2013 hunts outside Yellowstone National Park twelve park wolves were killed. Six were collared wolves that–when alive–provided valuable research data. One of those collared wolves was the famous alpha female of the Lamar Canyon pack, dubbed “06” by wolf watchers.

Such statistics don’t begin to tell the whole story of the impact of one bullet on the delicate social structure of a pack, an arrangement much like that of an extended human family.

http://www.oregonwild.org/about/blog/one-bullet-kills-entire-pack

===

Can you imagine, in human terms, someone randomly killing your mother, father, or children and still remaining a whole, functional family? The answer is obviously no. But because wolves are at the mercy of fish and game agencies who manage wildlife for hunters, the wolf’s family structure and what happens to those bonds is never considered. A wolf, is a wolf is a wolf as far as they’re concerned. Knock one down and they’ll just make more. How primitive, how insensitive, how backward. And that is what the wolves in Oregon are facing and what Montana and Idaho wolves are experiencing. And what the wolves in the Great Lakes were suffering until a federal judge placed them back on the Endangered Species List in December 2014. Don’t expect them to remain protected if the Obama USFWS has their wayy.

To treat wolves as disposable, never considering their family bonds and tight social order, is a grave injustice. BUT as long as they are “managed” under the iron fist of fish and game agencies, who DO NOT represent their interests, they will remain prisoners in their ancestral home.

 ===

ODFW Believes Gray Wolf Should Be Delisted

Salem, Ore.— ODFW staff believe gray wolves have met the criteria to be delisted from the state Endangered Species Act (ESA) and will recommend this action to the Fish and Wildlife Commission at their Nov. 9th meeting in Salem.

The meeting begins at 8 a.m. at ODFW Headquarters, 4034 Fairview Industrial Drive SE, Salem. It is open to the public and public testimony will be accepted during the meeting. Consideration of wolf delisting is the only item on the agenda. Written comments will also be accepted until Friday Nov. 6 at 5 p.m. and can be sent to odfw.commission@state.or.us More information about the meeting is available at http://www.dfw.state.or.us/agency/commission/minutes/15/11_november/index.asp

Wolf management in Oregon is guided by the Wolf Plan, which was originally crafted in 2005 by a broad group of stakeholders balancing competing interests. The Plan called for initiating a process to consider delisting wolves from the state ESA when eastern Oregon had a population of four breeding pairs of wolves for three consecutive years, an objective met in January 2015.

State ESA law gives the Fish and Wildlife Commission authority to list and remove species from the Endangered Species List.

http://www.mycentraloregon.com/2015/10/29/odfw-believes-gray-wolf-should-be-delisted/

===

Eastern Oregon Wolves Could Be Facing Delisting In 2015

OPB | Sept. 16, 2014 2:21 p.m. | Portland

Gray wolf populations are on the rise in Oregon, but that may not necessarily be good news for the animals.

The Statesman Journal reports  that the state may have enough potential wolf couples in 2015 for the minimum requirements to delist the animal.

“We were told in the beginning that when wolves first came to the county, we were waiting for that day,” said Todd Nash, wolf committee chairman for the Oregon Cattleman Association, in an interview with the newspaper.

According to Oregon’s Endangered Species Act, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife must verify four breeding pairs in eastern Oregon for three consecutive years.

In 2012, there were six pairs and last year the organization located four pairs. It’s predicted that 2014’s count won’t be complete until early next year, but early reports show more than four couples.

By removing wolves from the state’s endangered species list, ranchers would be permitted to use lethal force to defend their animals in more situations.

According to ODFW , shooting a wolf is considered a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of $6,250 fine and a year in jail.

https://howlingforjustice.wordpress.com/?p=27382

 ===

Help Change Oregon’s Wolf Management Plan

June 21, 2010

Oregon Yearling Wolf Killed By Wildlife Services 2009

Guest Post by Katie, Oregon resident and wolf advocate.

June 21, 2010

The Oregon Wolf Management Plan is currently under a 5-year review and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is accepting comments from the public until June 30th. However, before I tell you about the plan and its obstacles, here is a brief history of the Oregon wolves.

In Oregon, the last gray wolf was eradicated from the state by the 1940s. It was almost 60 years before another one was seen. The first wolf to migrate to the state in 1999 was recaptured and sent back to Idaho. In 2000, two more gray wolves made the journey, but sadly they were both killed; one by a car and one by bullet. The fact that wolves were returning was undeniable, so the state decided they needed a plan. The ODFW sat down with wolf advocates and livestock owners to decide what should be done. Though the livestock owners may have gotten more say in the plan, wolf advocates seemed glad to simply be getting wolves back in the state. The result was a wolf management plan that everyone agreed on. Oregon became one of the first states to willingly open the doors for gray wolves to return.

In 2008, a female Idaho wolf was located in Oregon using the signals from her radio collar. The gray wolf was identified as “B-300”. To bring more attention to wolf recovery in Oregon, the members of a local environmental group, called Oregon Wild, nicknamed the wolf “Sophie”. Eventually finding a mate, Sophie soon became the alpha female of the largest pack in Oregon with 10 wolves total; the Imnaha Pack. Another pack of four wolves was also discovered in 2008. Together, the two packs made up Oregon’s known gray wolf population of 14 individuals.

The plan seemed perfect. Wolves were returning and things seemed to be going well. However, in 2009, two yearling wolves were convicted of killing 29 domestic animals from five different incidents. When non-lethal techniques failed, Wildlife Services was sent in and killed both wolves. Personally, I don’t blame the wolves, they were just pups. Being too young to hunt elk, it was either that or starve. They had no known pack and just seemed to have traveled into Oregon from Idaho on their own. It is possible that their family was killed by a rival pack, but I believe it is more likely that they were killed for “management” purposes.

Now, in 2010, history seems to be repeating itself as two more wolves are being targeted by WS. With only 14 known wolves in the entire state, killing two individuals would be a huge loss. ODFW has also issued seven kill permits to local ranchers, which could spell disaster for such a fragile population.

CURRENT PLAN

Oregon current Wolf Management Plan included three phases for population recovery:

PHASE ONE

 “Wolves may be considered for statewide delisting once the population reaches four breeding pairs for three consecutive years in eastern Oregon…. The plan calls for managing wolves in western Oregon as if the species remains listed until the western Oregon wolf population reaches four breeding pairs.”

This means when there are four packs in eastern Oregon and four in western Oregon, wolves will be stripped of ESA protection statewide.

The average gray wolf pack size is about 8 wolves. If packs in Oregon follow the norm, then roughly 64 wolves will be present when they are delisted. A recent study suggests Oregon could support up to 2200 wolves and still maintain a healthy ecosystem. I don’t know about you, but 64 wolves doesn’t sound like recovered to me.

PHASE TWO:

 “Once the wolf is delisted, more options are available to address wolf-livestock conflict. While there are five to seven breeding pairs, landowners may kill a wolf involved in chronic depredation with a permit. Five to seven breeding pairs is considered the management population objective, or Phase 2.”

Five to seven breeding pairs? Oregon currently has two breeding pairs and seven landowners have been given permits to kill wolves. Again, five to seven breeding pairs is 40-56 wolves if they are the average pack size.

PHASE THREE

“Under Phase 3 a limited controlled hunt could be allowed to decrease chronic depredation or reduce pressure on wild ungulates if confirmed wolf predation leads to declines in localized herds.”

Sound familiar? Idaho and Montana initiated hunts mere months after wolves were delisted. The difference is there were 1500 wolves in Montana and Idaho when the first hunts began. In Oregon the hunt could start with less than 100.

To read the full Oregon Wolf Management Plan, go to http://www.dfw.state.or.us/Wolves/docs/wolf_plan.pdf

As you can see, the Oregon Wolf Management Plan is weak and gives livestock owners plenty of tools to deal with wolf depredation. However, the Oregon Cattle Association wants more power. Since the plan is under a 5-year review, OCA is suggesting changes to the plan that will suit the cattle industry, not wolves.

OCA’S TESTIMONY

1. Delisting rules (combine the whole state and begin delisting when there are 4 breeding pairs statewide)”

Four breeding pairs would be approximately 32 wolves. Even if each pack was as big as Sophie’s that would still only be 40 wolves, which is definitely not recovered.

2. “Relocation, location, and translocation eliminated”

The current management plan allows for “problem” wolves to be relocated to the closest wilderness area. The closest wilderness area is usually where the wolf came from before it found the livestock. This part of the plan needs to be strengthened, not weakened.

3. Ownership of lands ,IE; state lands is the only lands the Oregon ESA has authority on”

They are asking to change Oregon’s ESA. Not only would this be bad for wolves, but it would also allow anyone to shoot any endangered animal if it was on their property. Remember, these are changes they want now, not when the gray wolf population is 60+, but when there are only 14 wolves in Oregon.

To see the full testimony from the Oregon Cattle Association, go to: http://www.oregonwild.org/fish_wildlife/bringing_wolves_back/OCA_Testimony.pdf

To see the testimony from Oregon Wild, a local environmental group, go to: http://www.oregonwild.org/fish_wildlife/bringing_wolves_back/oregon-wild-wolf-plan-review-testimony-3-12.10/

ODFW is currently accepting comments from the public about changes they should make to the plan. ODFW has not said what they are thinking of changing but the first draft is scheduled to be done some time in August. The deadline to comment is June 30th.

Email your comments to ODFW.Comments@state.or.us

=======

Talking Points:

 1. Make sure to let them know you want the wolf plan STRENGTHENED, not weakened. Tell them eight breeding pairs statewide are NOT enough. Mention the study that states Oregon could support 2200 gray wolves on its landscape.

 2. Wildlife officials need more options to relocate wolves. Suggest national or state parks, or larger wilderness areas.

 3. Ranchers need to do everything possible to protect their livestock before any action against wolves is even considered. Suggest proper fencing, fladery, radio collar activated sounds, guardian animals, lambing and calving sheds, frequent patrols of pastures, placing livestock in barns at night, and tracking packs to avoid placing cattle in areas where wolves are known to be.

4. Tell them wolves are more valuable alive than dead, because they are. Support this idea by stating Yellowstone Park makes $7-10 million annually from just wolves (The GYA brings in $35 million wolf generated dollars). Explain the positive impacts wolves have on the environment, like increasing beaver populations (beavers are Oregon’s state animal). Wolves keep ungulates moving, which prevents them from over-browsing vital beaver and songbird habitat. Wolves keep ungulate herds healthy by culling the weak, sick and old.

5. Tell them to increase the funding of the wolf plan. Currently the wolf plan is very underfunded and only has a few members on its management team.

6. If you don’t live in Oregon, you can choose to boycott the state if they weaken the management plan. Tell them you will not buy anything from Oregon or visit the state unless the plan is strengthened.

7.  Think of the Imnaha wolf pack and how much they need our help. Their exigence as a pack is in danger. How sad it would be to lose the only breeding pair of wolves in Oregon.

=======

Don’t forget to email your comments to ODFW and voice your opinion about the Oregon Wolf Management Plan. Comments@state.or.us

Sources Cited:

http://www.oregonwild.org

http://www.predatorfriendly.org/index.html  

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/Wolves/docs/wolf_plan.pdf  

http://www.oregonwild.org/fish_wildlife/bringing_wolves_back/OCA_Testimony.pdf  

http://www.yellowstonepark.com/MoreToKnow/ShowNewsDetails.aspx?newsid=132 

 ===

Top Wolf Gif: Tumblr

Middle Photo: ODFW

Middle Photo: Courtesy Rick Lamplugh

Bottom Photo: ODFW

Posted in: Oregon wolves, Ranching and Hunting, Wolf Wars

Tags: Oregon, bad wolf management plan, delisting, ODFW, ranchers, poachers, wolf dispersal

Wolf Killing Time Upon Us Once Again

Echo murdered by trophy hunter – 2015

Sadly it’s wolf killing time again in Montana and Idaho. They’ve suffered under the Obama admins. delisting since 2009. Thousands have died and continue to be murdered by trophy hunting thrill killers. Montana now allows individual ranchers or farmers to kill up to 100 wolves annually.

“Private landowners may kill up to 100 wolves a year they believe are threatening livestock, dogs or people under a new state law that doesn’t count toward Montana’s wolf-hunting season.”

The good news is Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan wolves are once again protected under the ESA due to a ruling in December 2014 by “U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell.  Judge Howell stated their removal from the ESA was “arbitrary and capricious” and violated the federal Endangered Species Act.”

Federal judge: Great Lakes wolves return to endangered list

By John Flesher, Associated Press5:52 p.m. EST December 19, 2014

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A federal judge on Friday threw out an Obama administration decision to remove the gray wolf population in the western Great Lakes region from the endangered species list — a decision that will ban further wolf hunting and trapping in three states.

The order affects wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, where the combined population is estimated at around 3,700. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dropped federal protections from those wolves in 2012 and handed over management to the states.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., ruled Friday the removal was “arbitrary and capricious” and violated the federal Endangered Species Act.

Unless overturned, her decision will block the states from scheduling additional hunting and trapping seasons for the predators. All three have had at least one hunting season since protections were lifted, while Minnesota and Wisconsin also have allowed trapping.

More than 1,500 Great Lakes wolves have been killed since federal protections were removed, said Jonathan Lovvorn, senior vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, which filed a lawsuit that prompted Howell’s ruling.

“We are pleased that the court has recognized that the basis for the delisting decision was flawed, and would stop wolf recovery in its tracks,” Lovvorn said.

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Gavin Shire said the agency was disappointed and would confer with the U.S. Department of Justice and the states about whether to appeal.

“The science clearly shows that wolves are recovered in the Great Lakes region, and we believe the Great Lakes states have clearly demonstrated their ability to effectively manage their wolf populations,” Shire said. “This is a significant step backward.”

Wolf advocates applauded the ruling Friday.

“We filed the lawsuit to relist the Great Lakes population of wolves,” said Jill Fritz, coordinator of Michigan’s Humane Society of the United States. “It was based on the assertion that the Great Lakes states had proven they could not responsibly manage wolves when they were delisted in January 2012.”

Jodi Habush Sinykin, an attorney for Midwest Environmental Advocates, which supports science-based wildlife management, said the decision should serve as a clear signal of caution to people who would destroy the nation’s wolves.

Minnesota Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Landwehr said agency attorneys will study the ruling before determining its effect on state wolf policy.

“On face value we’re very surprised. We didn’t even know it was coming to a conclusion here,” Landwehr said. “It’s an unusual turn of events.”

Lansing State Journal reporter Louise Knott Ahern contributed to this report.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2014/12/19/great-lakes-wolves-ordered-returned-endangered-list/20655023/

Click HERE to read the court’s decision!

===

USFWS wants to delist gray wolves across the lower 48, which would put all wolves in serious jeopardy. USFWS can’t protect wolves now, while they’re still listed, as Echo’s death  and many other gray wolves, who continue to be poached, affirms. The USFWS repeatedly allows trophy hunters to use the tired “I thought it was a coyote excuse ” when poaching endangered wolves. But that comes as no surprise.  Do you think the USFWS gives a damn about wolves or their protection?  They’re too busy looking out for  agribusiness interests, not wolves

So the never-ending battle for canis lupus continues. Montana and Idaho wolves are once again running for their lives.

===

WOLF HUNT/POACHING 2015/2016

HUNT

Idaho – 4

Montana – 12

Wyoming (Protected ESA)

Wisconsin (Protected ESA)

Minnesota (Protected ESA)

Michigan ( Protected ESA)

===
POACHED

Oregon – 2 (‘Sled Springs Pair’)

Utah – Echo

Illinois – 2

New Mexico – 1 Ernesta AF1126

===
OTHER

North Carolina – 1 endangered red wolf shot by landowner

===

Photo: Echo – Courtesy NPS

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Montana wolves, Idaho wolves

Tags: ESA, gray wolf hunt, Montana, Idaho, Judge Howell, Echo, wolf persecution, wolf hunts, ‘Sled Springs Pair’, wolf poaching, thrill killing, Ernesta AF1126

Take Action: Petition Demanding Obama Administration Prosecute Endangered Species Killers

Let the Obama administration know we want killers of endangered species to be prosecuted. Do it for Echo and all endangered species!

===

From the Endangered Species Coalition 

TELL THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO PROSECUTE ENDANGERED SPECIES KILLERS

A little known and decades old Department of Justice policy is protecting the killers of endangered grizzly bears, whooping cranes, California condors and wolves.

The so-called “McKittrick Policy” was enacted after a Montana man gunned down a wolf and later claimed he had thought he was firing on a dog. He was prosecuted, though the Department of Justice (DOJ) later decided to accept his self-exoneration by claimed ignorance and has clung to that policy of inaction for years.

Endangered species need to be protected from hunters that can simply claim they did not know what they were shooting at.

Tell President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to drop the McKittrick Policy and treat the killing of endangered species like the crime that it is.

*If asked to enter a subject after submitting your email, please select “Environment”.

Click Link to Sign

http://action.endangered.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=19052

===

Photo: Courtesy Tumblr

Posted in: Endangered Species Act, Wolf Wars, Activism, gray wolf

Tags: Echo, endangered species, prosecute killers of endangered species, The Endangered Species Coalition, USFWS do your job, senseless wildlife deaths

Killing Echo/Killing Wolves: – “Mistaken Identity and Other Excuses: Part Two

Echo

March 4, 2015

Wolves are one of the most social animals on earth, they’re right up there with us, the Great Apes, dolphins, lions, elephants, etc. Their lives are about family. Wolves may disperse from their natal packs between 1-3 years of age but it’s an individual choice. When they do decide to leave they’re prepared to do whatever it takes to find a mate and claim new territory. And that’s when the trouble begins for them.

There’s a reason wolves have been unable to reclaim lost habitat in most of their former range, they’re killed before they have a chance. The Pacific Northwest, Northern Rockies, Great Lakes and Southwest, where critically endangered Mexican gray wolves  struggle to increase their numbers, are the only areas of the country where gray wolves are successfully breeding and raising pups. BUT in 2009, when wolves in the Northern Rockies were delisted by the Obama administration, their recovery took a very dark turn. Until recent court decisions relisted wolves in Wyoming and then the Great Lakes, they suffered the same fate as their wolf brothers and sisters in Montana and Idaho.

Wolves are hunted with extreme animus, tortured by leghold traps, snares, arrows, bullets, many gut shot to prolong and increase their pain. The ultimate sadism directed at wolves was legalized in Wisconsin, as a twisted form of  dog/wolf fighting. It allowed the use of up to six dogs per trophy hunter to track and trail wolves. It’s not a stretch to believe some hunters let their dogs tear into the wolves, once they were cornered, delivering an even more grisly, frightening and painful death. That’s been put on hold for now, due to  recent court decisions but members of Congress, pandering to agricultural and hunting interests, are already scheming to make an-end-round the courts and pass legislation similar to the 2011 budget bill delisting rider, that removed wolves in Montana and Idaho from the endangered species list.

Life is hard for wolves in this country. The dream of wolf reintroduction has turned into a nightmare for hunted wolves. Idaho’s beleaguered wolf population faces endless wolf hunts that stretch through breeding, denning and pupping season. Hunting quotas have all but been removed in most of Montana and Idaho.  In the Treasure State up to a hundred wolves  can be killed by a single private landowner.

The situation for hunted wolves is not a success story but a tragedy. When wolves attempt to disperse, as Echo did, they usually end up DEAD.

Another barrier to wolf recovery is Wildlife Services, a ghastly federal agency, funded by American tax  dollars. They act as the Department of Agriculture’s killing arm,  destroying millions of animals annually, including  hundreds of wolves. It’s agriculture’s personal hit man-tag-team. Click here, here and here to read the Sac Bee’s expose of this hellacious agency.

Is it a surprise then that wolf recovery has been stopped in most of the country, outside of the areas I’ve mentioned? The odds are stacked against wolves as they face the likes of Wildlife Services, poachers, hostile state governments, hunters and ranchers.  Wolves are trapped by man-made boundaries they dare not cross. Boundaries that hold no meaning for them but ultimately contribute to their deaths.

One of the deadliest threats to dispersing wolves is the “coyote excuse”.  As I stated in part one, using those two words, gives the shooter a perfect alibi. It’s “he said, he said”. Or “she said, she said”. The wolf is dead, it’s the shooter’s word that counts.

What’s so striking about the wolf killings in Kentucky and Kansas  is wolves had been absent from those states for decades and specifically in Kentucky, for 150 years. Instead of celebrating the return of the wolf, she’s shot dead.

The USFWS should be prosecuting these people, to send a message that killing endangered wolves IS NOT OK. Instead they let “hunters” off with the “coyote excuse”. I don’t care what the “coyote hunters” say, if they kill an endangered wolf they should be prosecuted, period! That will send a signal to these numbskulls that shooting endangered wolves has consequences.  But the USFWS continues to fail wolves, they don’t take the killings seriously. It’s pretty clear USFWS is  not interested in gray wolf recovery, that’s why they’re pushing for a national delisting.

And why is it OK to kill coyotes? It’s not.  I’ve seen one too many horrific images of dead coyotes, killed for fun, killed for nothing. Coyotes undoubtedly need protection as well.

It’s a slap in the face to wolf and wildlife advocates that the agency charged with protecting wild wolves looks the other way when wolves are killed with impunity, meting out almost no punishment, even though the ESA clearly states:

– authorizes the assessment of civil and criminal penalties for violating the act or regulations; and

– authorizes the payment of rewards to anyone furnishing information leading to arrest and conviction of ANY violation of the act or any regulation issued there under.

A mockery has been made of the ESA concerning wolves. it’s a joke to think they’re protected, when time and again they’re killed as they attempt to disperse, just as Echo’s sad story proves.

Unless and until the American people stand up to the Interior Department and Congress, nothing will change. The system is broken and corrupt and needs a complete overhaul.

Here are a just a few examples of what happens when wild wolves dare to disperse from their natal packs, in search of a mate and new territory. It’s the wolf version of Russian Roulette.

===

UTAH

Echo shot dead by coyote hunter using “coyote excuse”.

Her death was a tragic blow to wolf recovery, being the first confirmed wolf to inhabit the Grand Canyon in 70 years.

First Gray Wolf Spotted At Grand Canyon In 70 Years Shot Dead By Hunter

BY ARI PHILLIPS POSTED ON FEBRUARY 12, 2015 AT 2:59 PM UPDATED: FEBRUARY 13, 2015 AT 8:54 AM

Officials have confirmed that the first gray wolf seen around the Grand Canyon in 70 years was killed in December by a hunter in southern Utah after he mistook it for coyote. The three-year-old female, named “Echo” through a contest held with hundreds of schoolchildren, was the first gray wolf to be spotted in the region since the 1940s. After being collared in Wyoming in early January 2014, the wolf had ventured at least 750 miles into the new territory — further evidence that gray wolf populations are coming back from the brink of extinction after decades of reckless killings.

“The fact Echo had ventured into new territory hopefully signifies that there is still additional habitat where this vulnerable species can thrive and survive,” Nidhi J. Thakar, deputy director of the public lands project at the Center for American Progress, told ThinkProgress.

The coyote hunter who shot Echo, and whose name has not been released, reported the killing to authorities as an accident. Gray wolves are on the Endangered Species Act and it is illegal to kill them anywhere in the U.S. except Idaho and Montana, eastern Washington and Oregon, and northeastern Utah. According to the Center For Biological Diversity, this partial removal of federal protections in the Northwest has lead to the deaths of thousands of wolves through state-authorized hunting and trapping in recent years. Congress is now considering a legislative rider that would preclude protecting wandering wolves like Echo, according to the wildlife conservation group.

“Echo’s killing illustrates the perils that wolves face and the imperative to maintain federal protections as called for under the science-based standards of the Endangered Species Act,” said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, in a statement. “Keeping wolves on the endangered list is the basis for the public education we need, to enable more wolves to live and thrive and minimize conflict.”

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/02/12/3622423/famous-grand-canyon-gray-wolf-shot-by-hunter/

===

*Warning graphic images

Kentucky

Wolf shot dead using “coyote excuse”.

“In Kentucky, the first gray wolf seen in 150 years was shot dead last August….earth first newswire

Wild Wolf in Kentucky, First in 150 Years, Killed by Hunter

by Russ McSpadden / Earth First! News

“This photo posted on KentuckyHunting.net shows the first wolf to wander Kentucky in over 150 years, dead and exhibited as a trophy”..earthfirstjournaldotorg

earthfirstjournaldotorg

According to a recent announcement by state wildlife officials, a 73-pound, federally endangered female gray wolf was shot dead by a hunter in Munfordville, Kentucky earlier this year. Were it Alaska or Idaho this wouldn’t be news, but Kentucky has not seen wild roaming wolves since the mid 1800s.

 “Wildlife officials identified the man who killed the wolf as Hart County resident James Troyer, who shot the animal believing it to be a coyote.”

Read More:

http://earthfirstjournal.org/newswire/2013/08/19/wild-wolf-in-kentucky-first-in-150-years-killed-by-hunter/

===

Kansas

80 pound wolf killed using the “coyote excuse”. This was the first wolf confirmed in Kansas in 108 years.

Coyote hunters kill 1st wolf in Kansas since 1905

Wolf killed in December in northwest Kan.

Published  6:00 PM CST Feb 02, 2013

TOPEKA, Kan. —Coyote hunters have killed a wolf in northwest Kansas, the first documented wolf in the state since 1905.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the wolf was killed in December. The animal weighed more than 80 pounds, more than twice as much as a large coyote.

 Read More: http://www.kmbc.com/news/Coyote-hunters-kill-1st-wolf-in-Kansas-since-1905/18390636

===

Missouri

Wolf killed in Missouri using the “coyote excuse”. Third gray wolf killed there in the last 13 years.

Hunter kills Gray Wolf in central Missouri

POSTED 6:17 PM, JANUARY 15, 2014, BY CHRIS SMITH, UPDATED AT 06:14PM, JANUARY 15, 2014

HOWARD COUNTY, MO. (KTVI) – This past fall a man from southeast Missouri killed what he thought was coyote on his property in Howard County, which is near Columbia, Missouri.  But, after a closure inspection of the animal, he thought it was something else.

The Missouri Department of Conservation says that the man killed a Gray Wolf. This is a  Federally protected species.  DNA confirms the wolf is from the Great Lake states.  Officials think the wolf may have wandered down from Minnesota, Wisconsin or Michigan. The animal was not tagged and is not believed to have been a captive animal.

This is the third Gray Wolf killed in Missouri over the past 13 years.  Many of them were shot by hunters mistaking the wolves as coyotes.

http://fox2now.com/2014/01/15/hunter-kills-gray-wolf-in-central-missouri/

 ===

Colorado

Wolf Poisoned

Dispersing Mill Creek Pack female wolf poisoned by Wildlife Service’s deadly 1080 compound. 

Compound 1080…. “is one of the horrific poisons Wildlife Services uses in its arsenal to kill our wildlife.”

The Amazing Journey and Sad End of Wolf 314F (UPDATE)

October 16, 2009

I posted this story in October 2009 about an amazing little Mill Creek Pack wolf, who traveled 1000 miles from her home in Montana to a lonely hillside in Colorado, called “No Name Ridge”, where her bones were found.

Her death has been under investigation by USFWS all this time.

Finally, after almost two years,  it was announced she was poisoned by the deadly compound 1080. It is one of the horrific poisons Wildlife Services uses in its arsenal to kill our wildlife.

https://howlingforjustice.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/the-amazing-journey-and-sad-end-of-wolf-314f/ 

===

Washington

Wolf shot for existing

Whitman Co. farmer could face charges for killing wolf

 Joshua Babcock Murrow News Service10:09 a.m. PST November 29, 2014

Washington fish and wildlife officials are recommending a Whitman County farmer face misdemeanor charges for shooting a gray wolf last month.

The charge could result in a year in jail and a two-year suspension of hunting, fishing and trapping licenses.

Steve Crown, chief of enforcement for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the shooter was a farmer who also notified authorities. Crown said it is unclear why the farmer shot the wolf, as it did not appear to pose an imminent danger to pets, livestock or the farmer.

Crown said this is the third wolf shooting this year in Washington.

“If it’s just in the area, it’s not open season for wolves,” Crown said.

Read more:

http://www.krem.com/story/news/local/whitman-county/2014/11/28/whitman-co-farmer-facing-charges-for-killing-gray-wolf/19641521/

===

Illinois

Wolf or Wolf hybrid hit By A Car

Wolf?! found at Morris – Probably a hybrid

This 48-inch long, wolf-like canine was found, apparently hit by a vehicle, on Nettle School Road, just northwest of Morris on Feb. 13. Measurements have been taken determine if it matches common wolf dimensions and DNA testing may be done.

Posted: Friday, February 20, 2015 9:03 am

Robert Themer
rthemer@daily-journal.com

A large, wolf-like animal found dead on a roadside north of Morris last Friday “looks like it might be a hybrid of some sort,” says Illinois Department of Natural Resources district wildlife biologist Bob Massey.

“It has characteristics of coyote, dog and wolf,” Massey said Wednesday, after IDNR sent out a news release about the animal being found along Nettle Creek Road, north of Interstate 80, early on Feb. 13. The site was a couple miles northwest of Morris, Massey said.

The animal was found by a some guys heading to a hunt club, who then called, he said.

Massey has measured the animal and sent the information off to a wolf biologist in Wisconsin.

“If it falls within the parameters of wolf size, we will send it for DNA analysis by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” he said.

http://www.daily-journal.com/news/local/wolf-found-at-morris—probably-a-hybrid/article_c1f521e0-439e-528b-821f-096908694708.html

===

North Carolina 

10 Red Wolves killed by “coyote hunters”

10 highly endangered Red wolves were “confirmed or suspected gunshot deaths since the start of last year.”  Once again the “coyote excuse” was used.

Highly endangered red wolves being shot with impunity – only 100 wild red wolves left in North Carolina. Apparently these yahoos will shot any wolf they can.

Endangered red wolf shot in NC, 10 in past year

WCNC Staff, WCNC.com3:34 p.m. EST January 13, 2014

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The death toll for endangered red wolves continues to mount near their North Carolina refuge.

Federal and state wildlife agencies said Monday that another red wolf was found shot to death last week in Tyrrell County. That makes 10 confirmed or suspected gunshot deaths since the start of last year.

There are only about 100 red wolves roaming an area in Tyrrell and four other northeastern North Carolina counties where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been trying to restore the animals in the wild.

The state Wildlife Resources Commission this summer allowed coyote hunting in the same five-county area, but hunters easily confuse the two animals.

A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments next month in a lawsuit by conservation groups seeking to stop the coyote hunting.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/13/endangered-red-wolf-shot-in-nc-10-in-past-year/

===

New York

Coyote killers even shoot horses – no animal is safe!

Lousy Coyote Hunters Shoot Horses, Licences Seized

(not horses killed)

18 Feb, 2015 – CONRAD BAKER

SPARTA – The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has revoked two individuals’ hunting licenses for three years and issued a monetary penalty after the hunters shot and killed two horses on Jan.24, violating state Environmental Conservation Law.

Read more:

http://www.geneseesun.com/2015/02/18/lousy-coyote-hunters-shoot-horses-licences-seized/

 ===

Demand Justice for Echo

author: Center for Biological Diversity

target: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe

===

It’s as we feared. 

DNA analysis shows that the gray wolf gunned down in Utah last December was Echo, the Grand Canyon wolf. Echo wandered more than 750 miles from the Rocky Mountains to find a mate. When she made her historic appearance on the Grand Canyon’s north rim in 2014 she became the first wolf spotted there in more than 70 years.Just three weeks before her killing she received the name “Echo” through a naming contest entered by hundreds of schoolchildren around the world who were fascinated by her journey.But hopes of seeing gray wolves reestablished near Grand Canyon died when a hunter shot her dead, claiming to have mistaken her for a coyote.

Wolves are an endangered species in Utah, but hunters are rarely, if ever, punished when they illegally kill animals supposedly mistaken for unprotected wildlife species.

Demand justice for Echo.

Tell the head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that Echo deserves justice and he must do everything in his power to investigate and prosecute this callous and tragic shooting.

Click link to sign for Echo!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/775/624/120/

===

Visit Bold Visions Conservation! 

 BOLD VISIONS CONSERVATION

IS FIGHTING FOR WILDLIFE!

THE BOLD VISIONS CONSERVATION MISSION

Bold Visions Conservation was created for the protection of land, water and wildlife.

Bold Visions Conservation exists to infuse a creative and bold energy into protecting wildlife and our environment.

Understanding, as John Muir did the importance of the “web of life” and the value of large protected areas, both on land and across our oceans as vital to responsible stewardship. We take our responsibility seriously to share our planet with all species of life and believe that we must instill passion in our effort to pass Earth’s bounty on to future generations.

 http://www.bvconservation.org/members-donate.html

and

Speak For Wolves

http://www.speakforwolves.org/

Get involved, make a difference for wolves and wildlife before it’s too late!

===

More reasons to effect permanent change!!

Congress Takes Aim at Gray Wolves

Two new bills would strip the predator of endangered species protections.

When it comes to saving certain iconic endangered species, such as bald eagles, Americans embrace the effort wholeheartedly. There was resistance to ending the use of the pesticide DDT, the leading culprit in their decline, but it happened. Now bald eagles have recovered to the point that they’re off the federal list of endangered species. A pair is even nesting in New York City’s busy harbor.

Wolves are a different story. Although gray wolves are an equally potent symbol of freedom and nobility, American style, this week saw two efforts kick off in the House of Representatives to end endangered species protections for the species.

Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Wis., on Thursday introduced legislation to force the United States Department of Interior to remove gray wolf populations in Wyoming, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan from the federal endangered species list. Three Democrats are among the bill’s14 cosponsors.

Wolves are an immediate threat to “domestic animals, farm animals and, quite frankly, children,” Ribble said last month, according to E&E News.

Another Midwestern lawmaker, Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., signed on to Ribble’s bill and introduced his own earlier in the week. Kline’s measure goes one step further by proposing to “prohibit treatment of gray wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan as endangered species.”

That phrasing seems calibrated to make Great Lakes gray wolves ineligible, forever, for protection under the nation’s key wildlife conservation law, as well as to end-run any court orders that might demand their protection.

Ribble’s measure, by contrast, would not stop conservationists from petitioning for wolves’ protection or federal conservation officials from returning the Great Lakes or Wyoming wolf populations to endangered status.

Similar legislation in 2011 forced the end of federal protections for wolves in Idaho and Montana, and the Center for Biological Diversity has stated that more than 1,956 wolves have been killed in the two states since.

Protecting a species under federal law is usually time-consuming and complicated. So Ribble’s measure, if passed, might still mean years of state management for these wolf populations, and that’s not a welcome prospect for the animals’ advocates.

“This bill would turn over the keys to wolf recovery to four states that have made it clear they’re more interested in killing wolves than saving them,” Brett Hartl, endangered species policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.

After protections for the Great Lakes and Wyoming wolves ended in 2011 and 2012, more than 1,600 animals were killed under state management plans, the center said, “likely contributing to a 25 percent decline in Minnesota and a 9 percent decline in the northern Rockies.”

===

Federal Legislation Would Strip ESA Protections for Gray Wolves

February 12, 2015

The Humane Society of the United States urges Congress to keep wolves protected and for USFWS to Downlist to Threatened

Representatives from Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Wyoming introduced legislation that would remove gray wolves in those states from the Endangered Species list. This legislation comes on the heels of two recent court cases that placed wolves in the Great Lakes and Wyoming back under federal protection due to overreaching state management programs that jeopardized wolf recovery. It is the first of several bills expected to be introduced this Congress seeking to weaken protections for wolves and to subvert a series of federal court rulings that determined that the federal government has too narrowly segmented wolf populations and that the states had overreached in their trophy hunting, commercial trapping, and hounding programs.

Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, issued the following statement in response:

“This legislation is an end-around a series of federal court rulings that have determined that state and federal agencies have acted improperly in acting to delist wolves.  This bill is just a the latest act of political bomb-throwing and gamesmanship, and lawmakers who want balance on the wolf issue should reject it.

Read More: 

http://www.humanesociety.org/news/news_briefs/2015/02/esa-protections-wolves-021215.html

===

===

Top Photo: Courtesy Arizona Game and Fish

Kentucky wolf photos: Courtesy Earth First Newswire

Middle Photo: wolf/wolf hybrid Courtesy newsjournaldotcom

Red wolf photo: Courtesy Wiki

Horse photo: Courtesy Wiki

Bold Vision logo: Courtesy Bold Vision Conservation

Bottom Photo: Courtesy Earth Island Journal

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Endangered Species Act, biodiversity, Activism

Tags: Echo,  “coyote excuse”, dispersing wolves poached, wolf recovery, USFWS, Congress, Utah, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, North Carolina, Illinois, North Carolina, Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, abusing the ESA, change needed, Bold Visions Conservation, Earth Island Journal

Killing Echo: The “Mistaken Identity” Excuse, Part One

Echo (Courtesy NPS)

February 27, 2015

It’s been several months since Echo was shot dead by a coyote “hunter”. Her identity was confirmed by DNA analysis of her recovered scat, since she evaded all attempts of capture, making her one smart little wolf. I think Echo should have been called Miracle because it certainly was a miracle she managed to traverse the kill zone of the Northern Rockies and make it to the Grandest of all Canyons. She was the first wolf to set paw there in 70 years. Unfortunately she was not able to evade a bullet and so what could have been a new chapter in wolf recovery turned out to be a sad tale of loss. And the loss was huge. Echo defied the odds. She defied the USFWS who repeatedly said, no gray wolves in  Grand Canyon National Park. But Echo made it on her own, she didn’t ask permission, she left her natal pack in Wyoming and went searching for a mate. Her presence in The Canyon was history in the making, just as her male counterpart, OR7, made history by becoming the first wolf  to roam California in 90 years!

The Canyon is amazing wolf habitat, mule deer abound but there was only one problem, Echo was the only gray wolf in the park. What’s a wolf to do?  So she left the park and headed north, retracing her steps on her quest to find a mate, instead she found  a man with a gun.

Echo’s tragic story is not new, it’s been  repeated over and over again, ad nauseam. When wolves disperse out of the Northern Rockies or Great lakes they usually end up dead. How many more times will we hear about wandering wolves shot and killed by “coyote hunters”? There is no way in hell wolves will ever be able to reclaim former habitat if every time they attempt to do so, they’re killed. We could point to Oregon and Washington as success stories, Oregon now has 77 wolves.  Yes, wolves are thriving there, with OR7 as the poster wolf for that success but OR7’s story could have gone a completely different way. He made the right choice and dispersed to western Oregon and south to California, where there’s tolerance for wolves. Unfortunately a few of his siblings OR5 and OR9 took different paths and went east to the killing fields of Idaho, where they met grisly deaths.

Oregon and  Washington wolves have been successful because they’re not hunted YET. But Oregon is already in the planning stages of delisting wolves in the eastern part of the state, since Oregon’s wolf
“management” plan is so weak.

Washington, although they have a better long-term “management” plan of 15 successful breeding pairs over three years,  has not been particularly kind to wolves since they returned to the state. The Lookout Pack, the first wolves confirmed in Washington state in 70 years were decimated by the White family.  I’m sure everyone remembers the disgusting account of Erin White trying to Fedex a bloody wolf pelt . 

“A FedEx agent declined to take the package after seeing what appeared to be blood leaking from it.

When a local police officer and the shipping-store owner discovered an animal pelt inside, they alerted state fish and wildlife agents. Genetic tests of the pelt later confirmed it was a gray wolf and an apparent member of the Washington state wolf pack.”…SeattleTimes

And we can’t forget the Wedge Pack and Huckleberry Pack debacles. Washington’s Teanaway Pack alpha female was poached in 2014, with a significant reward offered. Other wolves have been poached there as well, so all is not peachy for wolves in the Evergreen State,  even though they remain protected by state law in eastern Washington and retain federal and state protection in western Washington. Additionally the Colville and Spokane Tribes in eastern Washington hold wolf hunts on their reservations. The 2014/2015  Spokane tribe wolf hunt has a 6 wolf quota.

Aside from Washington and Oregon where are the dispersing wolves’ success stories? Can anyone name a single successful breeding pair of wolves outside of the Northern Rockies, Great Lakes or Mexican gray wolf territory, in Arizona and New Mexico?  In Missouri,  3 wolves have been killed in the last 13 years using the “coyote excuse”. In Kentucky, where wolves had been absent for 150 years, a wolf was shot dead because of “mistaken coyote identity”. The same thing in Kansas. And now Echo in Utah.

Obviously the “coyote excuse” is very convenient, even though coyotes and wolves look very different. It’s the equivalent of “the dog ate my homework” If you cop to killing a protected wolf, charges may be brought against you, probably just a slap on the wrist but there’s a possibility of fines or losing a hunting license. Using the “coyote excuse” is a get out of jail free card. This is why wolves are struggling to reclaim former habitat, because they walk around with targets on their backs, with little protection. The USFWS wants to put a final nail in their coffin with a national delisting. US Fish and Wildlife Services can’t protect wolves now when they’re listed as endangered, so how on earth can wolf recovery go forward if all federal protection is stripped from them? The message is clear and not subtle,  wolf recovery must be stopped dead in its tracks.

When Echo died it wasn’t just one wolf dying, which is tragic in itself but her demise closed the door on what could have been a new chapter for wolves in the Southwest. The Grand Canyon is perfect wolf habitat,  plenty of prey, mule deer abound, room to roam. Sadly the one thing missing were other wolves and that sealed Echo’s fate. She left the Canyon or was lured back into Utah, where she met her killer.

The Chairman of Arizona Game and Fish opined that Echo may have been deposited in the Grand Canyon by “radicalized environmental monkey wrenching”. In other words, stealth greenies snatched Echo from the Northern Rockies and plopped her in the North Rim of the Canyon, just to “monkey wrench” the USFWS plan to delist wolves nationally. Ummmmkay. Does this have anything to do with Area 51?

Here’s the article:

Wolf appears during controversy: Coincidence?

Robert Mansell 7:46 p.m. MST December 6, 2014

azcentral.com

There has been a great deal of interest in the wolf observed on the Kaibab Plateau in Northern Arizona. Many herald this as a wonderful event, and for the first time in 70 years, a wild wolf was in northern Arizona.

There are also some who view this as an example of what I have heard referred to as radicalized environmental monkey wrenching. The reality is that placing an animal that has full protection of the Endangered Species Act in a novel area requires agencies to manage a species that arrived to the area with the help of humans and not by natural dispersal.

Although the truth may never be known, I have had numerous folks call me to question how a wild wolf traveled more than 450 miles from the Northern Rockies to Arizona without having been observed somewhere along the way? Why now when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is in the process of determining whether or not to delist the gray wolf? Why now when key decisions are being made on the management of the Mexican wolf?

Recently, I got a long look at this animal, and while it looked like a wild wolf, it behaved otherwise.

To be clear, wild animals are known to make wondrous, long-distance movements, and while the arrival of a wolf on the Kaibab Plateau is not impossible, how interesting is it that this happens now when management of wolves in North America is at a critical juncture…..Robert Mansell azcentraldotcom

http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/letters/2014/12/06/grand-canyon-wolf/19962721/

===

I can play the speculation, conspiracy game too. What if Echo was lured into Utah? What if the “coyote hunter” knew she was a wolf and shot her anyway? She was a threat after all, a wolf successfully dispersing into new territory? That can’t be allowed now can it? And that must have been a pretty dumb “monkey wrencher” to forget to bring along a male wolf to keep her company.

Echo traveled hundreds of miles, defying the odds, to become the first wolf to set paw in the Grand Canyon since the 1940’s. This remarkable little wolf, just three years old, could have opened a new chapter for wolves reclaiming lost habitat.  She defied the USFWS, who said NO WOLVES IN THE GRAND CANYON! Excuse me if I’m suspicious of Echo’s death. NOTHING connected to wolves is ever straightforward.

RIP Sweet Echo, you were a pioneer for your species, an ambassador, seeking to reclaim the land of your ancestors! May your species continue to follow in your tracks!

“It is nothing short of a tragedy that this wolf’s journey across the west was cut short because she was shot and killed by a coyote hunter (…) This brave and ambitious female gray wolf that made it all the way from Wyoming to the Grand Canyon had already become a symbol of what gray wolf recovery should look like – animals naturally dispersing to find suitable habitat.”….Inquisitrdotcom

DNA Confirms Famed Wolf ‘Echo’ Killed By Coyote Hunter In Southern Utah

February 12, 2015

http://www.inquisitr.com/1837494/dna-confirms-famed-wolf-echo-killed-by-coyote-hunter-in-southern-utah/

===

Coming next: Part Two

Killing Echo/Killing Wolves: The “Mistaken Identity” Excuse

===

Top Photo: Courtesy Echo – NPS

Bottom Photo: Echo – Arizona Game and Fish

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Biodiversity, wolf recovery

Tags: Echo, epic journey, wolf recovery, biodiversity, North Rim Grand Canyon, wolf in the Canyon, senseless death, “coyote excuse”