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Wolves to stay on ESA list.

Looks like the language to legislatively remove wolves from the endangered species act and prevent more legal action was removed from the budget overnight in an attempt to get it passed and prevent another government shutdown. We lose again.

That is too bad,,,,, I have lost all faith, on them losers, ,,,,,,

The Federal Budget or the State Budget? It was worded to hopefully have the Fed Gov have to pay for it if they want them on the endangered species act. If the Fed's said no, the State can do what they want.

I used to always be a big proponent of you can't bitch if you don't vote. However I am really starting to think it doesn't matter. Republicans control the majority and don't get shit done. Hell even when Dem's had it they couldn't get anything done. It's a party problem. It's a lazy, entitled politician problem.

The Federal Budget.

I believe that is what they wanted to happen. They will turn it over to the state, and the state can then control the wolves. That is how they got the hunt back out west. I think it may be a win.

They never wanted to delist them, the won't delist them unless we pass the bill that was at the State level last fall to remove any and all funding for the management and protection of the wolves unless we get to manage them. It's all lip service to both sides of the aisle! Wisconsin needs to make the first move if they really want to manage and control the wolves.

It will likely never be turned over to the State level unless it is done legislatively. The antis will keep it tied up with legal battles just as they did. In order for FWS service to get them off the list again they will need a wolf plan instituted in every state adjacent to any state that currently has wolves at a minimum and perhaps in every state. That is not going to happen.

Wisconsin needs to cut any and all funding to the protection and management of the wolves in order for the Feds to even think about turning the management over to us. Without that, the Feds will never turn it over. This is the same thing I was saying last fall when the State bill came out and many were saying that the Feds had to act first....and actually believed that they would.

I do not think it will ever be a win..... that ship has sailed. Locally I do not think the Feds in this state or our own state officials, really care about this hot potato......Either way, the wolves are here, and are not going anywhere................

Even if they were put back in state control, and the green light was given to hunt and trap them, do you honestly think, they would give out enough tags, and the success level, would be that high, to control them..... I think not.....

Taking 250 wolves out a year, would make no difference,,,,,,, It would take a act of nature, some disease, needed to really control them, or make a difference.......

It was a dumb idea, and they are here to stay, and you have to learn how to hunt areas, that have wolves,,,,,,

I agree all funding should be cut, but they are here to stay, as far as I can see........ It is too bad, as they have ruined a million dollar industry, for many buisnesses, that at one time was called deer hunting up north, a very special place........ They could not leave it alone

this is crazy, we don't even know the right path to get them de-listed? Seems all we can do are the three S's. See, Snap a pic and Save

You can manage them all you want; you just can't get them mounted;)

"Even if they were put back in state control, and the green light was given to hunt and trap them, do you honestly think, they would give out enough tags, and the success level, would be that high, to control them..... I think not....."

You are correct about the amount of tags that would be given out, a green light wouldn't make a difference anyway. That is why I find it odd that the folks that are directly affected by large numbers of wolves continue to hold on tight to their ankles waiting for a law to change and someone to come and save them and their livelihoods.

push to expand the wolf to Colorado...interesting listen

Colorado will end up like Idaho. The Lolo legendary elk herd was nearly decimated by wolves.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Federal officials have killed 10 wolves in northern Idaho at the request of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to boost elk numbers, and state officials say more might be killed this winter.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services said Wednesday that workers used a helicopter in the Clearwater National Forest in late February and early March to kill the wolves.

"At the request of Idaho, we did remove wolves in that region," said agency spokeswoman Tanya Espinosa.

Idaho officials say the area's elk population in what's called the Lolo zone has plummeted in the last 25 years from about 16,000 to about 2,000, and that wolves are to blame along with black bears, mountain lions and a habitat transition to more forests.

Fish and Game has liberal harvest rules for bears and mountain lions, but wolves are more challenging to hunt. So in six of the last seven years, Fish and Game has sought to kill wolves to boost elk. Elk are a prominent big game species in Idaho and hunters have decried a scarcity of elk in the region. Elk are also a source of revenue through hunting license sales for Fish and Game.

"We've made an obligation to try to manage this elk herd at levels at maybe not peak levels, but at least bring it back to levels that we've seen in the past that were adequate for hunting," said Jim Hayden, a biologist with Fish and Game.

Officials say Fish and Game license dollars paid for the federal agency to kill the wolves. State and federal officials didn't have the cost immediately available.

Environmental groups blasted the killing of the wolves, focusing on the operation being made public only after it happened.

"Now more than ever, Wildlife Services and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game need to be up front with the public about their plans to kill wolves," said Andrea Santarsiere, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. "Idaho stopped monitoring wolves last year and stopped releasing annual reports revealing how many wolves remain in Idaho. It's troubling to see this ever-increasing veil of secrecy fall over the management of Idaho's wolves."

The last intensive wolf count in Idaho was in 2015 when officials said the state had an estimated 786 wolves at the end of the year. That's also the last year Fish and Game was required to do that type of count after wolves were removed from the Endangered Species List.

But Fish and Game has continued to monitor wolf populations. Hayden said that based on DNA samples from more than 700 wolf droppings, nearly 150 remote cameras and other information, at least 11 packs are in the Lolo zone. Hayden said the agency manages populations and doesn't count individuals. But he said an Idaho wolf pack typically has six to nine wolves. That means there are roughly 65 to 100 wolves in the Lolo zone.

Fish and Game estimates that statewide there are more than 90 packs, Hayden said, far above the state's minimum requirement of 15 packs. The federal government could take back management of Idaho wolves if the population gets too low.

Hayden said the state and federal agencies do not announce wolf-kill operations out of concern for the safety of the helicopter crew as well as the last-minute nature of the operations. He said a snowy day must be followed by clear flying weather, and there's a chance that if those conditions occur again this winter federal workers will try to kill more wolves in the Lolo zone.

"After you go after the first one, the wolves are scattering, so it's not common to take a whole pack," he said.

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