Like in every debate with opposing viewpoints, the articles below show how wolf supporters and wolf would-be shooters see the World through very different sets of eyeglasses.............Conservationists feel that the Montana West Fork Bitteroot Wolves are bringing about a healthier forest through Elk predation whereas the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association feel that Elk have been hammered by the Wolves to the point that sportsman will find it impossible to kill an elk for themselves..........I root for the Wolves despite the delisting that occurred last week and hope that on Federal land the USFW does not allow a slaughter of our "top Dawg"

Conservation Groups Set for Showdown Over West Fork Wolves
Small Group of Wolves Living in Remote Area Is in the Crosshairs
Contact: Nicole Rosmarino (505) 699-7404
On the heels of last week's budget rider to remove gray wolves in Montana, Idaho, and elsewhere in the Northern Rockies from the endangered list, conservation groups are vowing to use other legal means to defend Northern Rockies wolves.  WildEarth Guardians, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Friends of the Clearwater, GravelBar, Western Watersheds Project, and Wilderness Watch are set to challenge a Montana plan to destroy a population of wolves living in the Bitterroot National Forest.  Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks (MFWP) has applied to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) for a permit to kill 60 percent of the wolf population in the West Fork of the Bitterroot River to benefit human hunters.  Montana's senators have lobbied the Service to approve the wolf-killing plan.
The conservation groups filed comments with the Service last week, arguing that the wolf-killing project would violate numerous federal laws.  While the agency told the groups their claims might be moot due to Congressional delisting of wolves, this wolf-killing project would be on national forest land, including wilderness, and is subject to federal laws in addition to the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  It would also harm other species listed under the ESA.  "This project is illegal and just plain wrong,  We are not going to let the federal government look the other way as wolves are gunned down or trapped on public lands," stated Nicole Rosmarino, of WildEarth Guardians.  "These wolves are doing exactly what they're supposed to do: living in a wild area and eating native prey.  Let the wolves be."
The wolf population in the West Fork numbered 30 wolves in 5 packs at the end of 2010.  These wolves established themselves in a remote, rugged area, where they feed on native prey. They have generally not tangled with livestock, taking only two calves in the past decade.  MFWP's plan would reduce them down to 12 wolves or even fewer, a rate of killing that studies indicate to be too high for wolves to withstand.
"The West Fork wolves show that it is impossible to appease wolf opponents such as Senator Jon Tester," said Michael Garrity, Executive Director of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies.  "They're not eating livestock and the state wildlife agency has not documented the number of elk killed by wolves and does not even know if elk are the wolves' primary prey in the area.  If wolves cannot be tolerated in this situation, when and where will they be tolerated?" 
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) wrote to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in February, asking that the West Fork wolves be killed.  Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) also signed the letter.  The senators wrote, "We urge you to expedite the State of Montana's request to lethally take wolves in the West Fork of the Bitterroot to control unacceptable impacts to wild ungulate populations."
While politicians and MFWP claim wolves are the cause of elk declines in the West Fork, that charge is not backed by solid evidence. The Bitterroot Elk Study, specifically designed to determine factors causing elk declines in the project area, was not slated to begin until February 2011 and won't be concluded until the end of 2013.  Right now, there is substantially more evidence that human hunting is responsible for the decline in the West Fork elk population.  In fact, MFWP allowed more elk hunting starting in 2004 to control the elk population. MFWP has also continually raised the elk population goal, perhaps to set the stage for arguing that wolves need to be controlled. 
"The West Fork wolf-killing project violates a number of federal laws, including the National Forest Management Act, the Wilderness Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act," Rosmarino stated.  "Not only is 95 percent of the project area on federal public lands, including a portion the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area, but most of the land within a 25 mile radius is federal public land, including more wilderness."
The effects of MFWP's wolf-killing project would go beyond wolves, including a number of species listed under the ESA or candidates for listing.  Traps and snares intended for wolves could capture Canada lynx, grizzly bears, and wolverines.  They could also be harmed by lead poisoning from bullet-laced carcasses and gutpiles left by hunters.  Riparian-dependent species, including the bull trout and the yellow-billed cuckoo, could be negatively impacted by the loss of wolves.  Through years of scientific research in Yellowstone National Park, wolves have been documented to improve riparian habitat and substantially increase biodiversity.
"Wolves are actively restoring West Fork's ecosystems to be healthier and balanced. It's a shame our state wildlife agency can't see the importance of wolves in boosting biodiversity," Garrity stated.

For more information, including the extensive comments submitted to the federal government on this project, contact Nicole Rosmarino at nrosmarino@wildearthguardians.org or 505-699-7404.

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Montana sportsmen ask state for quick action on wolves By PERRY BACKUS

Sportsmen's groups from around Montana are asking wildlife officials to move as quickly as possible to implement the state's wolf management plan once the animal is removed from federal protection. In a letter mailed this week, 13 groups urged the state to rapidly develop a specific plan to begin managing wolves in areas with "serious wolf/wildlife" conflicts, including the West Fork of the Bitterroot where elk numbers have plummeted. "We are looking for sensible, responsible management based on science and not on social issues," said Tony Jones, president of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association.

Montana will be handed full responsibility for wolf management sometime in the next two months, following an unprecedented move last week by Congress to remove the wolf from Endangered Species Act protection. Attached to a must-pass budget bill by Montana Sen. Jon Tester and Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson, the rider does not allow for further court review."It's what we've been working toward for a long time," Jones said. In the Bitterroot, wolves have been blamed for the dramatic decline in the elk herd in the West Fork. In the last six years, elk numbers have gone from about 2,000 to around 750.

At the urging of the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association, the state had asked for permission to shoot up to 18 wolves under Endangered Species Act's 10(J) rule.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommended approval of the request. A comment period closed on April 12. The recent congressional action leaves that request in limbo. Montana Wildlife Federation conservation director Ben Lamb said the sportsmen's groups will urge the state to move forward as soon as possible to reduce wolf numbers in the West Fork area. "We felt the letter was necessary to ensure that we don't lose any momentum in moving forward," Lamb said. "We think there is a narrow window in places like the Bitterroot." Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said they understand the sense of urgency in the Bitterroot. FWP Bureau Chief Ron Aasheim said the department currently plans to present tentative quotas for this fall's wolf hunt to the commission at its May 12 meeting.The quotas will probably reflect a 5 percent to 10 percent increase over what the department proposed for the wolf hunt last year, to reflect an increase in wolf numbers, Aasheim said.

The 2010 wolf hunt proposed a total harvest of 186 wolves to reduce the population by 13 percent. That hunt was blocked by a federal court order.
The commission is scheduled to make its final decision on the 2011 wolf hunt at its July meeting, Aasheim said. However, the timeframe is contingent on when the Secretary of Interior reissues the 2009 wolf delisting rule."The Secretary of Interior has 60 days to reissue the rule," Aasheim said. "We can't do anything until that happens. We understand very well the urgency in the Bitterroot. That's why we asked for the 10(J) rule."

Montana will be required to monitor the wolf population and submit annual status reports for five years. Wolves can be relisted if the population falls below recovery levels or the state makes changes that would significantly increase the threat to the wolf population. "It is going to be very important that this is done right," said Lamb. "I don't think anyone wants to go back and do this again. It was a horrible, horrible experience. The level of animosity grew to a fever pitch.""If this delisting had come millions of dollars ago and thousands of elk ago, it would have been a lot different," Jones said.