12/28/07 Maybe less wolves

Wolves may be coming to the end of their free run of the American west. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back right after this to explain. Since the first wolf reintroduction in 1995, wolves have been protected under the Endangered Species List. This allowed the wolves to multiply at a rate of up to 30 percent each year, with only the most notorious livestock killers terminated by federal agents. And this only happened after intense investigation that resembled a trial Perry Mason couldn't have won. Basically the wolves had such an immunity granted them they expanded well beyond ranges we were told they wouldn't leave. Right! The wolves quickly became killers of domestic livestock and a threat to human safety. A proposed plan would remove wolves from the Endangered Species List in the Montana region next February. The Montana Wolf Management Advisory Council has recommended up to 130 wolves could be shot in Montana next year. About one half would be taken by hunters and the other half by federal agents in response to killing of livestock. Idaho and Wyoming are also considering wolf-hunting plans. This action has been too long coming. Mathematically at a 30 percent yearly increase the proposed wolf-hunting plan will theoretically only keep wolf numbers at a constant number not reduce them. If Idaho sets a wolf-hunting season, I wonder if it will keep wolves out of Oregon and Washington or run more into those states? Well, hopefully seasons on these uninvited guests of livestock ranges will at least make them more afraid of humans than they are now. I'm Jeff Keane. The Wenatchee World 12/11/07