Wolf De-Listing

With newspaper accounts going on daily, with state governors involved, the feds, ranchers, environmentalists…the wolf issue is a hot potato. Ed Bangs is a Wolf recovery Coordinator for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

 (Bangs) “I’m a huge supporter of de-listing the wolf population and letting the states manage wolves just like they do mountain lion, black bears, deer or elk, and that management include regulated hunter harvest of wolves. Wolves are just another animal, there’s no reason that the huge successes that have occurred under the state fish and game agencies and sportsmen’s watch shouldn’t be repeated with wolves. So I’m a huge believer that the wolf population is recovered and it should be managed by the states and tribes just like they manage other resident wildlife. Wolves are just another animal and we should manage them under that successful model.”

 And what about newspaper stories that elk and deer populations are down due to wolves?

 (Bangs) “A friend of mine with Fish and Game said 15 years ago if a hunter didn’t get an elk, it was because the wife wouldn’t let him out for the weekend, his 4 wheeler broke down, he twisted an ankle, his rifle wasn’t sighted in, the weather was too warm, every hunter had their own little excuse. Today the excuse is… it’s wolves.”