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As Gray Wolves Return, So Does Debate Over Hunting

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As Gray Wolves Return, So Does Debate Over Hunting


As Gray Wolves Return, So Does Debate Over Hunting

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  • Transcript




And I'm Robert Siegel. Gray wolves have been taken off the endangered species list in several western states. That means their populations have recovered. But complications continue in Wyoming. Wolves there are still federally protected because the state has been aggressive about wanting to kill them. Now, Wyoming has finally struck a deal with the federal government for how wolves will be treated once they come off list. As NPR's Elizabeth Shogren reports, environmentalists say the deal agreement does not go far enough.

ELIZABETH SHOGREN, BYLINE: There weren't any wolves in Wyoming until the federal government reintroduced them in the 1990s. Now, there are at least 329. The state is eager to shrink the population because wolves kill livestock and game. Joe Tilden is a county commissioner in Wyoming and the founder of a hunting advocacy group.

JOE TILDEN: My personal opinion is that they need to be hunted wherever and whenever they occur because wolves are extremely secretive-type creatures. They're extremely intelligent.

SHOGREN: Under the new deal, wolves in the northwestern part of Wyoming could be managed as trophy animals, unless they're in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. But conservationists worry hunting will be allowed on a stretch of national park that connects Yellowstone to Grand Teton. It's called the J.D. Rockefeller Parkway.

SHARON MADER: Wolves use that area extensively traveling between the two parks, and it's a very wild area.

SHOGREN: Sharon Mader represents the National Parks Conservation Association. She says this corridor is essential for maintaining viable populations.

MADER: Unique and iconic wildlife such as wolves that are just coming off the endangered species list deserve the ultimate protection that national parks offer.

SHOGREN: She says it's especially important for the parks to provide this sanctuary for wolves in Wyoming because they will be hunted on other federal lands there. If they wander out of the state's northwest corner, they will be considered predators and could be shot on sight. The National Park Service is against hunting wolves on the J.D. Rockefeller Parkway too.

HERBERT FROST: Visitors come to Yellowstone, they come to Tetons, they come to the parkway to see wolves, and so we want to manage the park so that people can enjoy wildlife viewing.

SHOGREN: Herbert Frost is an associate director of the Park Service. He says his agency has the authority to ban wolf hunts on park land, but he's not picking that fight with the state yet.


SHOGREN: Most national parks forbid hunting. But the legislation creating the J.D. Rockefeller Parkway allows for some hunting. Scott Talbot heads the Wyoming Department of Game and Fish. His agency manages hunts of other animals on the J.D. Rockefeller Parkway, and Talbot wants to keep his options open to hold wolf hunts there too.

SCOTT TALBOTT: As we move forward, it may be fairly important for the department to move forward with wolf hunting in the JDR.

SHOGREN: For instance, if the population gets out of hand, hunters like Joe Tilden may be needed.

TILDEN: When you're hunting a predator, you're not only out to enjoy the sport, but you're also out to control a number of predators.

SHOGREN: The wolf in Wyoming is expected to come off the endangered species list by early autumn. Conservationists hope there's a hunting ban in the J.D. Rockefeller Parkway by then. Elizabeth Shogren, NPR News.




