STATE OF WYOMING CONTINUES TO SPEND MONEY TO KILL COYOTES, WOLVES, RAVENS, AND OTHER NATIVE SPECIES
During Budget Session, Tell Legislators to Stop Funding Useless Efforts
What does the state of Wyoming do if they can’t control the weather? Kill. Wyoming has ramped up efforts this year to kill predators like coyotes and mountain lions to make it seem like they have control over the loss of ungulates last winter DUE TO THE WEATHER. Harsh winters have come and gone for centuries and the species of Wyoming have evolved to withstand these fluctuations. It is simple ecology, after a hard winter, there are more resources and fewer mouths to feed therefore leading to a more robust, healthy population the following year. We are seeing evidence of exactly that. Wildlife managers want to control these fluctuations to ensure there are plenty of excess deer and elk to hunt. Their strategy is to kill more large carnivores and coyotes in order to reach that goal. Scientific research shows us though, that killing off carnivores to try and boost prey numbers is at best only a temporary solution and rarely leads to the intended results. This brings us to an important question, “what is the purpose of wildlife management?”
If indeed our only goals are to ensure there are surplus prey to be hunted by humans, wildlife management is still misguided because killing carnivores to boost prey populations isn’t effective unless it is continually carried out year after year. And even then it isn’t as effective as restoring habitat and improving forage quality for wildlife. Maybe it is time we start thinking about reducing the amount of forage available to cattle and sheep and making that available to pronghorn, deer, elk, and moose instead. Maybe we can’t have as much grazing as we have now if we also want to have healthy wildlife populations. A majority of the forage available to wildlife gets consumed by cattle and sheep. Let’s adjust grazing allotment quotas before we start killing mountain lions, bears, coyotes, wolves, and other carnivores. Or better yet, retire grazing allotments, return those lands to the wild things, and let native carnivores fulfill their role in our ecosystems.
Read also this article from Wyofile about the record spending by the state to kill native wildlife.
How can you help Wyoming’s wild animals? Call, email or write a letter to our legislators. Today, February 14 is Animal Action Day for the Wyoming legislature. Thanks to our friends at the Wyoming Coalition for Animal Protection for organizing this day of action.
What is included in the Appropriations Bill out of the general fund for the 2025 Fiscal Year for Wyoming (see pages 16, 17 & 18 of HB001):
- $10,000,000 for predator control
- $150,000 for wolf depredation compensation
- $1,600,000 for projects prioritized for preventing listing of a species as endangered OR projects that directly involve predator control that will have the greatest benefit to wildlife (predators are not considered wildlife in WY) or reduce the cost to the department for animal damage payments – this is new for 2025.
We need to tell Wyoming to stop spending millions of dollars for predator control and instead put that money into non-lethal deterrents. Continuing the cycle of killing without employing preventative techniques is a fool’s errand with no end.
Send a letter today and tell legislators that $11,750,000 to kill native wildlife is not where we want our taxes to be spent.
CLICK HERE TO SEND A COMMENT TO WYOMING LEGISLATORS *must be a Wyoming resident
CODY GRIZZLY KILLER PLEADS GUILTY
The man who killed a grizzly outside of Yellowstone National Park west of Cody in May 2023 and didn’t report it until the next day has finally had his day in court. Michael Gogerty of Wapiti, Wyoming was fined $15,000, given a year of unsupervised probation, and lost his hunting privileges for a year. He will still be allowed to assist others while hunting and purchase preference points so he doesn’t lose his ability to draw a coveted tag in the future. The judge who presided over the case represented three other men who were accused of killing grizzlies before he became a judge in 2021. The USFWS refuses to press federal charges against these poachers and the sentences remain not enough to deter people from shooting a grizzly. As we have seen from liberalized wolf hunting, poaching only increases with looser restrictions on hunting. We can expect the same with grizzlies if they are delisted.
Read the story from the Powell Tribune here.
Read the original story from the Powell Tribune here.
Research paper showing poaching increases with lethal management here.
PAINTING WOLVES????
The Animal Damage Management Board in Wyoming meets several times a year and discusses projects aimed at killing native carnivores and omnivores. In January’s meeting, the Director of Wildlife Services (WS) for Wyoming, Jared Zierenberg, reported that five wolves were killed in Hot Springs County. An additional wolf was trapped and collared to serve as a “Judas animal” to reveal where the pack is located or where their rendezvous site is. Below are other reports from WS:
- Tracks seen in Lincoln County – efforts to try and locate wolves but no success
- Pack of 13 wolves in Sublette County near Pinedale that have been causing damage to cattle calves – WS trapped 3 and collared 1 – painted one wolf so “it makes it easier to spot from the air.”
- Shot two additional wolves from the air in Sublette County.
- The remainder of the wolf pack has retreated into the Trophy Game Management Area and are “hanging with the elk herds.”
- South of the Wind River Mountains – seeing tracks – probably about 3-4 wolves. No collars present. They are “looking for an opportunity to try and capture and collar a Judas animal.”
- Pack of six wolves in Fremont County in Sinks Canyon – trapped one and collared to monitor them “waiting for the opportunity for them to come down, see if they are going to cause damage.”
Wolves do not have to be involved in predation in order to be killed. They are actively being sought out to be killed anywhere outside of the Trophy Game Management Area which is only the small area in the Northwest portion of Wyoming.
Thank you to everyone who showed up for the screening of Return of the Grizzly. It was a wonderful evening of seeing advocates and community members who are passionate about grizzly bears. A riveting Q&A followed the film where we delved into how broken state wildlife management is in the U.S. and how it is endangering grizzly bears and other carnivores. Appreciate all of you who came. We had over 250 attendees at the Center for the Arts in Jackson.
Read a Jackson Hole News & Guide article about the presentation here.
Write up from Mountain Journal is here.
FAIR GAME, WHO SHOULD PAY FOR WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT?
There is a dire need of a shift in focus in wildlife management. Management practices must be based on science based information, coexistence between humans and wildlife, and ecological function over profit.
Take a moment to read this article which explores the challenges of navigating methods of ethical wildlife management featuring Kevin Bixby, founder and co-executive director of Wildlife for All, and Kristin Combs, executive director of Wyoming Wildlife Advocates.
MAKE A DONATION TO WYOMING’S WILDLIFE
Photo Credits:
Coyote in Snow: Shaun Downey
Dead Grizzly Photo: Powell Tribune/Amy Wells
Black Wolf: Ashley Noble Wild Photography
Return of the Grizzly Photo: Joseph T. O’Connor, Mountain Journal
Pronghorn: LeAnn Leanns_wanderlust
Grizzly Bear: Chris Kassar ElkRaven Photography
Raven: Tanner Smithwick
