You only have until Monday, June 17 at 5:00 pm to submit any comments you may have on Chapter 47, Gray Wolf Hunting Seasons 2019 proposed regulations. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission will review all comments and make a final determination on hunting seasons at their July meeting. The 2019 hunting seasons are calling for fewer quotas in 10 out of 14 hunting areas in the Trophy Game Management region of the state. These hunting areas border both Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks and the John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway. They are still allowing unlimited numbers of wolves to be taken in the predator zone which is the majority (85%) of the state.
The statement of reasons for changing the regulations is limited in explanation.
Our comments, written with the Sierra Club Wyoming Chapter, focus on the value of wolves to the ecosystem as one of our best allies against chronic wasting disease. The proposal to extend hunting in hunt area 13 until March 31 is supposedly to protect the Whiskey Mountain bighorn sheep herd. However, the scientists who are working on the project to see why lambs are not surviving say they aren’t sure yet what is causing the lambs to not make it to their wintering grounds. Hunting of wolves and allowing humans on foot and horseback to enter the area with sheep are more disturbance to the bighorn sheep than wolves could be. This is an unscientific reason to allow wolf hunters “increased opportunity” to kill wolves. Pups will be orphaned and if the lactating alpha female is killed, the pack would suffer huge losses, including the pups.
If you care about wolves in Wyoming, please comment that you think hunting quotas should be much lower and that the state of Wyoming shouldn’t be managing wolves down to the lowest possible numbers. Tourists to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks bring in over $1 billion to the economy of Wyoming. Many travel here just to see wolves. The state of Wyoming needs to stop their relentless war on wolves and start valuing them for the allies they are.
You can submit comments online here.
SC Wyoming & WWA Comments on Chapter 47 Proposed Regulations for 2019
Photo of a beautiful Wyoming wolf in Yellowstone: Julie Argyle Wildlife Photography