Oregon ruling hits Wisconsin

By Dean Bortz Editor

Madison — Wisconsin wolf biologists stopped killing depredating wolves on Feb. 2, and will have to go back to trapping and moving problem animals following a Jan. 31 ruling by a federal judge in Oregon. The judge said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service incorrectly reclassified wolves from endangered to threatened status.

“We were trapping problem wolves and the DNR was euthanizing those wolves up until Feb. 2,” said Dave Nelson, Wildlife Services director at Sun Prairie. “We received word on Feb. 2 of the ruling, and we pulled our traps on Feb. 3.”

“If this decision puts us back to trapping wolves and the DNR relocating those wolves, we’re looking at lot more expense,” Nelson said.

“We advised Wisconsin, Michigan, and the tribes that they shouldn’t implement any of the actions (authorized under threatened status), including the euthanization of depredating wolves,” said Ron Refsnider, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Fort Snelling, Minn. “We didn’t want anyone killing depredating wolves until this is sorted out.”

That’s what USFWS and Department of Justice lawyers are doing now, according to Refsnider. They’re going through Judge Robert E. Jones’ ruling, but it could be two or three weeks before the USFWS determines its strategy.

“We’re trying to figure out what it means, to delay implementation, to negate it in some way, or decide where to go from here.,” Refsnider said. “We’re not yet sure what the on-the-ground effects will be over the long haul.”

The USFWS is looking at the possibility of appeal, but no recommendation had been made as of Feb. 3. “We’re probably a couple days off, and we have 60 days from the date of the decision (Jan. 31) to file an appeal,” he said.

Jones ruled on a USFWS national reclassification rule that had been finalized in 2003. That rule downlisted wolves nationwide from endangered to threatened. The rule also identified three population segments in the West, Midwest, and East. Defenders of Wildlife challenged that USFWS delisting by filing suit in federal court in Portland, Ore. The suit essentially claimed the USFWS made a mistake by lumping all population groups under one delisting decision.

Jones agreed.

“Defenders of Wildlife basically challenged the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision from March 18 of 2003 on the downlisting of wolves from endangered to threatened. They’re saying that it was illegal for the FWS to downlist when there are just a few core areas of recovery success in the Rockies and Great Lakes. The lawsuit says they have to be restored more broadly,” said George Meyer, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation executive director who has been following the case. “I image people will be reviewing the decision,” he said. “I’m sure it can be appealed, but the FWS will have to decide whether it will want to appeal. Other conservation groups may want to get involved if there is an appeal.

“The problem I see on this — and I’m not an expert — is it’s a question for the FWS, whether they felt they had to downlist throughout the range, or could they start piecing out parts of the country, like the Midwest, for downlisting while leaving the rest of the country endangered,” Meyer said.

“The question is whether (reclassifying) should be done piece by piece (by region), and I’m not sure who is right on this,” he said. “But, if in fact the judge is correct, then maybe it’s time for the U.S. Congress to split off areas that have met their goal so farmers, cattlemen, and dog owners in the Midwest are not penalized that wolves are not established thousands of miles away.”

Meyer said that he, too, was told that Wisconsin will have to stop killing depredating wolves because of the ruling.

“This isn’t one step backwards, this is several big steps back,” he said.

Wisconsin’s Wildlife Services trappers report they captured 18 wolves on depredation complaints from Oct. 1, 2002, through September of 2003, with one of those being released and 17 being euthanized. From October of 2003 through September of 2004, Wildlife Services trapped 24 wolves on depredations, with four pups released on-site and 20 adults euthanized.

http://www.wisconsinoutdoornews.com/WISCONSINOUTDOORNEWS/myarticles.asp?P=10 77797&S=565&PubID=13701

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