Wolf plan too generous

Wolf plan too generous
Monday, June 20, 2005


Pity the wolf. It was for thousands of years cast as a favorite villain in all manner of literature and the arts, a tradition enthusiastically embraced more recently by filmmakers. And what's not to fear: The animals move and hunt in packs -- unlike more solitary bears and mountain lions -- they are fast when motivated by their prey, they are larger and presumably less skittish than coyotes, and, not least, they employ a mournful howl that to human ears sounds both lovely and terrifying.


People, then, have been so conditioned to fear canis lupus that sorting out fear, myth, truth and scientific fact has been difficult since the wolf's reintroduction to Yellowstone in 1995. This was never more apparent than the debate within Utah's Wolf Working Group, a collection of wolf fans, ranchers and hunters that has been trying, without consensus, to formulate a recommendation for managing wolves when they begin showing up in the Beehive State in larger numbers. (There have been about five sightings since a grey wolf was captured in 2002 near Stoddard.)


All that disagreement forced the state's hand, and 10 days ago the Utah Wildlife Board approved a wolf-management plan about which environmentalists are livid, hunters are guardedly optimistic and which livestock owners outright love.


All of this, of course, is subject to approval by the Legislature, and to the wolves' being removed from the Endangered Species Act. But there's little reason to believe both hurdles won't be cleared. Here's the thrust of what the Wildlife Board is proposing:


* The Division of Wildlife Resources director may adjust policies -- aka, allow the killing and/or removal of wolves -- if it is determined that wolves are reducing the average age of big-game herds and depriving hunters of opportunities to harvest trophy animals.


* Ranchers may kill wolves that are harassing livestock, whether on public or private land.


* Ranchers will also receive compensation for livestock lost to wolf predation.


We know ranching is a hard way to make a living, but this is a certified win-win situation for people who run livestock in areas where wolves may soon arrive.


Once lawmakers approve of the plan, and the wolves are no longer on the protected list, ranchers can kill the wolves that bother their herds and be compensated for any loss.


We could be missing something, here, but that looks like a deal too sweet by half. A more fair approach -- to taxpayers who ultimately fund the rancher compensation and wolf management -- would be to either permit ranchers to kill the wolves or to be compensated for livestock loss. But not both.


It'll be up to lawmakers to revise that part of the plan.

Original Resource:
http://www2.standard.net/standard/opinion/53805/