Liberty Belle
Well-known member
I'm writing my comments and sending them off soon. Some of the wolves in South Dakota have come from the west and some have come from Minnesota.
Comment period for wolf delisting ending
Posted Apr 19, 2007
By MIKE STARK
of The Gazette Staff
Howl now or forever hold your peace.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tonight holds its final public hearing on a proposal to remove most wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains from the endangered-species list.
The hearing will be held in Cody, Wyo., starting at 6 p.m., preceded by an open house starting at 3. Written comments will be accepted until May 9.
Already more than 60,000 comments have been submitted, said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Although there have been six other public hearings on the delisting proposal, tonight's is expected to be one of the most heavily attended, with those on all sides of the issue looking to add their comments before the agency starts to develop a final proposal, which could be finished later this year.
"The thing we want to do is give everyone a chance to talk," Bangs said.
There are about 1,300 wolves in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, according to estimates at the end of 2006.
Federal officials have said the population is recovered, federal protections should be lifted and states should take over management.
The process, though, has been delayed by a long-running dispute between the Fish and Wildlife Service and Wyoming over that state's management plan.
The latest federal proposal would delist wolves in Montana, Idaho and all of Wyoming except in the northwest corner, where federal protections would remain in place.
The change allows the possibility that wolves in Montana and Idaho could be hunted if the population met certain criteria. Wyoming wolves, except those in the northwest corner, could be treated as predators and killed without regulation.
Hearings on the proposal have been held in Cheyenne, Wyo.; Salt Lake City; Helena; Boise, Idaho; Pendleton, Ore.; and Spokane, Wash.
Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., asked Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne for another meeting in northwestern Wyoming, where ranchers' conflicts with wolves have been some of the most frequent. That is the hearing that will be at the Cody Auditorium tonight.
The open house will be from 3 to 5 p.m. The first hour will include a presentation on the delisting proposal and a question-and-answer period. The formal hearing will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Written comments can be submitted at the hearing or mailed to: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wolf Delisting, 585 Shepard Way, Helena, MT 59601.
Comment period for wolf delisting ending
Posted Apr 19, 2007
By MIKE STARK
of The Gazette Staff
Howl now or forever hold your peace.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tonight holds its final public hearing on a proposal to remove most wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains from the endangered-species list.
The hearing will be held in Cody, Wyo., starting at 6 p.m., preceded by an open house starting at 3. Written comments will be accepted until May 9.
Already more than 60,000 comments have been submitted, said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Although there have been six other public hearings on the delisting proposal, tonight's is expected to be one of the most heavily attended, with those on all sides of the issue looking to add their comments before the agency starts to develop a final proposal, which could be finished later this year.
"The thing we want to do is give everyone a chance to talk," Bangs said.
There are about 1,300 wolves in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, according to estimates at the end of 2006.
Federal officials have said the population is recovered, federal protections should be lifted and states should take over management.
The process, though, has been delayed by a long-running dispute between the Fish and Wildlife Service and Wyoming over that state's management plan.
The latest federal proposal would delist wolves in Montana, Idaho and all of Wyoming except in the northwest corner, where federal protections would remain in place.
The change allows the possibility that wolves in Montana and Idaho could be hunted if the population met certain criteria. Wyoming wolves, except those in the northwest corner, could be treated as predators and killed without regulation.
Hearings on the proposal have been held in Cheyenne, Wyo.; Salt Lake City; Helena; Boise, Idaho; Pendleton, Ore.; and Spokane, Wash.
Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., asked Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne for another meeting in northwestern Wyoming, where ranchers' conflicts with wolves have been some of the most frequent. That is the hearing that will be at the Cody Auditorium tonight.
The open house will be from 3 to 5 p.m. The first hour will include a presentation on the delisting proposal and a question-and-answer period. The formal hearing will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Written comments can be submitted at the hearing or mailed to: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wolf Delisting, 585 Shepard Way, Helena, MT 59601.
