Tagged: Wolves

State wildlife officials have confirmed that wolves killed 31 sheep on a south-central Idaho ranch over the weekend. 

Carey-area rancher John Peavey tells the Idaho Mountain Express that the ewe, one lamb and two that weren't born were also killed Sunday morning.

Idaho Wildlife Services State Director Todd Grimm says the final mortality count for kills on May 10 and May 12 was 13 ewes and 18 lambs.

A plan by the federal government to end protection for gray wolves received mixed reactions from environmental groups to ranchers. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has drafted a plan to remove Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the lower 48 states. That would leave the states in charge of wolf management.

The federal government is preparing to stop protecting gray wolves in the lower 48 states, according to a draft document. The plan is drawing criticism from environmental groups.

The impending decision isn’t a complete surprise. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had announced its intentions earlier this year to propose a blanket delisting of wolves as a ‘threatened’ or ‘endangered’ species.

There are fewer wolves overall in the West, but Oregon and Washington's wolf populations continue to grow. That's according to the federal government's annual gray wolf tally, released Friday. The count has also revealed the initial effect of a controversial wolf hunting season in Idaho.

Aggressive gray wolf hunting took a toll in much of the Northern Rockies last year as the predator's population saw its most significant decline since being reintroduced in the region.

Numbers released by state wildlife agencies show Wyoming's wolf population down 16 percent from 2011, Montana's down 4 percent and Idaho's down 8 percent.

That was partially offset by population gains in eastern portions of Washington and Oregon.

Washington officials confirmed a new wolf pack outside Wenatchee this week. But the pack has already run into trouble with ranchers.

A bill headed for the floor of the Idaho House would tap into the interest in hunting wolves to raise money for ranchers who lose livestock to those wolves. A legislative committee approved the measure Tuesday, despite legal concerns.

Idaho lawmakers who represent ranching country say it's now up to the state to cover losses caused by wolves. Federal compensation funds are another casualty of the automatic budget cuts known as the sequester.

Two new wolf packs formed in Oregon last year. That brings the state’s total to six packs. On Friday, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission learned what this could mean for possibly removing endangered species protection for the wolves.

2012 was the first year that more than four breeding wolf pairs were identified in Oregon. One goal for delisting gray wolves in the state: Sustain four breeding pairs for three years.