Conservationists Turn Back on Wolves

The feds decided to delist wolves in Montana and Idaho. 14 conservation groups had filed a suit to maintain Endangered Species protection for wolves. All but 4 of these groups backed down. The four who stood by the wolves are: Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Western Watersheds, Humane Society of the United States and the Friends of the Clearwater.

The 10 who agreed with USFWS and abandoned the wolves are: Cascadia Wildlands, Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Greater Yellowstone Coalition, Hells Canyon Preservation Council, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oregon Wild, Sierra Club and Wildlands Network.

The good news about the settlement is that wolves in Oregon, Washington, Utah and Wyoming are now listed endangered. 

The court case settlement can be viewed here: http://www.newwest.net/pdfs/NRM%20wolf%20settlement%20agreement%203.2011.pdf

YNP Bison Count

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior

Yellowstone National Park
P.O. Box 168
Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2010 10-015
Al Nash (307) 344-2015

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YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK NEWS RELEASE
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Yellowstone Late Winter Estimate Shows 3,000 Bison

Yellowstone National Park recently completed a late winter bison population
abundance estimate.

The population is estimated at 3,000 bison.

The aerial survey was difficult to conduct this year, due to low snowpack and the resulting bare patches of ground. These conditions are likely to have resulted in an underestimate of the population by as much as ten percent.

Fifty-six percent of the bison are in the Northern Range herd, with forty-four percent in the Central Interior herd.

Last year's late winter population estimate was 2,900 bison.

State licensed and tribal hunters removed four bison from the population this year. No other bison have been captured or shipped to slaughter, or otherwise removed from the population this winter. [What about the 87 that went to Ted Turner? Interesting that this was left out.]

This population estimate is used to inform adaptive management strategies under the Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP). Specific management actions may be modified based on expected late winter population levels, as corroborated by the summer population estimate.

The IBMP is a cooperative plan designed to conserve a viable, wild bison population while protecting Montana's brucellosis-free status. [B.S.]

The five cooperating agencies operating under the IBMP are the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Montana Department of Livestock, and the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.