Klamath Basin Water Montana wolf control to state 072505

liability was passed off to the states.A hot potato that they couldn't wait to toss

Some lady at USFWS to Harriett Hageman, Esq. who is suing for the Counties , orgs, etc. in WY asked this senior wolf lady at the top of USFWS wolf introduction;"since you rarely,if ever,delist a specie, why do you want to hand over control to the states?"

answer ....."We(the USFWS) don' t want to be holding the bag when the decimation of the wildlife becomes apparent"

Lets make one thing abundantly clear, Montana FWP is on a 5 year probation period and can ,and will , lose jurisdiction& funding if they so much as fart without permission from Val Asher of the Turner Endangered Species fund who is on loan to the USFWS from the TESF at the request of Ed Bangs who had dozens of other more qualified candidates to choose from .

The Turner Endangered Species Fund is a virulent proponent of the "WildLandsProject". Mike Phillips, Executive Director of the TESF said to an audience of 600 on 2/24/00 in Duluth , Minn(in summary) "the goal of wolf recovery is to drive 30,000 ranchers off public lands" Ed Bangs,Dave Mech, Doug Smith, William Hartwig were there when he said it. A text of that speech was circulated widely when Phillips ran for the Montana House and was defeated.

Wolves carry and transmit Foot and Mouth disease in "hot spots" in the vastness of Russia/Siberia/Eurasia according to half dozen Russian wolf PhDs.

Superimpose a map of the American west over the aforementioned geographic area we are in a closet compared to Russia/Eurasia

Remember what Kurt Alt of Montana FWP said; The Yellowstone Ecosystem has some of the highest wolf DENSITIES in North America.

Ever been in a crowed school when chicken pox beaks out?

Local News - Great Falls Tribune - www.greatfallstribune.com

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050625/NEWS01/506250311&SearchID=73212420035988

State takes charge of wolves

The Associated Press

HELENA — Federal wildlife authorities on Friday turned over management of gray wolves in Montana to the state, a long-awaited step in efforts to rebuild a stable wolf population throughout the region.

"This basically gives us the key to the car and the credit card," said Carolyn Sime, wolf recovery specialist for the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. "What it means is that at this point, the state steps up to the plate in the management of wolves, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service takes a step back."

The federal agency's decision Friday is viewed as an important step in the effort to eventually remove federal protections for wolves.

Wolf populations in Montana will continue to receive federal protections, but officials say allowing Montana wildlife managers to begin implementing the state's management plans will make the transition easier once federal protections are removed.

"It's been a long time coming, but the people of Montana worked hard over the past 10 years with the expectation that the wolf would one day be delisted and managed among all the state's wildlife," Jeff Hagener, director of the state wildlife agency, said in a written statement. "This agreement is confirmation that the people of Montana did their part to restore the wolf in this part of the country."

Wolf reintroduction has been a contentious issue since efforts were first launched in the 1990s with the transplant of Canadian wolves to the Yellowstone ecosystem and in Idaho.

Since then, the "experimental" populations that were reintroduced have bred and thrived, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to remove federal protections if Montana, Idaho and Wyoming all developed acceptable plans for managing the animals once federal protections were removed.

The agency approved Montana's and Idaho's plans in January 2004, but said delisting could not move forward because of concerns with Wyoming's plan. With delisting delayed, the government gave Montana and Idaho more leeway in handling wolves in the interim.

Friday's decision extends that even further for Montana, allowing the state to actually implement major portions of its plan.

"I think that's a good thing, that states get to test out their plans with a little federal oversight," said Jon Schwedler, a spokesman for the Predator Conservation Alliance in Bozeman.

"Montana, of the three states, obviously has the most responsible plan," Schwedler said in a telephone interview.

Under the agreement, the state will conduct population monitoring, research and public outreach, in addition to determining when lethal or nonlethal wolf-control actions are appropriate.

"While the ultimate vision is delisting the wolf, this is an important interim step that recognizes the commitment and good will of the people of Montana," Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said in a statement.

Sime said the move allows state wildlife managers to gain more experience in dealing with wolves.

"From my perspective, this really is an important signal indicating that we are willing to take on some more responsibility and some more challenges when it comes to wolves."

Originally published June 25, 2005