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Schweitzer says Montana will defy feds, kill wolf packs that prey on elk
Schweitzer says Montana will defy feds, kill wolf packs that prey on elk By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press missoulian.com | Posted: Wednesday, February 16, 2011 5:45 pm |
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BILLINGS - Defying federal authority over gray wolves in his state, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Wednesday encouraged livestock owners to kill wolves that attack their animals - even in areas where that is not currently allowed - and said the state will start killing off packs that hurt elk herds.
Schweitzer said he no longer is willing to wait for federal officials to resolve the tangle of lawsuits over wolves, which has kept the animals on the endangered species list for a decade since recovery goals were first met.
"We will take action in Montana on our own," he said. "We've had it with Washington, D.C., with Congress just yipping about it, with (the Department of) Interior just vacillating about it. What we see in Washington, D.C., is motion masquerading as action."
State wildlife agents and ranchers killing wolves already occurs regularly across much of the Northern Rockies, where 1,700 of the predators roam parts of five states. Rules against killing wolves have been relaxed by federal officials over the past decade.
Livestock owners in southern Montana and Idaho have authority to defend their property by shooting wolves that attack their cattle, sheep or other domestic animals. And federal agents regularly kill wolves in response to such attacks, with more than 1,000 shot over the past decade.
But Schweitzer is moving to expand those killings beyond what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has so far allowed, including to parts of Montana where ranchers are not allowed to shoot the predators.
Fish and Wildlife spokesman Chris Tollefson said the agency was working with Montana and other states in the region to address their concerns over wolves.
"We've been in negotiations with Montana and the other states for some time, and we're committed to continuing that and trying to find a solution that works for everybody," he said.
In a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that was provided by Schweitzer's office, the Democratic governor said state game wardens will be directed to stop investigating wolf shootings north of Interstate 90, the part of the state with the heaviest protections for the animals.
And he said he directed Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks to begin removing packs in the Bitterroot Valley south of Missoula that have been driving down elk populations.
The state has a pending petition before the Fish and Wildlife Service to remove a dozen wolves in the Bitterroot.
A decision on that petition is pending, according to federal officials. Schweitzer indicated Wednesday that he was not going to wait, and would leave it to state wildlife agents to decide when to kill the wolves.
He was less adamant in the letter to Salazar, saying the Bitterroot packs would be killed "to the extent allowed by the Endangered Species Act."
Federal wildlife officials have tried twice in the last four years to lift endangered protections for wolves and turn over management to the states. Both attempts were reversed in federal court.
A provision in a budget bill pending before Congress would revoke endangered species status for wolves in Montana and Idaho. Other measures introduced by lawmakers would lift federal protections across the lower 48 states.
Despite the bitter public divide on the issue, attacks on livestock by other, unprotected predators such as coyotes far exceed damage from wolves, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics. But the lack of state control over wolves because of their endangered status has frustrated both livestock owners and elk hunters, who complain that their hands are tied by federal protections.
"This is a real-life problem in Montana - and we plan to start solving the problem," Schweitzer said.