BC,, not WA. BC already has many grizzly and they have hunting for them (managment tool) at least they did a year or so ago.
I am not real familiar on why they are putting more grizz down in the southern part of the Province but it has caught the attention of a few around here.
Back to the wolf, here is some legislation that is taking place down in Oregon right now on the Wolf.
A few things that caught my eye when reading this article were the 15% decline and the incline of beaver also the fact that if this is not approved they would want the state to pay for damage, which in turn means the general public.. Maybe they would just take it out of the Wildlife budget? who knows!
Sure wished the wolf lovers on this board would attempt to give a finacial plan for the wolves they want in our state..
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Ranchers could kill gray wolves under Oregon House bill
By PETER PRENGAMAN
The Associated Press
4/8/03 9:25 PM
SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- Environmentalists and ranchers clashed over the future of the gray wolf in Oregon on Tuesday as lawmakers considered a bill to classify the animals as predatory.
Currently the wolves are protected under the Oregon Endangered Species Act, which prevents ranchers from killing a wolf even when it attacks livestock.
The change would allow rural Oregonians who feel threatened by the animal to kill it on sight.
"We don't want our beef to be eaten by the wolf," said Glen Stonebrink from the Oregon Cattlemen's Association. "Even the fondest people of wolves would have to say they are predators."
The animal has been extinct in Oregon for 50 years, but in 1996 the federal government reintroduced it into central Idaho as an experimental species. The wolf population thrived there, causing Oregon ranchers, hunters and rural residents to fear it will soon find a home across the border.
Though there are no known resident wolves in the state, many Oregonians have reported seeing the animal.
But conservation groups say the wolf worries are overblown and largely inaccurate.
Bob Beschta, a retired hydrology professor at Oregon State University, said the wolves gave their environment a boost. He cited independent research he did in Yellowstone Park, where the wolves were also reintroduced.
Though the wolves lowered the elk population by about 15 percent, they also helped other plants and animal species thrive, Beschta said.
For example, more cottonwood trees along river banks were able to grow to full size because fewer elks were chewing off their leaves. That attracted more beavers, animals that also feed off the trees, Beschta said.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is working on a plan to make the state's endangered species act more consistent with federal laws regarding wolves. Under the federal Endangered Species Act, ranchers can get permits to kill wolves that threaten their livestock, which Oregon's version doesn't allow.
Ron Anglin, an administrator from the fish and wildlife commission, told the Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee Tuesday that the commission had no intention of introducing wolves in the state. But a wolf management program was being developed for when the animals inevitably settled here, he said.
"Why are we looking at a bill to remove wolves when there are none in the state?" Rep. Kelly Wirth, Corvallis Democrat who is a member of the committee, rhetorically asked her colleagues after Anglin's testimony.
Wirth's question is one that many environmentalists have asked when committees in both the House and Senate have debated wolf legislation the past month. Though neither chamber has made any decisions, Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski would likely veto any bill passed.
"The governor doesn't support the repeal of the state endangered species act," said spokeswoman Mary Ellen Glynn. "And he doesn't think the wolf should be exempted."
Glynn said Kulongoski supports the management plan currently being drafted by the fish and wildlife commission.
Farmers and ranchers say the process is too slow and too costly.
If the wolf stays on the state endangered species list, the state should have to pay for any livestock attacks," said Greg Addington from the Oregon Farm Bureau.
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On the Net:
HB3075
http://www.leg.state.or.us/