A new U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report indicates wolves killed a record-high 243 livestock in Wyoming in 2016. Wildlife managers responded by killing a record-high 113 wolves confirmed to be involved in the attacks.
The report states Wyoming was home to at least 377 wolves in 2016. Wyoming did not receive authority to manage its wolf population until March of 2017.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation strongly supports the state-based management of all wildlife including wolves, and fully endorses the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, which maintains fish and wildlife belong to all citizens and are to be scientifically managed through hunting and other means so all populations can thrive forever.
Wyoming’s wolf management plan aims to lower the state’s wolf population to a reduced but stable level.
“Usually the fewer wolves you have, the less conflicts you have,” Ken Mills, large carnivore biologist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, told the Associated Press. “It’s not 100 percent but that is certainly the goal of the state.”