wolves need help

I try to keep this blog apolitical, but I am bending my rule for this. I’d love if you took a minute to read this (if you haven’t already seen one of my pleas) – and if you feel moved – to add your name to a petition to help find a better solution for wolf management in Wyoming.

These next two days are critical for the wolves of Wyoming, if you haven’t already please check out the following petition to endorse re-evaluating the proposed management plan by the Wyoming Fish and Game Department which goes into effect in two days. It includes unregulated hunting, trapping, and poisoning of wolves in the majority of the state.

petition

Seeing wild wolves was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I want my children, and theirs as well, to be able to have that experience and be proud of the choices that we make today to protect these National Treasures of the United States and the Earth. I am not a liberal and I’m not a conservative. I’m a human being that understands that no issue is as simple as to have only two points of view. I understand that hunting is necessary for managing wildlife at this time, but I believe it should be done in a humane way with plans based on science and compassion. Wyoming’s plan includes neither.

summary of issue:

Wolves were removed from the Federal Endangered Species list last year, meaning the management of the species has been turned over to individual States. Montana and Idaho started management last year, and though their plans were approved by the Federal gov, they still include questionable methods that seem to endorse the old West mentality of extermination (outside of any National Parks) – though at least their hunting plans have some limits and regulations. To contrast bad and worse, Wyoming’s proposed “management” plan was so poor that last year the Feds would not turn over the responsibility until revisions were put into place. Any day now though, management will transfer from the Feds to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, despite very few reasonable revisions.

Wyoming’s current “management plan” includes categorizing the wolf as a “predator species” outside of Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park (and a small area just outside those parks). As a predator species, they will be subjected to unregulated hunting outside of those areas – they will be allowed to be shot, trapped, poisoned, or any other method of destruction, at any time, with no oversight. This plan is not far off the existing plans in states such as Texas that offer a dollar reward for every coyote killed.

Wyoming’s management plan needs further revision, or the wolf needs to remain with some Federal protection. Wyoming is part of this Union of the United States of America, and they are stewards of many National treasures. I believe in States’ rights to govern, but there remain shared resources that belong to all of us. Wyoming should remember that many of their cities and towns exist because of the treasures within their state, and much of their income comes from people who come from outside the state to visit. Let’s come up with a plan that honors the people who have to live with wolves, the wolves, and our future generations.

sign here

why should we care?

The proposed plan from Wyoming seems archaic and fear-based, not a plan based on science or even remotely including any compassion for a species that is directly related to animals that many of us keep in our homes and consider parts of our families. Anyone who has a dog or has experienced time with wolves knows that they are intelligent beings, live in close family groups, and experience some feelings similar to our own.

Wolves, and other apex predators, are necessary parts of a healthy ecosystem, just as are all creatures right down to insects and bacteria (see this article). It is proposed that one reason deer ticks and Lyme’s disease is so out of hand in the Eastern United States is that deer populations, along with other prey species, have gone unchecked due to lack of predator influence, allowing the ticks to proliferate.

The methods of “management” proposed by Wyoming include activities that I would associate with a 3rd world country. Let’s create a plan based on science and compassion, something we are proud of as citizens of the United States of America – something that can be a model for big predator wildlife management around the world. Poison and traps are horrific ways for an animal to die, and it is often a slow and painful death. Not only that, traps and poison have many other casualties in the form of other animals that aren’t targeted. I want my children and children’s children to be proud of the choices we make, not embarrassed that we reverted to the very tactics that put the wolf, bison, and many other animals in the position that they are in today.

sign here

recent articles regarding this topic:

LA Times click here

New York Times click here

Defenders of Wildlife summary click here

Thanks in advance for taking a moment to raise your voice in favor of a more humane, moderate and compassionate plan for managing these amazing animals!!!

sign here

Zach

August 30, 2012 | Categories: gray wolf, mammals | Tags: grand teton national park, grand tetons, gray wolf, tetons, tracks, wolf, wolves, wyoming, Zach Dautrich, Zachary E Dautrich | 1 Comment

wolves

The tracks that I saw two Fridays ago I supposed to belong to a set of three wolves, and three days later I returned there to cast some tracks of their paw prints on the shores of the lake where I had found them. Originally my plan was to cast a bunch of the tracks, then hike around the lake with some left-over plaster to see what other cool tracks I might find.

The wolves had a different plan for me.

I spent a few hours pouring plaster, and most of the good tracks were close to the area where I accessed the lake. It was a hot day, even by Wyoming standards, and there was a pair of swans that took great interest in my affairs. They were alternating feeding with short forays to investigate my work with much curiousity, as I traversed the banks back and forth over an area about a 1/4 mile in distance. I was happy to have them there.

wolf and bird track casting prep

wolf track casting

swans 01 / Grand Teton National Park WY

swans 02 / Grand Teton National Park WY

After pouring the plaster, I started off to hike around the lake. As I continued east, the amount of wolf sign just increased. I found more evidence of movement there by the wolves, it still seemed like only three individuals but it was obvious that they used the area with some frequency. Not only were there more tracks, but there were bones and parts of animals that indicated kill sites and also objects that seemed to be used as toys. After my day, I learned that the area was home to a wolf den, so it is likely that many of the bones and feathers that I encountered during my day were the play things of young wolves. These included swan feathers, and I suspected that perhaps there were only two swans because their young had fallen prey to the wolves of the lake.

As I was walking and scoping the ground in the heat of the day, a form caught my eye towards the east side of the lake, about 300 meters away. As I brought my binoc’s to my eyes, I already knew what it was.

It was a wolf.

Languishing on the cool mud by the lake.

wolf on mud flats / Grand Teton National Park WY

It didn’t realize I was there, despite me being generally upwind of it. I stared a bit in disbelief, even though I shouldn’t have been surprised based on the amount of sign that was around. Still, when you actually see a wolf for the first time, in the wild, there is a moment of pause that’s required by the mind and body. We as a species have a long history with the wolf, and like many things, the experience is not quantifiable by the mind. Nor are words capable of expressing it.

Eventually it got up and started scouting the shoreline, and it was then that I realized there were two other wolves in its company. I saw a beautiful red-tailed hawk flight feather on the shore right next to me, and I couldn’t help but smile. Shortly thereafter a red-tail appeared in the sky just to my left, and it seemed to coax me on, giving me the go-ahead to investigate further.

wolf scout / Grand Teton National Park WY

wolves / Grand Teton National Park WY

wolf greeting / Grand Teton National Park WY

I didn’t want to disturb them, but I saw that it was possible to get a little bit closer while still keeping water in between us. As I tried to get in position, two of them heard/smelled/saw me, and they moved away up a densely vegetated drainage behind them. The third moved a bit slower in the same direction, until all three had disappeared. I waited a bit, then decided to walk further, still having the intention of walking around the lake.

As I got about 50 meters from where they had been, I realized that I needed to pass very close to where they had been laying. In addition to not wanting to bother them further, I realized that I’d be walking, by myself, on a very exposed mud plain, with no where to go and nothing to defend myself. I don’t think wolves would attack me unprovoked, but … they are, umm, wolves. This was real.

As I was trying to decide what to do, the largest of the three reappeared not far away, within 150 meters. She (I’m assuming, based on size) seemed to be relaxed and just investigated the area as I watched her. I was able to get a few more pics as she meandered around.

scoping wolf 2 / Grand Teton National Park WY

scoping wolf / Grand Teton National Park WY

sitting wolf / Grand Teton National Park WY

As I watched her, it started to occur to me that, while it was amazing to see her chilling by the lake, it left two other wolves unaccounted for. And I was essentially pinned in by the lake, the willows, and the hillsides around me. Not that I really expected that they would be trying to flank me and give me a surprise, but why chance it? It was my first experience with wolves, and they are intelligent animals. And big. Very big.

I think it was right around when I took these pictures below that I decided a greater distance between all of us was prudent …

wolf gaze 01 / Grand Teton National Park WY

wolf gaze 02 / Grand Teton National Park WY

wolf gaze 03 / Grand Teton National Park WY

The feeling of having a wild wolf gaze at you is unlike any other feeling. Thrilling, chilling … primal.

After taking these last shots, I started to make my departure, leaving the wolves in peace to their afternoon cool-down. I’m not going to lie … I also picked up a large club-like log, and, neanderthal-style, plodded back along the lakeside from whence I came, with many glances behind me. I may have grunted a few times between wide smiles.

neanderzach

After I gathered up the casts of the tracks and put all my gear back into my jeep, I walked down to the lake to say a good-bye and thank you. As I expressed my gratitude standing on the bank,  I heard a peregrine calling as if to acknowledge my sentiments, and I just gave a big smile – and a wolf howl – before I turned and made my way back to camp. It’s a thrill to know that when I howled like a wolf there, wolves were actually hearing it.

Instead of angry neighbors.

On the drive out, my old friend the red-tail called so loudly that I stopped my jeep to find it, and it flew out in front of me as if my escort, leading me for a bit, seeming to celebrate the events of the day with me as it finally landed on a nearby tree and watched me pass.

red-tailed hawk escort / Grand Teton National Park WY

August 30, 2012 | Categories: gray wolf, mammals | Tags: grand teton national park, grand tetons, gray wolf, tetons, tracks, wolf, wolves, wyoming, Zach Dautrich, Zachary E Dautrich | Leave a comment