FWS issues shoot permit

by Cat Urbigkit

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a kill permit to a Big Piney rancher last week, allowing the lethal take of up to two gray wolves.

The action came in the wake of repeated livestock depredations and with the failure of other methods of control.

FWS’s Mike Jimenez said in an interview last week that a Big Piney ranch experienced its second calf loss near the end of April and the loss was confirmed as a wolf kill. Although USDA Wildlife Services specialists attempted to trap the wolves, as of Tuesday morning, the efforts failed. Jimenez said Wildlife Services had tried trapping in hopes of capturing and radio-collaring a wolf to enable tracking so FWS could learn how many wolves are in the area, and in what specific area. Wildlife Services was also authorized to kill two wolves.

Jimenez said to his knowledge, there is not an established wolf pack in the area where the depredations have occurred, but there may be remnants of a wolf pack that had already been subject to control after chronic livestock depredations.