Wolf hearings address wider wildlife scope

The ongoing wildlife hearings appear to only be about wolf management in the state, but they are far more significant.

In fact, organizers say, these might be the most important such hearings ever held in Utah.

"This is a watershed moment in the history of wildlife management in Utah," said Kirk Robinson of the Utah Wolf Forum. "Far more than a few packs of wolves are at stake, for if we fail to seize this opportunity to make wild places in Utah safe for wolves then we also fail to adequately protect the habitat and the ecosystems that they would occupy."

At the third of 10 public hearings planned this month throughout the state — this one Wednesday night at Salt Lake's Division of Natural Resources office — more than 300 people came out to prove this is indeed a hot outdoor issue.

Public input from these scoping sessions will be studied by the Utah Wolf Working Group, a 13-member team of Utahns called together by the state Division of Wildlife Resources. They include scientists, sportsmen, wolf advocates, conservationists and ranchers. They will create a draft plan by May 2005.

Craig McLaughlin, mammals coordinator for the DWR, said the biggest public myth on this issue is that there is no plan to transplant wolves to Utah. This is simply looking at ways to handle "the inevitable movement of wolves from the north," he said.

There are some 700 wolves in portions of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, and a wolf from Yellowstone National Park was caught in Morgan two years ago. With up to a 500-mile range, more wolves will eventually find their way to the Beehive State.

McLaughlin said wolves do kill livestock, but they prefer big game.

"Relatively few livestock are being killed," he said.

"We want to get your ideas," said Debbie Goodman, a member of the Utah Wolf Working Group. "It's your plan. You guys are getting in on the ground floor."

As people at Wednesday's meeting wrote down many of their concerns about wolves, sportsmen seemed to have the biggest concern, about how wolves would further decrease the already low big game numbers in Utah. Ranchers too were fearful of livestock killings by wolves, and some environmentalists just seemed to want wolves to be able to establish somewhere in Utah.

Another hearing was held Thursday in Ogden. Six more public hearings on Utah's wolf management plan are still scheduled:

• Tonight, 7 p.m. at Bridgerland Applied Technology Center, 1301 N. 600 West, Logan.

• Monday, 7 p.m. at Cross Hollows Intermediate School, 2215 W. Royal Hunte Drive, Cedar City.

• Tuesday, 7 p.m. at Sevier County administration building, 250 N. Main, Richfield.

• Wednesday, 7 p.m., at 450 E. 100 North, Moab.

• Thursday, March 18, 7 p.m., at Castle Valley Center, 755 N. Cedar Hills Drive, Price.

• Friday, March 19, 7 p.m. at Spanish Fork Veterans Centers, 400 N. Main.

Those who can't attend one of the meetings can e-mail comments to: WolfComments@utah.gov.

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E-mail: lynn@desnews.com