North Ogden lawmaker Allen Christensen says wandering wolves not welcome

SALT LAKE CITY — Gray wolves are a rare sight in Utah, and a state lawmaker wants to make sure it stays that way.

Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, has proposed a bill that would require state wildlife officials to capture or kill all wild wolves that wander into Utah — even those in areas where they're protected by the federal Endangered Species Act.

Christensen said he worries that wolves from neighboring states could eventually decimate Utah's elk and deer populations and hurt the livestock industry.

If enacted, the bill is probably unconstitutional, violating the supremacy clause in which federal law supersedes state law, according to the state's Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.

Utah already has a management plan that allows wolves into the state, compensates livestock owners for losses and allows for them to be killed or relocated if they drive down game populations.

Christensen's bill would take state policy further, though, with the hopes of eliminating any chance wolves could get a foothold anywhere in Utah.

Wolves were wiped out of Utah a century ago for good reason, he said.

"Their lifestyle isn't compatible with ours. People say that's a haughty attitude. I'm sorry, we're here to stay," Christensen said.

There are about 1,600 wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, most of them descended from 66 animals introduced to the region in the mid-1990s by the federal government. They have been taken off the endangered species list in Montana, Idaho — which recently allowed public hunts — and the northeast corner of Utah.

There are no known wolf packs in Utah, although a few loners occasionally wander into the state. A radio-collared wolf was captured in a coyote trap in north-central Utah in 2002. That prompted state officials to start a lengthy process to develop a management plan for others that might wander in.

The state plan, approved in 2005, focuses on conserving wolves that arrive, but deals with those that cause serious problems with livestock and local game populations.

A mail-in survey of Utah residents before the plan found that most had favorable attitudes toward wolves, especially residents in urban areas.

Few, though, have had any close encounters lately.