Delisting of Wolves as Endangered Has Impact on Utah Even Though There Are None Here

Even though there are no wolves or wolf packs roaming Utah mountains, it continues to be a thorny issue for the state and the nation. Congress has passed a bill to delist the gray wolf from endangered status, but it is so far stalled in the Senate.

Federal Actions: Delisting Gray Wolves

President Trump signed an executive order September 4th directing agencies to begin delisting the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act. The wolf has exceeded numbers originally set in states like Michigan and Montana.

Utah has made its own laws concerning how to handle wolves that come in from bordering states. In some places in Utah they are protected as an endangered species while other parts of the state they can be removed.

Recent Events: The Cache Valley Wolves Incident

This played out in January of this year when three wolves wandered into the northern part of Utah from the packs in Yellowstone. The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food lethally removed the wolves.

Wolves can be removed from parts of Utah, but not all. Waitandshoot

Utah law takes the approach that local municipalities are better at determining what is best for places they manage. This law gives the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources the mandate to prevent wolves from establishing breeding populations in certain parts of Utah.

The Status of Mexican Wolves in the Southwestern U.S.

Mexican wolves are still considered endangered and have been introduced in New Mexico and Arizona. Southern Utah was considered for a time as another area these wolves could be placed. That has been prevented up to this point.

If it weren't for the barrier that is the Grand Canyon, they would probably be in this part of Utah already. Advocates for wolf introduction are passionate about expanding the population while ranchers and hunters want to see it carefully managed.

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The national debate continues to rage and whether the wolf ever comes to this part of the country probably hinges on the outcome of that debate. Or even more likely, on what what party is in power in the nation's capital.