Field reports: Extend wolf monitoring, groups say
PREDATORS – Five conservation groups filed a petition Tuesday requesting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to continue monitoring northern Rocky Mountains gray wolves for another five years.
The existing monitoring program, which is required by the Endangered Species Act after protections are removed for a species, is set to expire in May.
Wildlife managers have said wolves have recovered – one of the success stories of the Endangered Species Act – and there’s little reason to spend millions of dollars to continue monitoring.
The groups say in a media release that they based their request in part on a new study in the journal Science. It found the Fish and Wildlife Service and states of Montana and Idaho have underestimated the impacts and risks of aggressive hunting policies for gray wolves instituted since protections were lifted.
Since federal safeguards were first removed in 2009, more than 2,300 wolves have been killed by hunters or trappers in the two states. State officials say wolf numbers are healthy and still far above minimums set before the mid-1990s reintroductions of wolves to Yellowstone and central Idaho.
Andrea Santarsiere, staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said wolf hunting is harming the gray wolf population in the northern Rockies.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service clearly needs to continue to keep an eye on this situation,” she said.
The petitioning groups include The Center for Biological Diversity, Cascadia Wildlands, Friends of the Clearwater, Western Watersheds Project and The WildWest Institute.
Lake Roosevelt launch permits available
BOATING – Although Washington doesn’t require new season fishing licenses until April 1, the annual boat launching permits for Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area expired Dec. 31.
A weekly or season permit is required for the launching of any vessel, including kayaks and inflatables, at all designated National Park Service-managed launch ramps on Lake Roosevelt.
Boaters can pay an on-site fee of $8, which allows unlimited launches for up to seen days, or they can pay $45 for the annual permit that covers 2016.
The Park Service no longer offers discounts for boaters who buy their permits early in the year.
Similarly, federal discount cards, such as the Senior Pass or Golden Age Pass, no longer apply to the yearly launch permit. The half-price discount for the federal pass holders continues to apply for the seven-day permit that’s available to buy at launch ramps.
Annual permits can be purchased for $45 in three ways:
Online at www.pay.gov.
By mail, sending check or money order with a self -addressed, stamped envelope to 1008 Crest Dr., Coulee Dam, Washington, 99116.
From vendors, including Coulee Hardware in Grand Coulee, Fort Spokane Store, Coulee Playland Resort, Fruitland Service station and Kettle Falls Harvest Foods and Tribal Trails in Kettle Falls.
Panhandle Forest group
starts to collaborate
PUBLIC LANDS – The Panhandle Forest Collaborative will hold its first meeting of 2016 this week to encourage public agreements on forest issues and projects.
The meeting is set for noon to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the County Administration Building, 1500 Highway 2 in Sandpoint.
Info: Liz Johnson-Gebhardt, collaborative chair, (208) 448-0210 or email lizjg35@hotmail.com.