MYSTERIOUS DEATH
Suspicion Surrounds Colorado Wolf Death
Did the epic journey of Wolf 341F from Montana to Colorado end at the hands of a human? Officials aren't saying.By David Frey, 9-27-09
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A wolf that wandered from Montana and died in Colorado earlier this year met its end on a hillside about 24 miles north of Rifle, according to government documents obtained by an environmental organization.
Federal wildlife law enforcement officers continue to investigate the death of a Montana wolf that wandered from Montana and died in Colorado, nearly after a year after the wolf’s carcass was collected, raising speculation that the wolf was killed by a human.
“It’s a good question, but I’m not going to answer it,” says George Morrison, Colorado senior wildlife agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Morrison confirmed the examination of the body, called a necropsy, had been completed, but he said the results would be closed to the public until agents complete their investigation.
“It could be two weeks or as long as a year,” he says. “It’s important to us not to impede the investigation.”
Wildlife officials have refused to divulge specifics about the wolf’s condition or its final whereabouts. But Rob Edward, carnivore recovery director for WildEarth Guardians, said he discovered its final location through an open-records request seeking information about wolves in Colorado. The documents showed the last location of the wolf to be about 24 miles north of the Western Slope town of Rifle, less than two miles west of Highway 13.
“I have believed for the last couple of months that they definitely have a law enforcement angle on this,” Edward said. “Otherwise they would tell you that it died of natural causes.”
Intentionally killing a wolf in Colorado would be a violation of the Endangered Species Act and state statutes that protect endangered species.
Edward described the site as “within rifle distance of a road.” Maps show the location to be what appears to be a scrub-covered hillside in an area known as No Name Ridge, apparently on Bureau of Land Management land just north of a dirt road called Thirteenmile Road.
“That’s the way the wolves from the Northern Rockies are going to come,” Edward said. “What we have to work on is making those lands safer.”
Known as wolf 341F, the 18-month-old female made headlines for making a 1,000-mile journey from the outskirts of Yellowstone National Park to Colorado. Biologists tracked her movements using a GPS unit in a collar fitted to her neck.
Researchers said she was a member of the Mill Creek pack and wandered from the pack’s location between towns of Gardiner and Livingston, Mont., in search of a mate.
She left her pack in September 2008 and took a meandering path through Wyoming, Idaho and Utah to Eagle County. She crossed back into Wyoming, then back into western Colorado where her collar showed she stopped moving. Biologists responded and gathered her carcass to perform a necropsy.
Native wolf populations in Colorado were wiped out by the late 1930s. The last record of a native wolf killed in Colorado was in 1943. In June 2004, a radio-collared wolf from Yellowstone was found killed by a passing motorist on Interstate 70 near Idaho Springs. In 2007, video footage captured an apparent wolf near Walden.
Officials say among Northern Rockies wolves, 26 out of every 100 wolves are killed, almost all of them shot by animal control officers or poachers. Among lone-dispersing wolves like this one, most are hit by cars or illegally killed.
State law does not call for wolf reintroduction, but it does protect wolves that wander into Colorado.
For wolf reintroduction advocates, this wolf’s death highlights a need for more protections.
“They’re not going to come down here and repopulate the area on their own,” Edward said, “especially if they meet that kind of fate.”
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Comments
It may come as a surprise that the wolves of 2009 act exactly like those of 1940.
It may also come as a surprise that those that are impacted by the wolves on a monthly basis will act exactly as their parents had to.
It should come as no surprise that those in Idaho hardest impacted by the wolves that they did not want, will shoot every one they see.
Yesterday a dead wolf came into our store on the rack of a Jeep. It had been shot near Deadwood Res legally and tagged. Everyone supported the hunter. Many stated that they would not have wasted their tag. They would have left it and continued the hunt.
We don't have anything against you dumping your wolves in our yard. Just come feed the damn things!
I doubt any western state will ever approve a hunt to manage cattle and sheep; but perhaps--in time--cow and sheep haters may become as willful as the wolf haters in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming?
That is a euphemism for Foul Play. The article is correct. This wolf was shot illegally. Bet the ranch on that . The USF&WS;laboratory in Oregon that does necropsies usually completes their forensics in a matter of a few weeks. The 314F female wanderer has been missing since March. The implications of her circumstances go well beyond the death of a lone wolf. It ripples thru the entire Northern Rockies wolf recovery program and especially the courtrooms.
If that wolf had NOT died of foul play , we would've heard that from Bangs et al quite some time ago. That's the Zen of it.
Are you saying that you support poaching, which would be no suprise at all.
We normally reserve the term POACHING for shooting something useful without a permit.
The shooting of wolves driving elk thru the fences or chasing the stock is normally called work. The Federal 10j rules provides the permit.
No answer.
No surprise at all
....or just stop paying welfare subsidies Now there is a thought.
I don't know how to stop it, but if we could even get a law to force the court cash award to be made public in every case, it would help.
I should do some more research I guess. I always here about the cash awards from lawsuits but have never seen it anywhere but as "urban legend" type stuff on blogs such as this. Do you have any links to get me started?
On the other hand if the defendants would stop trying to circumvent the law and therefore not lose the lawsuit it would be a moot point.
http://pinedaleonline.com/news/2009/09/Environmentallitigat.htm
Could you tell me what laws were broken to get the griz back on the list? Did someone dare shoot one to save their own life?
What laws are being broken with the sage grouse, or the preble mouse, or any thing else enviros can think of to raise money. that is why environmentalism is such a huge industry, and all of their money is non taxable and the 990 tax forms they fill out are a joke.
Remember these folks beg for money to save this or that, then file lawsuits to make someone else spend the money to do it, and then take an expense award from the taxpayers to boot. At a very minimum, court cash awards for "winning" must be made public.
Thanks for the link. I guess my reply was focused with keeping the subject of the article in mind. However with your other examples a few things jump right out.
I assume that it is the plaintiffs burden to prove their case and it appears that is what is happening. If the defendants want to win then there needs to be evidence to refute the plaintiffs case. Seems basic to me.
As far as the money I wholeheartedly agree that there needs to be accountability and public record of that part of the court cases. Perhaps a cap on fees collected would be one way to address it. For me that would go right along with readily available records of livestock permitees on public lands, and how much each gets in welfare payments.
They don't even have to win a court case to get a payday.
Just doing a little checking on the info in your link.
With just the "judgement fund", itself when you look into it, all the cases that are cited in the article represent ALL the cases brought against the government not just those brought by environmental groups, so therefore the money is what the Government paid out in total, not just to enviromental groups. Also contrary to the authors assertion that the information is unavailable or nearly so I found it with in 5 min of searching. The government site I was on has a searchble database of every government entity. I did not get time to really scour it but will in the next few days.
What is clear is that the author of you paper is either not a very good researcher or has an agenda.
I'm glad to see that during this economic crisis that we are spending our money wisely.
Good job fed.
At some point in time, we do have to prioritize how we spend our taxes, private treasure taken by the government to keep the peace and promote domestic tranquillity. We do have to remember the government can't give anyone anything until they take something from us all. How really important is it that we have wolf necropsies and forensics labs for "suspicious" wildlife deaths, while we don't have the personnel and money to stop Mexican drug cartels from using roadless and wilderness lands for marijuana farming, the profits from which go to further undermine the very base of law and order that is supposed to protect society at least as well as we protect wolves?
The wolf dilemma is really not that important in the whole scheme of things. The wolf is here to stay, all things considered. In the long term, most will be killed by their own species or by freeway traffic at critical migration spots. Especially the ones with the center dividers of concrete and high speed traffic. Choosing not to provide wildlife under and over passes is a hell of a lot more destructive to wildlife and wolves than occasional yahoos shooting the wolf that is a target of opportunity.
diverting from the issue at hand as usual. I shot down your pot argument months ago but here you go again spouting your bs.
Timber, petroleum, alcohol, cotton and variuos industrial interests pay to keep pot illegal. They realize hemp and pot are threats to their markets. They are the ones to blame for illegal gorwing not preservation of roadless and wilderness areas. You right wing nuts claim your all about freedom yet you take every opportunuity to intrude on other people's lives such as the cannabis issue. A extremly safe plant used for thousands of years by humans yet you wing nuts want to throw everyone in prison who makes a choice.
Yes bearbreath humans right and interests are overlooked at times however illegal poaching should not be ignored.
Your hate of one lone wolf in Colorado exemplifies your lack of tolerance for anything you dont undertsand or like.
Your generation just cost us a public option for health care.
You out-dated prejudiced ideals need to die along with the RV elederly generation that is holding back any progress in our modern world.
9-11, pot, wolves have nothing to do with morals or religion but have everything to do with profits, power and prejudice.
Seriuosly I go on this site now once in a blue moon and i'm really tired of you and skinhead spouting the smae tired bs and lies.
To many, the introduced wolf population is a symbol of more government intervention in local affairs. The new wolves have altered ungulate behavior, so hunters can no longer find large elk herds in their usual places. Some people are shocked by the eating habits of wolves as evidenced here: h t t p (colon slash slash) saveelk (dot) com (slash) wolf_030 (dot) htm .
In Idaho we have both extremes of human attitudes towards wolves. They are either god-like creatures to be worshiped or a dangerous pest to be wiped out at all costs. I disagree with both. Ultimately they will be controlled by Fish and Game trapping in order to prevent wide fluctuations in predator/prey populations (the cycles take decades), which is the natural state. F&G;departments need a steady stream of hunting and fishing license revenues in order to maintain a budget, pay officers, prevent poaching and so forth. Standard hunting techniques will have little impact on wolf populations, as evidenced by Canadian officials' experience. They use professional trappers to keep wolf numbers in check. (In Alberta the goal is to cull 1200 per year)
I've got a nice thick scientific textbook on canis lupus. Fascinating stuff. Just started reading it.
More is generated by lies told by our government, they just have to try to put the best possible face on wolf damage. I attended a talk by Doug Smith yesterday at the BBHC in Cody. He first of all stated the the northern elk herd is "down to 10,000", I know there were a lot of tourists there who were traveling thru and they probably believed that. But the locals that are dealing with the wolves and their impact are all too aware that the herd has been in the 6000 range for 3 years, so why try to spin the numbers. He also blamed drought for the dropping numbers, and I asked him why drought decreased Yellowstone elk numbers when it appeared to increase them everywhere else around the park in wolfless areas.
http://fms.treas.gov/judgefund/index.html
http://fms.treas.gov/judgefund/notice.html
the entire world isn't here just for our benefit. just because we can kill everything we see doesn't mean we have to.
You have not become any smarter have you
Here's a recent case in point: read the totality of Judge Molloy's 46 page double spaced ruling where he put the Grizzly back under protection by effectively re-listing them. He did not rule " for" the Earthjustice legal team or enviros, per se. He ruled against the US Fish and Wildlife Services own data and own internal documents and their own findings. The crafty enviro lawyer did not shoot Fish & Wildlife...he didn't have to. They ( in the countenance of one Chris Servheen) shot themselves in the foot, year after year .
You can expect much the same outcome when the wolves are put on trial , except it will be the state of Wyoming , et al, shooting themselves in the foot when they should be licensing wolves fully as trophy animals with limited quota seasons, exactly like Cougars, instead of a ridiculous statewide shoot on sight predator plan as though they were merely Coyotes or Foxes , only bigger.
As for your opine that enviros " are draining the life blood out of the nation with their greed generated lawsuits " , that is beneath the dignity of a response and appears to come from a sheet of your one-sided brown recycl/or an unwillingness to do critical thinking.
Here's what the last paragraph should have said:
' As for your [ Todd's ] opine that enviros " are draining the life blood out of the nation with their greed generated lawsuits " , that is beneath the dignity of a response and appears to come from a sheet of your one-sided brown recycled magical 1-dimensional paper. It reveals great ignorance and/or an unwillingness to do critical thinking. '
###
when Wyoming wins it's de-listing lawsuit do you believe the money from the judgement fund will be turned down
"dan," Without a steady supply of revenue from hunting and fishing licenses, Fish and Game departments will no longer be able to pay officers to enforce anti-poaching laws, etc. Ironically it is the hunters that continue to partially fund wolf re-introduction and management. Without F&G;departments you will have anarchy in the woods in the form of uncontrolled poaching of elk, deer, wolves, you name it.
This continent is no longer the way it was when the Native Americans ran things. Human history is a series of sad stories about migration and extermination. Perhaps we should all move back to Europe and take our technology with us. Evolution sucks.
Ahhh don't get mad. You tried your same outdated argument at Ralph's site and it is not any more valid here. Try reading your nice thick scientific textbook two, maybe three times, hopefully retain something from it, and then come back.
F&G;F & G (Sorry for this test ...)
Thanks for responding to my punctuation request.
My point is that no matter who brings suit against the Feds, money is awarded. I would bet livestock/mining/hunting, and state interests have all bellied up to the bar, and not one turned down one thin dime.
On the other hand what do you think of this.
http://farm.ewg.org/farm/persondetail.php?custnumber=009379623
I mean come on get real, that worthless paper you guys go out and work for and piss and moan over is NOT MONEY ... it is the biggest sham ever created ... the IMF world bank that sits above the "FED" or federal reserve has produced what we should call "debt notes"
As you work and slave for debt notes ... you engulf you and your family and children into more debt ... since every one of these pieces of paper represents debt that has to be repaid up the banking ladder.
Who is the man that has sooooo much money that he can loan it to all the countries in the world and they all owe him ??? and how did he get so rich ??? herein lies that scam ... he does not have any more money than you or me ... he just has the international CIA police force to enforce the "banking rules" and "prevent competition" ... just imagine ... the countries of the east (Japan, China, and a dozen other countries) recently tried to create such a competitive system to break away from this tyrannical monopoly (yes just like the game you played as a kid ... only here it is for real) ... with all their independence and wealth they were "forced to drop the idea"
Picking on Ranchers and farmers for doing what you yourselves do is pretty pathetic.
Our National debt, which is a fraud, a fiat con job, is 66 trillion $$-(ISIS) and that's unfunded liability's - The National debt - Social Security -Medicare - Medicaid - that's more than the whole worlds Gross domestic product - which is worth 65 trillion- The worlds domestic product out put does not equal our unfunded liability...Fore closure is eminent, 12 family's who own the World Banking Empire via fraud and fiat con are laying claim to this planet and every living thing on it..animals and humans..
Whining about subsidies really is stupid. ranchers and farmers are not the problem, the problem is the entitlements allowed foreigners by all subsidies across the board, including what you use JEFF E...
what has what to do with what.
And what did you use to buy that computer your sitting in front of.
dumbass
Yadda yadda yadda.
time for the tinfoil hats.
go back to Maine and spew your HS.
Does anyone have anything new to report or say about Wolf 314F's mysterious death ?
The latest weekly Wolf report from USF&WS;( Friday Oct 2 ) lists no new law enforcement activities. It has been seven full months since Ms. 314 died in Colorado. Being as the Northern Rockies Grey Wolf Recovery program is a 13 year multimillion dollar effort in three states and surrounds, and the odyssey that 314 F made last winter in traversing five states has some direct bearing on the wolf delisting lawsuit(s) regarding the genetic dispersion argument and Wyoming's shortminded misguided "Shoot on Sight" predator status , we are most certainly entitled to some answers from Ed Bangs & Company. That we do not have those answers by now leads us to conclude in the absence of an explanation that US F & WS is stonewalling. But why ? For political reasons ? Because of the pending lawsuit(s) over delisting , as in withholding evidence ? Bureaucratic misfeasance or malfeasance ? Bad law enforcement case work and forensics ? Why ?
Let's put this 314F train back on the tracks and drive it straight to Ed Bangs' office door in Helena MT. No excuses , Ed. But if you have a REASON for withholding 314F's circumstances, please enlighten us. You work for us.
Why JEFF E, what kind of citizen are you ? Do you mean to tell me you ignore Congressional Facts ?
I can present over twenty Congressional globes alone which support these truths presented..
As usual you got nothing but rhetoric backed by assumptions, based on HS, and you resort to a childish type of Liberal debate.
Better run back to Maughan's protection blanky Jeffy..
At least Ralph, Brian, and several others have the courage to use their real names over there at the over protected "wild Life blog".
Get a set dude.. On second thought maybe you better not, some one might just kick them off you again..
The only thing you would be able to do is lick...
It's very counterproductive when that sort of narrowminded shortminded closeminded dogma creeps into public discourse , such as this.
The very last thing any of us want is a voter's referendum on wildlife issues, because most of the voting ( in Wyoming-Montana-Idaho anyway) would be done by largely ignorant people who flunked 7th grade science or choose to ignore it. And who votes for the Elk, Griz, Wolves, Bighorns, Pronghorn, Deer, Cougar et al ? Do you really believe that humans have sole authority and dominion over all wildlife ? ( Please don't quote Genesis 1:26 in responding to that )
What the hell is the difference between that regime and this one, The Holy Roman' 14th Amendment American Provincial Empire ruling over it's fifty Puppet Provinces. Not much !
Of course I do not believe in Democracy, as it is always mob rule, yet all these Democrats, Like it, thus why don't they use it properly. And our only recourse to remove this wolf, is 1. let it eat all the prey base and Starve, my personal favorite and it is and will continue. 2. Get enough signatures to force a vote in the legislature and then Democracy can be used to decide do they stay or do they go. I'm wondering how that vote turns out about now.
I'm not saying I want the wolves gone either, just kept in the wilderness area's, not my frigging yard yawning at me when I feed my horses.
And I say if your going to poison ranchers and farmers for taking tax dollars, then look in the mirror. Or better yet look at the cookie jar, every one has their hand in it. Including the NGOs wanting to rid public lands of ranchers..
JEFF E, I'll meet you any time any where.. Soon as you stop hiding like the woman I know you really are. I want to see you make me do anything..PUNK.
Most men are not nearly so admirable as lions, tigers, bears, wolves, etc.
You're a poser and phonier than a three dollar bill. I have stood next you a number of times Greg. Could have you anytime I wanted.
http://compleatpatriot.blogspot.com
P.S. Jeffry, I have huge hay field over to the house, your invited anytime, I've won a couple, lost a couple, I don't care, I still had fun..
COMING BITCH.. Or are you just full of $hit..
The web site is over moderated, you can call all the names there you want to, soon as anyone who disagrees with you guys at that web site returns fire as I have done here, because you started this disrespect not I, you continually toss crap, and you continually fail to back it up..
I apologized to Brian in Private concerning the word NAZI..
Jeff you simply resort to trash talking when you out classed, and then you whine about it..
I've accomplished my goal here today..Your and utter fool.. There is no middle ground with you, All I am guilty of is researching Congress to see if they screwed us or not..
And then when I share those items you get pissed at me..That's just stupid Jeff.
I see what these damn wolves do here on the ground.. And I don't lie about it like you do.
So if you called Ralph a knight (NAZI) why would you have to apologize to Brian for it.? Hmmm spanky?
You are pathetic.
Your pathetic because you caused that fight in the first place. Unlike you when I am called a NAZI, or COMMY I seek some proof, and that is simple, as I told you before read the Bill of Rights, and then read the Ten Planks of the Communist Manifesto, pretty self explanatory there..
Once again you attack me for pointing those definitions out, you suffer from misplaced anger me thinks. I did not write those items I just shared them. And you still likely did not even read them.
I am just fed up with your constant attacks on others who relay their perspectives and your attempts to belittle them, ARP happens to be a very intelligent man and your arrogance is disgusting..
Your game is draw them into a fight and then twist it on them to being their fault.. Chicken $$it
What it is Greg is I caught you. Flat out. You know it. I know it.
Not the first time either.
Why not Just apologize to Ralph. You called him a NAZI in a public forum and still use every opportunity to attack him and his site.
So make your apology public to him.
Man to Man.
give some of that respect you talk about but don't have.
I don't believe you have it in you.
You make it ever apparent.
The longer you spew the more apparent it is.
If this tat for tat is all you got, you better forget the hay field invite, your not gonna like how I play in the hay..
less-than legal intentions that were expressed (BS)that were expressed at the meeting, and the general hatred that infects this very real cross-section of western culture. It’s real and it’s not wise to discount, pretend like it doesn’t exist or make-believe that it will not impact the state’s management of wolves. (BS)
Sort of like a KKK rally, except the subject of scorn is a wolf. (BS)
This does sound like a Klan rally (BS)
Concerning the wolf haters. There is no dought in my mind at somepoint in the near future they (Wolf Haters) are going to get physical and attack, hurt or even kill a wolf enthusiast. They harbor to much anger.
I suspect it will come after the next Federal challenge when the wolves are relisted to ESA. The last resort of a limited mind is violence. It will be a very sad day when this happens, and it will happen. (BS)
Sure, this is why no busts of elk hunters poaching wolves in idaho in 13 years..
I hear it’s pretty clear “the subject of scorn is a wolf” only because they have already harassed all of “the subject of scorn” of the original KKK out of Idaho. (BS)
Sure, we ran off the colored people to, excuse me, African Americans.. Actually one of those kind humans saved my life once, in the marines, at the risk of his own..My pal Vince..
Makes me wonder why Knight Maughan would allow this to go on, but then in turn he kicks several off his blog for far less than this, merely and opposing opinion..
This is where you hang out Jeff...
You provided some minuets of distraction this day, sandwiched between the paperwork of a morning constitutional and the placing of the trash at curbside.
Gives you more relevance than you warrant; just how the cards fell.
So put on your tinfoil night stocking and tuck yourself in.
Nite, nite pumpkin
Well done!
The sick fact is Colorado ranchers and sportsmen are probably fully aware of what will happen if Colorado becomes "occupied habitat." They are not interested in having the state become a Molloy fief.