CALGARY (Staff) – Yellowstone Park could have Canadian wolves by Christmas, if the U.S. Congress approves the transfer next week.
They will be welcomed by those who want wolves returned to the park to form “a complete ecosystem”, but for ranchers on the outskirts of Yellowstone, wolves are not wanted.
A United States parks service official said if government approval is granted, 30 grey wolves could be transferred from Alberta and northern British Columbia to the forests of central Idaho and Yellowstone in Wyoming.
Clearance for the transfer is being held back from Washington, D.C. because ranchers want assurances. If a wolf leaves the park and causes damage, there must be a way to get rid of the animal, they contend.
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Wolves are protected as an endangered species in the United States. In Montana, where wolves from southern B.C. were transferred to Glacier National Park 10 years ago, ranchers can’t kill rogue wolves that go after cattle.
However, wolves transplanted in Yellowstone would be classified as an experimental, non-essential population. If a wolf leaves the park and harms cattle on private land, the rancher would have the right to kill it.
