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Mule Deer Foundation Applauds Passage of WAFWA’s Energy Guidelines for Mule Deer

Mule Deer Foundation

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah --(Ammoland.com)- Mule deer hunters from across the country should applaud the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ (WAFWA) approval of new guidelines for balancing mule deer management with energy development, the Mule Deer Foundation announced today.

Released at the WAFWA annual meeting, which took place last month in Big Sky, Mont., “Energy Development Guidelines for Mule Deer” was prepared by the Mule Deer Working Group (MDWG), composed of biologists from state, federal and provincial agencies and created by WAFWA in 1997 to develop consistent, science-based information for management and research on mule deer.

The MDWG developed the guidelines based on the best available science and real world experience relating to energy development and mule deer, which have faced declines in recent years due to habitat loss and degradation, and displacement in part to certain energy development practices.

Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies

The report was authored by state biologists and reviewed by the energy industry, federal agencies and several non-governmental organizations. The guidelines are intended to help resource managers conserve mule deer populations during energy development through activities such as pre-project risk assessments, appropriate project designs, effective mitigation and reclamation, and adequate monitoring. Adaptive management techniques are a common theme throughout the document.

“If followed, these new guidelines will play a key role in sustaining mule deer populations during energy development activities,” said Miles Moretti, President/CEO of the Mule Deer Foundation. “Bringing together all the stakeholders before an energy project is initiated will reduce conflicts later during the development phase. We thank the WAFWA states for their forward-looking leadership in developing this important management tool.”

Mule deer and black-tailed deer populations have experienced range-wide declines in recent years. Habitat loss and fragmentation, especially on deer winter ranges, is one of the major causes of declining populations.

“Energy Development Guidelines for Mule Deer” focuses not only on traditional oil and gas development but also on geothermal, wind and solar energy development. The publication will be available in published form in the near future.

For more information about mule deer, visit www.muledeer.org or www.muledeerworkinggroup.com.

About MDF:
The Mule Deer Foundation is one of the key conservation groups in North America working to restore, improve and protect mule deer, black-tailed deer and their habitat. With a focus on science and program efficiency, MDF has raised millions of dollars and put countless man-hours on the ground for mission-critical projects. MDF acknowledges regulated hunting as a viable management component and is committed to recruitment and retention of youth into the shooting sports and conservation. Visit www.muledeer.org or call 1-888-375-DEER.

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Wisconsin DNR Firmly Supports Removing Gray Wolf From Federal Endangered Species List
By: DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp

Wisconsin DNR

MADISON, WI --(Ammoland.com)- The Department of Natural Resources firmly supports the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in delisting the wolf in the upper Great Lakes states.

Wisconsin has exceeded its delisting goal eight times over and must have flexibility to manage problem wolves if any support for wolves by the public is to continue.

While the department is committed to long-term conservation of wolves in Wisconsin, it is critical that we be allowed to manage wildlife populations within our borders. Wisconsin has approximately 800 wolves; this is the most wolves ever counted in the state. Wolf numbers far exceed the federal delisting recovery goal of 100 wolves for both Wisconsin and Michigan, and are causing real problems.

It is time for management of wolves in Wisconsin to be turned over to us. The same is true for Minnesota and Michigan. For this to happen, the wolf must first be removed (delisted) from endangered or threatened status under the Endangered Species Act.

We support the USFWS in its current attempt to delist, but we also strongly disagree with its conclusion that a newly discovered and separate species of wolf exists in the Western Great Lakes. Wisconsin’s wolves are the same species that was listed in 1978, and are most closely associated with the gray wolf. Recent genetic analyses refute the existence of Eastern wolves as a separate species. Wisconsin’s wolves are of mixed genetics, but they are physically indistinguishable, readily interbreed, and occupy the same range.

Wolves in Wisconsin act and behave as a single population and must be managed as a single population. Accordingly, our message to the USFWS is clear and strong: Don’t muddy the waters with this indefensible two-population concept. We need a solid, defensible, delisting proposal, and we need it now.

Minnesota, Michigan, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, Defenders of Wildlife, Timber Wolf Alliance, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, prominent scientists actively working with wolf genetics, and other organizations and government agencies support Wisconsin’s position: Wisconsin has a gray wolf population that has successfully recovered.

The public grows weary of the delays and government inaction. They need to know that their state DNR is pushing hard to get this done. The ball is in the USFWS’s court, again. It needs to make the right decisions and to publish an effective delisting rule that will withstand challenges from those opposed to the delisting of wolves.

I will not stop pushing on this issue until we have delisting of wolves and relief for Wisconsin residents who are seriously struggling with our unchecked and unmanaged growing wolf population. That’s a promise.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Adrian Wydeven – (715) 762-1363

A presentation on the status of the gray wolf in Wisconsin by DNR wolf specialist Adrian Wydeven to the State Natural Resources Board at their August meeting. [VIDEO Length 18:54]

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