The Utah Legislature has declared war on wolves, so long as they hang out in the northeastern part of the state.
In this war between mostly white, middle-aged pols and the wild beasts, the wolves will have an advantage if they have good map readers in their ranks. Due to a self-described "message bill" from State Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, that will take effect on May 11, a wolf who gallops west across I-15, and I-84, or south across I-80 cannot be shot, while wolves who wander east or north of those borders are fair game.
The reason for the "wolf-lives, wolf-dies" provision in Christensen's ill-conceived law is that only part of Utah is listed as endangered for wolves under the federal Endangered Species Act. The wolves are protected there. There remains that small area, covering Christensen's bill, that does not protect wolves.
Utah legislators, reacting to overblown fears from ranchers, have convinced themselves that there exist packs of wolves in upper northern Utah ready to attack cattle. The truth is while there may be an occasional wolf traveling within those borders, there are no records of wolf packs in the area, according to federal and state officials.
Utah needs to abandon its new wolf-killing law. There are already provisions to kill wolves if they become a problem. We don't need a specific law or game plan for Utah to deliberately kill wild animals that are not a threat to our state.
Another good reason to wait on the wolves-shooting law is that there are legal battles going on in Montana that involve the protection status of wolves. It is possible that the federal protection for wolves could be extended across the entire state of Utah.
The wolf-removal law passed by the Utah Legislature was one of a series of poorly thought out, message bills that deliberately thumbed its nose at the federal government. These kind of thoughtless actions please the base of many a pols' political party, but they ultimately create headaches and mirth when attempts are made to implement them.
In this ridiculous case, lawmakers seem to want wolves to learn how to read "No Trespassing" signs.
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