Wildlife


Articles

Marauding Wolves Killed  link removed*
The Salt Lake Tribune March 6, 2003.  Federal predator-control agents from Salt Lake City gunned down two wolves that preyed on sheep near the Utah-Wyoming line.

Wasting disease is found in Utah deer
Deseret News February 19, 2003.  Buck that was shot east of Vernal tests positive for ailment

Wasting Disease Hits Utah
The Salt Lake Tribune February 19, 2003.  Utah is now among the states in which hunters must worry whether deer meat is a loaded weapon.

'Lot of calls' report Utah wolf sightings
Deseret News February 9, 2003.  Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Director Kevin Conway told lawmakers this past week he is certain there are more wolves in Utah.

Wolves Joining Agenda for Regional Wildlife Council Meetings
The Salt Lake Tribune January 31, 2003.  Utah wildlife officials plan to begin educating the public on wolf issues at five meetings in February around the state.

Tests Show Utah Deer Don't Have Brain Illness -- Yet
The Salt Lake Tribune January 15, 2003.  Utah wildlife officials are thrilled that they don't know what was ailing 10 sickly mule deer they recently tested.

The Wolf as Story, Both Old and New
The Salt Lake Tribune January 1, 2003.  Consider Utah's roving wolf as a story.

Will Utah Find Room for Wolves?
The Salt Lake Tribune December 31, 2002.  Just after sunrise on a crisp October day, elk hunter Shane Turner scanned the forest on the north slope of the Uinta Mountains.

Wolves At The Door: Ranchers Uneasy
The Salt Lake Tribune December 30, 2002.  In Yellowstone National Park, biologists can tell when wolves are near.

Return of the Wolf
The Salt Lake Tribune December 29, 2002.  Late last month, a 2 1/2-year-old gray wolf from Yellowstone National Park was accidentally captured in a coyote trap less than 25 miles northeast of Salt Lake City.

Captor of Wolf Near Morgan Says His Experience Is 'Cooler Than Stink'
The Salt Lake Tribune December 29, 2002.  After seeing wolves in the zoo and on television, the Utah trapper who accidently caught a wolf near Morgan last month was sure he would recognize a wolf if he ever saw one in the wild.

Wolves Run Wild in Human Imagination
The Salt Lake Tribune December 29, 2002.  Onto wolves, humans have heaped our deepest fears and wishes in myth, folk tale and legend.

Wolf 253 running (well, limping) free in Yellowstone
Deseret News December 22, 2002.  Two months after being caught in northern Utah, the first wolf found in the state in more than 70 years is again running with his Yellowstone pack.

2nd Wolf in Utah? State Officials Aren't Sure
The Salt Lake Tribune December 21, 2002.  The day after federal wildlife officials removed an endangered gray wolf from Utah, a second lupine creature was caught in a coyote trap in Rich County, about 20 miles away.

Beloved Wolf, 253, Running With Original Pack
The Salt Lake Tribune December 21, 2002.  Two months after trading the creature comforts of Yellowstone for an uncertain life in Utah, the wolf known as "253" is running with its pack again -- just in time to help fend off invading rival packs.

More Wolves, and New Questions, in Rockies
The New York Times (free registration required) December 17, 2002.  On Jan. 15, 1995, with fanfare and international publicity, 14 gray wolves from Canada were released in the midst of the world's largest elk and buffalo herds, to be the seed, it was hoped, of a new breeding population in the Northern Rockies.

Wolf Caught in Utah Heads Home
The Salt Lake Tribune December 13, 2002.  The gray wolf that ventured deep into Utah last month before being caught in a trap and deported to Wyoming apparently is not interested in returning to Utah.

Wolf returned from Utah sticking close to Yellowstone
Deseret News December 8, 2002.  A wolf that wandered from Yellowstone National Park to Utah has done little traveling since it was returned to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

USU wolf report provokes growls
Deseret News December 8, 2002.  That howling you've been hearing hasn't all been coming from wolves prowling Utah's mountains.

Wolves are in Utah to stay, feds say
Deseret News December 4, 2002.  A wolf captured last Saturday near Morgan has been safely returned to the Grand Tetons in Wyoming.

Wandering Wolf Is Well Known to Yellowstone Visitors
The Salt Lake Tribune December 4, 2002.  Until he disappeared from Yellowstone National Park in mid-October, the wolf captured Saturday in Utah had been a crowd favorite in the world-famous nature reserve.

Big, bad wolves may be in Utah
Deseret News November 13, 2002.  ...some wildlife officials are convinced a wolf visited northern Utah twice this year, stopping long enough to dine on some sheep.

Deer Draw Cougars Ever Eastward
The New York Times (free registration required) November 12, 2002.  There may now be more mountain lions in the West than there were before European settlement, said Dr. Maurice Hornocker, a senior scientist at the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Scaring Bears to Save Them
The Salt Lake Tribune November 12, 2002.  In 25 years as a state and federal bear biologist she trapped hundreds of bears, deciding along the way that someone had to pioneer ways to save them.

Bison Don't Submit Quietly to Yearly
The Salt Lake Tribune November 4, 2002.  After grazing freely and roaming the vast expanse of this state park all summer, getting squeezed through a series of pens and chutes, then poked and prodded by a veterinarian is hardly a bison's dream way to spend a morning.

'Execution' of Cub Shocks Witnesses
The Salt Lake Tribune October 19, 2002.  Believing they were baby-sitting an abandoned black bear cub, five elk hunters were relieved to see a wildlife official arrive at their hunting camp in the late afternoon of Oct. 11. That is, until he stepped from the truck, asked "Where is the little bear," pulled out his handgun and shot the cub out of the tree.

Wildlife Migration Corridors Heating Up as Issue in Development
The Salt Lake Tribune October 17, 2002.  "The wildlife was definitely one reason we chose to live up here in what my husband calls our 'island in the sky,' " said SunCrest resident Itajai Wignall, whose flower beds on Traverse Ridge are full of plants favored by mule deer. "The deer and foxes were here first, and it would be a great loss to everyone if they couldn't live here anymore."

Wasting Disease Spreads West in Colorado
The Salt Lake Tribune October 3, 2002.  A mule deer killed on the northern edge of Grand Mesa has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, the third Western Slope animal found with the disease this hunting season.

'Thrill Kills' Of Deer New Teen Trend?
The Salt Lake Tribune September 19, 2002.  In one incident in southern Utah, youths were caught with videotape of themselves running over deer while screaming, "Die! Die! Die!"

Wolves May Be Coming Back Into Utah
The Salt Lake Tribune September 14, 2002.  The gray wolf -- eliminated in Utah by ranchers more than 70 years ago -- appears to be back.

Brain Disease Rises in Deer, Scaring Hunters
The New York Times (free registration required) September 3, 2002.  As hunting season approaches, people in Wisconsin and the Rocky Mountain states are increasingly worried about chronic wasting disease, the variant of mad cow disease that afflicts deer and elk.

Drought Taking Its Toll On Utah's Birds of Prey
The Salt Lake Tribune August 29, 2002.  Peregrine falcons, the fastest animal on earth, can reach 200 mph. But they can't out-fly a drought.

Utah's Tundra Swan Hunt to Proceed Despite Possible Court Intervention
The Salt Lake Tribune August 15, 2002.  Utah's tundra swan hunt won't be changed, the Utah Wildlife Board has decided, though a pending court ruling could cause trouble for hunters.

Drought pushing bears down into Utah towns
Deseret News August 5, 2002.  Wildlife officials are warning that the drought is causing bears to descend from the mountains into towns to look for food.

Farmer kills 73 deer to protect his crop
Deseret News July 28, 2002.  Lorraine Wittwer has killed 73 deer so far this year to protect the alfalfa he grows to feed his 48 cattle.

Rancher Shoots 73 Deer to Defend Hay Field
The Salt Lake Tribune July 26, 2002.  Enterprise rancher Lorraine Wittwer wanted to make a point to the Division of Wildlife Resources that deer foraging on his hay field were costing him money. So, he killed 73 deer this summer to protect hay on the five acres of land he can still water in drought-stricken southern Utah.

Wildlife Growing Desperate
The Salt Lake Tribune July 23, 2002.  At an emergency wildlife board meeting held Monday to address Utah's disastrous drought, wildlife board members were told to expect bear trouble, a drop in deer herds and fish out of water by summer's end.

Sandy Project Worries Advocates for Wildlife
The Salt Lake Tribune July 18, 2002.  Open-space advocates and animal watchers fear a proposed housing development could turn wildlife-rich Dimple Dell Regional Park into a place where the wild things aren't.

Drought, fires take a toll on wildlife
Deseret News July 16, 2002.  A New Mexico man recently surprised a visitor sitting in his kitchen eating a bowl of apples. The guest was a bear.

Protector Reluctantly Turns Hunter
The Salt Lake Tribune July 15, 2002.  At every stage of the seven-year federal effort to reintroduce the gray wolf to the Northern Rockies, Carter Niemeyer has been there.

Sensitive Species Program Endangered
The Salt Lake Tribune June 28, 2002.  Utah lawmakers plan to cut all state funding for protection of sensitive animal and plant species, a move that could invite more environmentalist lawsuits under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Taking Protected Toad Seals Its Doom
The Salt Lake Tribune June 26, 2002.  A toadnapping last week has Utah biologist Krissy Wilson wishing the homely amphibians really did cause warts.

Utah, U.S. workers rescuing fish from big wildfire
Deseret News June 21, 2002.  State fisheries biologists are worried that Utah's rare state fish, the Bonneville cutthroat trout, are being fried by a wildfire that is ranging out of control on the Dixie National Forest near Panguitch.

Deer With Wasting Disease Found in N.M.
The Salt Lake Tribune June 20, 2002.  An animal health emergency has been declared in New Mexico after a mule deer at White Sands Missile Range tested positive for deadly chronic wasting disease, or CWD.

Falconers Face Strict New Limits for Hunting Sage Grouse
The Salt Lake Tribune June 12, 2002.  Wildlife commissioners cried foul when asked to preserve a six-month hunting season on sage grouse for people who enjoy hunting birds with birds.

Research Often Fatal To Wild Creatures
The Salt Lake Tribune June 9, 2002.  Everything was going as planned, until elk began to die.

Busy Beavers Defy Humans
The Salt Lake Tribune May 22, 2002.  A $40,000 bridge and boardwalk were proposed Tuesday to solve a conflict between trail users, homeowners and a pair of hard-working beavers that have moved into a nature preserve near here.

Swan Backers Cry Foul
The Salt Lake Tribune May 13, 2002.  Environmental groups have gone to federal court to block hunting of tundra swans, which sometimes leads to accidental shooting of rare trumpeter swans.

Deer and Elk Advocates Urge Anti-Disease Funds
The Salt Lake Tribune May 13, 2002.  Biologists, agriculture officials and sportsmen called Saturday for massive federal funding to help control chronic wasting disease in deer and elk.

The Peril and Profit in Bagging Big Antlers Behind High Fences
The New York Times (free registration required) May 6, 2002.  The seven-mile fence around Randy Shipp's rugged Central Texas ranch stands eight feet tall, because his most lucrative animals can jump seven feet.

Colorado Still Worried About Animal Disease
The Salt Lake Tribune April 30, 2002.  Chronic wasting disease affected less than 1 percent of animals tested in the latest outbreak, but still poses a major threat to the state's wildlife and tourism industries, a governor's task force concluded Monday.

Habitat Plan Is Taking Wing
The Salt Lake Tribune April 29, 2002.  It might not look like much to you, but rocky, windblown Gunnison Island on the Great Salt Lake has been the birthplace and nursery to countless American white pelicans.

New focus group to mull problems of urban wildlife
Deseret News April 28, 2002.  If there was one thing everyone in the room could agree on, it's that humans have intruded into the natural habitats of wildlife.

Wild Animals in the City Pose a Growing Dilemma for Planners
The Salt Lake Tribune April 28, 2002.  ... there were also no easy answers as homeowners, biologists, hunters, prosecutors and public land managers met at the Department of Natural Resources building in Salt Lake City to discuss what to do when starving animals begin moving into populated areas.

Utah ranks 3rd in country in at-risk plant, fish species
Deseret News April 24, 2002.  In all the world, there are only 12 small populations of the dwarf bearclaw poppy, a flowering plant with a crystal-white blossom that resembles an animal paw. All 12 sites are in Utah.

Foreign Snails Could Threaten Pristine Utah Trout Waters
The Salt Lake Tribune April 24, 2002.  Two tiny snails have fishers and wildlife experts concerned about the future health of the Green River -- one of the West's prime trout fishing spots.

FDA urges eradication of deer disease
Deseret News April 23, 2002.  The Food and Drug Administration's top official is calling for the elimination of an illness spreading through deer and elk populations that's similar to mad cow disease.

Diseased cattle found in Idaho
Deseret News April 23, 2002.  The state Agriculture Department said on Monday that a small herd of cattle with brucellosis in eastern Idaho was located in Fremont County.

Oh, deer! Wild woes increasing
Deseret News April 19, 2002.  As new homes creep ever upward into the Wasatch Mountain foothills, raccoons, foxes and skunks are moving in right behind.

Activists Sue to End Utah's Swan Hunt
The Salt Lake Tribune April 18, 2002.  The Fund for Animals has asked a federal judge to end swan hunting in Utah and other western states.

Wyoming seeing more elk exposed to disease
Deseret News April 14, 2002.  Brucellosis exposure in elk at a state feedground near the Idaho border has jumped six-fold, baffling wildlife researchers.

Colorado officials destroy 1,720 elk to stem disease
Deseret News April 13, 2002.  Colorado wildlife officials have killed more than 1,720 elk since last fall to stanch the spread of a fatal brain illness related to mad cow disease.

DWR Policy For the Birds, Hunter Finds
The Salt Lake Tribune April 11, 2002.  "An entire program of wildlife water development is threatened if precise locations are made publicly accessible in Utah," said James.

Sierra Club Says West's Animals, Plants Declining
The Salt Lake Tribune April 5, 2002.  Many of the plants and animals first reported nearly 200 years ago by the Lewis and Clark expedition are on the decline in the West, the Sierra Club contended Thursday.

Deer, Elk PestilenceThreatens
The Salt Lake Tribune April 2, 2002.  A fatal brain disease now within striking distance of Utah's big game herds has prompted state officials to "aggressively test" deer and elk in the fall.

Western Lawmakers Trying to Alter Species Act
The Salt Lake Tribune March 21, 2002.  Amid criticism of the Endangered Species Act, some Western Republicans made clear Wednesday that they want to change the law to ensure the government uses "sound science" when it protects vanishing plants and animals.

Poacher Who Shot Pregnant Moose Sought
The Salt Lake Tribune March 21, 2002.  Two pregnant moose were shot and left to rot near Causey Reservoir earlier this month, and wildlife officers have few leads on who the poachers are.

U.S. Acts to Shrink Endangered Species Habitats
The Salt Lake Tribune March 20, 2002.  The Bush administration, under pressure from lawsuits by real estate developers, is urging federal judges to roll back legal protections for nearly two dozen populations of endangered species around the country.

Timber firms threaten suit over spotted owl status
Deseret News March 3, 2002.  A coalition of timber companies is threatening to sue the federal government if it doesn't review the protected status of the northern spotted owl, whose classification under the Endangered Species Act has halted logging on millions of acres of public land.

Lynx Survey Biologists Didn't Break Law, Probe By Interior Concludes
The Salt Lake Tribune March 2, 2002.  Fish and Wildlife Service biologists who sent fur samples to a lab claiming they were from a rare lynx showed "a pattern of bad judgment" but didn't break the law, an Interior Department investigator said Friday.

Species Protection Is Called Weak
The Salt Lake Tribune February 23, 2002.  Conservationists say habitat protections, recovery programs and funding are being neglected or scaled back -- allegations the Bush administration denies.

Seven Condors Released; Hopes Rise for Species
The Salt Lake Tribune February 18, 2002.  A chorus of "oohs," "ahs" and applause erupted from a crowd of about 125 spectators watching the release of seven endangered California condors into the skies above the Vermillion Cliffs as though it were a fireworks display.

Trapped Elk Free From Disease
The Salt Lake Tribune February 16, 2002.  Ranchers and Idaho Department of Fish and Game employees were relieved when all 51 elk trapped along the Wyoming border tested negative for brucellosis.

Early freeze may have been good for swans
Deseret News February 10, 2002.  A hard fast freeze on the Henry's Fork of the Snake River may have saved the swans wintering in Harriman State Park.

DWR begins deer feedings
Deseret News February 9, 2002.  In an attempt to try and minimize the loss of deer to starvation this winter, a group of concerned sportsmen and officers from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources have set up 15 deer feeding locations in Cache Valley.

Effect of lights on wildlife in spotlight
Deseret News February 4, 2002.  Like the flame to the moth, the glare of artificial light can wreak havoc on plants and animals in sometimes lethal ways, scientists are beginning to suspect.

Water-Bird Deaths in Great Salt Lake Linked to Bacterial Disease
The Salt Lake Tribune January 16, 2002.  A bacterial disease has killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of eared grebes in the Great Salt Lake, a Utah Department of Natural Resources biologist said Tuesday.

Elk move into Spanish Fork area
Deseret News January 9, 2002.  Wildlife officials say Nebo herd has grown too large

Making the Best of What Remains of Shrinking Habitats
The New York Times (free registration required) January 8, 2002.  As human activity alters more and more of the landscape - breaking up rain forests, wetlands and prairies with highways, farms, parking lots and housing developments - some creatures retreat into ever tighter habitats, while others venture across the human obstacles to find suitable places to feed and breed.

Copter moose capture halted
Deseret News January 3, 2002.  Fatal crash prompts action; the animals will be trucked out

DWR Still Moving Moose After Fatal Copter Crash
The Salt Lake Tribune January 3, 2002.  Division of Wildlife Resources workers have continued moving moose out of the Salt Lake Valley and Parleys Canyon since last week's fatal helicopter crash at Mountain Dell Reservoir.

Roaming Animals Heighten Road Risks
The Salt Lake Tribune December 31, 2001.  This winter's sudden and heavy snowfall along the Wasatch Front -- 8 feet since Thanksgiving -- is creating a dangerous road hazard: Big game animals forced by the snow to lower elevations are wandering onto the state's highways.

WHARTON: City No Place For Displaced Wild Animals
The Salt Lake Tribune December 29, 2001.  ... the fact deer are migrating into the middle of Utah's biggest city says much about the way we plan our cities and manage our wildlife herds.

Copter crashes in S.L. canyon
Deseret News December 27, 2001.  3 were aboard the helicopter in DWR moose-lift program

Moose take flight - with DWR help
Deseret News December 27, 2001.  Parleys Canyon airlift moving them out of harm's way

Deep snow hard on moose
Deseret News December 12, 2001.  Furious winter storms may be a godsend to skiers, but they are proving lethal to Utah's burgeoning moose population trying to escape deep snows at higher elevations.

No Wasting Disease Signs Found in Utah Elk
The Salt Lake Tribune December 7, 2001.  Tests completed this week on 28 Utah captive elk found no evidence of a highly contagious disease that infected 11 animals in Colorado.

Sheep ranchers charged with snaring animals
Deseret News December 5, 2001.  A couple who operate a sheep ranch in the Dixie National Forest has been charged with illegally using steel snares to kill cougars and bobcats.

Lawmakers uneasy over bird refuge land deal
Deseret News November 15, 2001.  But panel stops short of making recommendation

Bird Refuge Land Deal Looks to Be in Trouble
The Salt Lake Tribune November 14, 2001.  A deal negotiated by the federal and Utah governments to solve a long-running dispute over ownership of lands within the 70,000-acre Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge appears to be in trouble in the Legislature.

Six Elk Test Negative For Wasting Disease
The Salt Lake Tribune November 9, 2001.  Tests on six of 28 domesticated Utah elk possibly exposed to chronic wasting disease have come back negative.

Iron Fences Imperil Deer
The Salt Lake Tribune November 4, 2001.  Spiked, wrought-iron fences may add a pleasing Gothic touch to many an east-bench estate, but they can be a wall of suffering and death for deer.

Pet-snatching cougar killed
Deseret News October 26, 2001.  A cougar that snatched a kitten as Nile Jensen watched less than 5 feet away was shot and killed by a state wildlife officer when it returned - possibly for another meal.

Idaho Begins Destroying Elk Exposed to Wasting Disease
The Salt Lake Tribune October 26, 2001.  The state Agriculture Department began on Thursday to destroy 37 domestic elk exposed to contagious chronic wasting disease at the Colorado game farm where they were raised.

Search dog, service dog killed by poisoned bait
Deseret News October 24, 2001.  A search-and-rescue dog and a service dog have been killed by illegal poisoned bait presumably intended for predators.

Poisoned Bait Kills Search-and-Rescue Dog, Service Dog
The Salt Lake Tribune October 24, 2001.  An illegal attempt to kill predators resulted in the poisoning deaths of a search-and-rescue dog and a service dog in the hills of Summit County.

Coloradans Fear the Spread of a Kind of Mad Elk Disease
The New York Times (free registration required) October 23, 2001.  State officials here fear that some elk that may be infected with a fatal illness were sold to private ranches in as many as 15 states and could spread the disease to the wild elk and deer throughout the nation.

Saved From Fire as a Cub, Bear Fails to Survive in Wild
The Salt Lake Tribune October 13, 2001.  The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks confirmed Friday that a hunter legally killed the black bear plucked in August 2000 from a charred tree in the Bitterroot National Forest.

Colorado elk quarantine could spread to Utah
Deseret News October 10, 2001.  An emergency quarantine - placed on an elk ranch in Colorado found to have chronic wasting disease (CWD) - could reach into Utah and possibly affect the Hi-Ute ranch in Park City, which has been seen as a wildlife viewing area for Olympic visitors.

Elk to Be Tested for Disease
The Salt Lake Tribune October 11, 2001.  A domesticated elk from a herd in the Park City area will be slaughtered to determine whether it was infected with "chronic wasting disease," Earl Rogers, the assistant state veterinarian for Utah, said Wednesday.

Scientist Says Adding Beavers May Help Strawberry Valley
The Salt Lake Tribune October 11, 2001.  Beavers soon could be repairing some of the damage people have done to mountain streams flowing into Strawberry Reservoir.

Official Fish Loses Federal Protection Bid
The Salt Lake Tribune October 11, 2001.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ruled Wednesday that the native Bonneville cutthroat trout, which evolved in Lake Bonneville 20,000 years ago, does not merit endangered or threatened status under the Endangered Species Act.

Colorado Bans Elk Transport Due to Disease
The Salt Lake Tribune October 3, 2001.  Colorado officials have banned the transport of domestic elk for 30 days and quarantined a fourth commercial herd because of chronic wasting disease, which is fatal to elk and deer.

Reward Doubles in Forest Snares
The Salt Lake Tribune October 3, 2001.  The reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for setting a network of illegal wire snare traps in the Dixie National Forest has grown to $6,000.

Accord reached on Bear River bird refuge
Deseret News September 19, 2001.  The U.S. secretary of the Interior visited Utah to announce a settlement between the federal and state governments involving land surrounding the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

State, Interior Settle Bird Refuge Dispute
The Salt Lake Tribune September 29, 2001.  After decades of wrangling, a dispute between the U.S. government and Utah has been laid to rest, confirming federal ownership of the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

Speaker Praises Wildlife Act, Points Finger At Other Laws
The Salt Lake Tribune September 28, 2001.  A wildlife scientist who helped write the Endangered Species Act as a Senate aide then helped enforce it as an Interior Department official says the nation's premier conservation law is getting a bad rap.

Pollution May Be Mystery Killer of Bighorns
The Salt Lake Tribune September 8, 2001.  For at least a decade, according to scientists, storms have been carrying larger and larger amounts of chemical contaminants and dumping them across the Rockies.

Reward Offered for Illegal Snare Culprit
The Salt Lake Tribune September 7, 2001.  Calling a network of illegal wire snares in the Dixie National Forest a "despicable abuse of our delicate wildlife," the director of the Humane Society of Utah on Thursday announced the organization will pay a reward of $3,000 to anyone who assists authorities in finding and prosecuting those responsible.

Cougars Perishing In Snares
The Salt Lake Tribune September 6, 2001.  Someone who apparently has something against cougars has hidden dozens and perhaps hundreds of deadly wire snares in the Dixie National Forest northeast of Panguitch.

Duck killer's sentence called too light
Deseret News August 30, 2001.  The sentencing Wednesday of convicted duck killer Michael D. Shawver did not go quite as the Humane Society of Utah had hoped.

Interior Strikes Rare Deal With Environmentalists
The Salt Lake Tribune August 30, 2001.  In a surprising collaboration, the Bush administration and some of the nation's most litigious environmentalists announced an agreement Wednesday to expedite protection of 29 of the most imperiled plants and animals around the country.

Food Shortage in Mountains Sends Hungry Bears to Town
The New York Times (free registration required) August 24, 2001.  The calls started coming in about 9 this morning, all Signal 67, which is police lingo for bear.

Norton Hails Joint Wildlife Efforts
The Salt Lake Tribune August 18, 2001.  Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton got an eyeful Friday of how public-private environmentalism works in Utah.

Cougar's break-in scares Lehi workers
Deseret News August 4, 2001.  A mountain lion scared several employees at a Lehi trailer dealership on Friday after the animal crashed through an office window.

Lost, Hungry Baby Eagles Eat Their Way to Recovery
The Salt Lake Tribune July 31, 2001.  Two young golden eagles found starving and helpless in the desert in northern Iron County are being nurtured back to health by a raptor specialist in Cedar City.

State Swan Hunt Under Fire Again
The Salt Lake Tribune July 31, 2001.  Utah and federal wildlife officials once again are under attack from national organizations fighting to stop the state's tundra swan hunt.

Large cougar is spotted in middle of Woodland Hills
Deseret News July 29, 2001.  A large cougar was seen Thursday on Woodland Hills Drive, a main thoroughfare in the middle of the hillside town, said Mayor Nile Jensen.

Rolly & Wells: 'Disease-Free' Brochure Is Not Exactly So
The Salt Lake Tribune July 23, 2001.  One of the pictures in the brochure is of Leavitt fishing on a pond. The picture was taken at the Leavitt family-owned Road Creek Ranch near Loa, where whirling disease was first discovered in the state.

Substitute wetlands making waves
Deseret News June 29, 2001.  Study says projects are doomed; Corps remains hopeful

Wildlife finds sanctuary - on military bases
Deseret News June 25, 2001.  Utah's sprawling military bases are home to a surprising treasure: some of the best unspoiled wildlife habitat in the region.

New Wildlife Rule Called Threat to Species
The Salt Lake Tribune June 14, 2001.  Environmental advocates say a new state wildlife rule for designating sensitive species places the interests of gas and oil companies above good biology and management.

Disease Found Again at Leavitt Fish Hatchery
The Salt Lake Tribune June 4, 2001.  The trout-crippling malady known as whirling disease, first reported in Utah at a hatchery owned by Gov. Mike Leavitt's family, has reappeared at the facility.

Falconers May Take Chicks From Nests
The Salt Lake Tribune June 2, 2001.  Falconers can legally pluck peregrine falcon chicks from their nests, after a Salt Lake City judge ordered the state to issue capture permits for the once-rare birds.

Reintroduction of Wolves Supported by Public
The Salt Lake Tribune May 17, 2001.  Fired up over a recent survey that showed the public in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado strongly favor reintroducing wolves to the West, a dozen conservationists are planning to educate the public about wolves -- mostly doing away with the myth that the animals somehow pose a danger to people.

Elusive Lynx May Affect Forest Plans in Utah
The Salt Lake Tribune May 11, 2001.  There's a Lynx Conservation Strategy for the Wasatch-Cache National Forest.

Biologists' 'Census' So Far Comes Up Empty
The Salt Lake Tribune May 11, 2001.  No one really knows if there are any Canadian lynx in Utah, but U.S. Forest Service biologists are looking.

Cleanup Plans for Decker Lake
The Salt Lake Tribune April 30, 2001.  After years of just scraping the surface of Decker Lake's water-quality problems, West Valley City will begin charging residents and businesses a storm-water utility fee -- $3.75 a month for the average homeowner -- on July 1.

Utah wolf debate centers on the degree of protection
Deseret News April 29, 2001.  Lee Shirley remembers marveling at the long line of spectators lining the roads of Yellowstone National Park, squinting at the horizon. He joined them as they searched for what just a couple of years ago didn't exist in the western United States: the gray wolf.

'Wolf Hysteria' a Concern For Utah Wildlife Experts
The Salt Lake Tribune April 29, 2001.  Wildlife experts are concerned that a recent campaign to educate and prepare Utahns for a possible return of gray wolves could produce more heat than light.

Mountain lions have lost half of habitat, study says
Deseret News April 27, 2001.  The mountain lion has lost half its habitat across the West, according to a National Wildlife Federation study.

Students Build Homes for Herons
The Salt Lake Tribune April 26, 2001.  As Utah Power crews hoisted wooden poles with heron nesting platforms, 9-year-old Tyler Voss put a blade of grass beneath his magnifying glass in a wetland on the south shore of Utah Lake.

Wolves May Return to Utah; Once nearly extinct, species in a comeback
The Salt Lake Tribune April 14, 2001.  It has been more than 70 years since wolves roamed the wilds of Utah.

Geneva Is Polluting Water, State Says
The Salt Lake Tribune April 10, 2001.  Hardscrabble Geneva Steel is expecting a citation soon from state environmental regulators who say the Utah County plant is polluting an outdoor ditch with waste oil.

New Sparrows Turn Out to Be Dirty Birds
The Salt Lake Tribune April 8, 2001.  Like a lot of history, this is a story about unintended consequences.

Eagles Regain a Perch in the Lower 48
The New York Times (free registration required) April 3, 2001.  With their primary enemies, DDT and hunters, under control, and ideal habitats near population centers being preserved, eagles are coming closer and closer to people.

Officials AgreeTo Look Into Hunting Impact On Utah Swans
The Salt Lake Tribune March 28, 2001.  Utah's fall swan hunt could be in jeopardy after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to conduct a new environmental assessment Tuesday.

Wolves are on the way
Deseret News March 25, 2001.  Someday a gray wolf will cross the state border into Utah. It may not happen for five or 10 years - or it may already have happened.

Study Finds Mountain Lakes Haven't Recovered From Added Fish
The New York Times (free registration required) March 5, 2001.  ... Experts now agree the stocking was a mistake, and one that could mean the alpine lakes will never be the same again.

Wildlife Officials Kill Rogue Cougar in Willard
The Salt Lake Tribune March 4, 2001.  Wildlife officials Saturday tracked down and destroyed a cougar that reportedly was disturbing residents in Willard, along the eastern banks of the Great Salt Lake in Box Elder County.

Wildlife Agency Poisons Thousands Of Starlings Roosting in Salt Lake City
The Salt Lake Tribune February 25, 2001.  Wildlife Services, a federal and state agency that controls nuisance wildlife, poisoned between 4,000 and 5,000 starlings in Herriman and North Salt Lake last week.

EAGLES EYED
The Salt Lake Tribune February 4, 2001.  Bald eagles perch at Farmington Bay's Waterfowl Management Area, where more than 300 of the majestic birds have been seen in the past two weeks.

Whirling disease spreading
Deseret News February 2, 2001.  Fish disease is found in private ponds in Kaysville, Bicknell

Experts Criticize Taxpayer-Funded Coyote Hunting
The Salt Lake Tribune January 24, 2001.  Utah taxpayers are subsidizing the killing of coyotes by recreational hunters in six rural counties.

'Mad Deer Disease' Not Yet a Threat to U.S. According to F.D.A.
The New York Times (free registration required) January 20, 2001.  Scientific evidence so far does not show that a fatal illness resembling mad cow disease that afflicts deer and elk in the Western United States can spread to humans, a U.S. advisory panel said on Friday.

Coyote hunt is raising hackles
Deseret News December 30, 2000.  Humane Society says there's no evidence it will help deer herds

Prizes Offered for Coyote Slaughter , Ears and tails bring bounty. Gun group says the killing is part of their amateur 'census'
The Salt Lake Tribune December 30, 2000.  It's a scene American Fork bullet manufacturer Randy Brooks says he has witnessed too often on his frequent treks through the Utah hillsides: A pack of wild coyotes shredding a live baby deer to pieces.

When the Trout Arrive, the Amphibian Exodus Begins
The New York Times (free registration required) November 28, 2000.  ... trout stocking, scientists are now finding, has been disastrous for some amphibians native to the areas.

Feds to Put List Of Endangered Species on Hold
The Salt Lake Tribune November 22, 2000.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it is so busy responding to lawsuits filed by environmental groups that it does not have enough employees or money to add any more wildlife to the endangered species list for almost a year.

Farmer's Gift Will Preserve History, Bird Habitat
The Salt Lake Tribune November 17, 2000.  On Thursday, the 85-year-old Orem farmer and other members of the Taylor clan realized their dream by donating $1.4 million worth of conservation easements to The Nature Conservancy of Utah, the largest donation ever received by the nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the state's critical wild- and wetlands.

Holladay Officials Considering Killing Problem Coyotes by Gunfire
The Salt Lake Tribune October 19, 2000.  City officials are considering several options to deal with reports of coyotes scavenging in backyards -- including luring the animals away from neighborhoods and shooting them.

Wildlife panel to consider spring hunt for bears
Deseret News October 18, 2000.  Proposal comes in wake of livestock deaths in Utah

Howling about foothill coyotes
Deseret News October 18, 2000.  Even with an expanding metropolis, people living in the Wasatch Mountain foothills continue to face the challenges of nature.

Utah Byways: Future Worries The Guardian Of Ogden Bay
The Salt Lake Tribune October 21, 2000.  Ogden Bay occupies an important place in U.S. wildlife history.

8.4M Acres Deemed Vital to Wildlife
The Salt Lake Tribune October 9, 2000.  Utah Division of Wildlife Resources biologists have identified 8.4 million acres -- 15.4 percent of the state -- as critical wildlife habitat.

State hopes to avoid a suit over bird refuge
Deseret News September 28, 2000.  State officials are optimistic they will reach a settlement with the federal government over ownership of a large portion of the federal Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

Canada squawks over swan hunt
Deseret News September 17, 2000.  Alberta conservationists are wary of an American plan that allows continued hunting of swans in some Western states.

Bird Refuge Has Own Plan
The Salt Lake Tribune August 27, 2000.  Under the Hyrum Dam proposal, water stored during high spring runoff in Hyrum Reservoir would be released all the way to the bird refuge during the summer when much of the river otherwise is diverted into irrigation canals.

Trumpeter's Status May Entail Utah Hunt's Swan Song
The Salt Lake Tribune August 23, 2000.  Two citizen groups asked the federal government Tuesday to use the Endangered Species Act to protect a small group of trumpeter swans that breed in the Greater Yellowstone area of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. If they are successful, heightened federal protection for these beautiful white birds could end Utah's annual hunt for the relatively common tundra swan -- a species so similar in appearance that hunters can't distinguish them from trumpeters.

Condor Program Mired by Poisonings, Tame Chicks
The Salt Lake Tribune August 5, 2000.  ... a new study warns that unsafe food sources and the captive condors' tame offspring could doom efforts to save the giant birds.

Leavitt family caught up in spread of deadly fish parasite
The Salt Lake Tribune July 30, 2000.  Trout fishing in Utah isn't what it used to be -- before the advent of whirling disease.

Group Wants Wolverines Counted, Maybe Named Endangered
The Salt Lake Tribune July 29, 2000.  Shying away from humans and keeping a low profile is in the wolverine's nature. But being introverted isn't the reason environmentalists are moving to list the wolverine as threatened or endangered.

Cougars, Humans Set on Collision Course
The Salt Lake Tribune July 25, 2000.  When Andrew Peterson ran into a cougar while hiking in a state park south of Denver two years ago, he did exactly what the experts advise.

Eagles Won't Come off Endangered List by Fourth
The Salt Lake Tribune June 30, 2000.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is not ready to remove the American bald eagle from the endangered species list in time for the Fourth of July after all.

Red tape sinks S. Jordan project
Deseret News June 19, 2000.  A proposed 84-acre, multimillion-dollar wetlands project here has been sunk in a bureaucratic swamp, waterlogged in endless federal requirements the city tried to meet but couldn't.

Utah claims ownership, plans to sue for title to bird refuge
Deseret News June 8, 2000.  Critics say the state just wants to dam Bear River, dry up wetlands

State Has Eyes for Bear River Refuge
The Salt Lake Tribune June 8, 2000.  A gambit by the Utah Attorney General's Office to win state ownership of much of the federal Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge has environmentalists concerned.

Bald Eagles Manage to Raise Kids in Suburbia, But for How Long?
The Salt Lake Tribune June 2, 2000.  With Interstate-15's rush-hour smog for an ominous backdrop, a pair of bald eagles watched as their two fledglings venture onto the branch of a bleached snag.

W. Jordan man charged in tree theft
Deseret News May 23, 2000.  A West Jordan business owner has been charged for allegedly contracting with three logging companies to cut down some 8,400 trees in and around the state-owned Hardware Ranch Wildlife Management Area in Cache County.

DWR Brings Charges for Old-Growth Area Cutting; Maps to Blame, Logger Says
The Salt Lake Tribune May 23, 2000.  The owner of a West Jordan logging company has been charged with felony theft after cutting into a remote forest in the Hardware Ranch Wildlife Management Area in northern Utah.

Is Utah ready for wolves?
Deseret News May 17, 2000.  Packs of gray wolves could be headed for Utah anytime soon, some wildlife experts say. And the Utah Wildlife Board wants to make sure there's a plan in place on how to greet the talismanic creatures.

Reports of Wolves Have Ranchers Concerned
The Salt Lake Tribune May 9, 2000.  Utah wildlife officials think at least one wolf may have been sighted in northern Utah, possibly signaling the predator's return.

Expert Thwarts Trout Ailment
The Salt Lake Tribune May 8, 2000.  A Montana fisheries biologist says he has discovered how to save trout from a devastating disease -- hopeful news for fish, fishers, and the fishing- and tourism-driven economies of the West.

Biologists to capture June suckers
Deseret News May 5, 2000.  Experts will try to raise a population of the near-extinct fish

Migratory Birds Back At Refuge
The Salt Lake Tribune May 1, 2000.  The ibises are back at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.

New Home for Imperiled Fish
The Salt Lake Tribune May 1, 2000.  The Red Butte Reservoir will be used to raise the June sucker, an endangered fish that was a plentiful food source for Utah Valley pioneers but has been all but wiped out of its native Provo River and Utah Lake.

Suit Seeks to Scuttle Pipeline
The Salt Lake Tribune April 27, 2000.  An unusual coalition of Utah conservation groups, elected officials, ranchers and property owners is accusing state regulators of violating environmental-protection laws when they issued permits for a plan to pipe water from East Canyon Reservoir to the Snyderville Basin near Park City.

Living with wolves is enough to make ranchers howl
Deseret News April 26, 2000.  Allyn and Tracy Williams have seen wolves loping across the broad meadow in front of their Pleasant Valley home, and at night, they have heard the wolves' haunting howls.

Refuge trumpeted for swan breeding
Deseret News April 25, 2000.  But Utah official questions importing endangered species

Wildlife Agencies Debate Merits of Trumpeter Swan Hunt
The Salt Lake Tribune April 24, 2000.  A proposal to allow a permanent hunting season for rare trumpeter swans in western states, including Utah and Nevada, may be in trouble.

Wildlife Board Formalizes Policy on Cougar, Coyote Control
The Salt Lake Tribune April 21, 2000.  The Utah Wildlife Board formalized the state's predator management policy Thursday by specifying when cougars and coyotes will be killed to help populations of deer, antelope and bighorn sheep.

Western U.S. Swan-Hunting Ban Proposed
The Salt Lake Tribune April 19, 2000.  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to continue the limited hunting of rare trumpeter swans in Utah, Montana and Nevada.

Bald eagles stress out when people are near
Deseret News April 12, 2000.  Study raises fears about the impact of encroachment

Fire retardant may be killing fish and frogs
Deseret News April 11, 2000.  Product used on wildfires is toxic as it decomposes

Deadline Near for Wildlife Easement
The Salt Lake Tribune April 7, 2000.  Last autumn, with the leaves in the East Canyon area changing colors, a coalition of conservation organizations announced plans to purchase development rights to the Peaceful Valley Ranch.

Conservationists Get Ready to Push for Protection of Sage Grouse
The Salt Lake Tribune Conservationists pushing protection of the sage grouse say the bird, dubbed the "spotted owl of the desert," is the perfect poster child for sagebrush ecosystems endangered throughout the West..  

Plans for Resort Complex Near Landmark Hot Spring Have Critics Steamed
The Salt Lake Tribune March 27, 2000.  Plans for a resort complex around a landmark hot spring are drawing fire in the Heber Valley.

Threatened lynx's habitat in Utah
Deseret News March 22, 2000.  The Canada lynx may not be Utah's biggest wildcat, but it is proving to be the most elusive.

Experts: Predators Not Only Mule Deer Scourge
The Salt Lake Tribune March 19, 2000.  A state predator control official on Saturday said killing coyotes as a way of increasing Utah's mule deer population will work best when the deer herd fails to grow even though high-quality habitat is available.

Accommodating the Feathered Traveler; Program seeks to link nations in effort to preserve sites along migratory path
The Salt Lake Tribune March 19, 2000.  Loafing in the sun in a lush mangrove swamp along Mexico's western coast are dozens of wintertime visitors from the north along with a colorful crowd of locals.

West's Mule Deer Population Plummets
The Salt Lake Tribune March 18, 2000.  An Arizona wildlife researcher said Friday that the western United States has experienced a catastrophic decline in mule deer populations since 1985.

Deer, Elk Not Wasting Utah Hunters
The Salt Lake Tribune March 8, 2000.  Utah deer and elk hunters apparently don't have to worry that the animals they are killing might in turn kill them.

Swarms of Campers Can Stress Eagles, Lead to Fewer Birds
The Salt Lake Tribune March 7, 2000.  In the Alaskan wilderness, bald eagles showed signs they were stressed out when people camped near their nests, raising concerns among scientists that more people vacationing in the wild could ultimately mean fewer eagles.

Veteran Biologist Tackles A New Wildlife Mission
The Salt Lake Tribune February 21, 2000.  Bunnell heads the Utah Wildlife Lands Project, a new effort to help land owners hold on to their property, to keep it from being developed while they earn a living from it at the same time.

Watch or Shoot? Officials Weigh Expanding Hunts on Antelope Island
The Salt Lake Tribune February 18, 2000.  Utah's state parks board will hear a proposal next week to increase hunting opportunities on Antelope Island by including mule deer and bighorn sheep.

Proposed Gray Wolf Reclassification Worries Utah Activists
The Salt Lake Tribune February 10, 2000.  Gray wolves won't stand a chance in Utah if federal protection for the controversial carnivores is reduced, a group of Utah scientists and environmental activists contend.

Eccentric Eared Grebe May Help Unlock Mysteries of the Ecosystem
The Salt Lake Tribune November 25, 1999.  Probably no bird is tied so intimately to the Great Salt Lake as the eared grebe.


*Link removed:   The original URL link for this article has been removed, as the article is either no longer available free of charge to public view (but may still be found by headline and/or date in a for-fee publisher website archive), or has been permanently removed from Internet access.