Utah wolf management plan

Table 4. Utah residents’ assessment of the acceptability of control methods for wolves that kill livestock.^a
Response item:	Sample	n	Mean	Std. D.	Std. Err.	t	P
Live trap and relocate.	Urban	306	5.87	1.76	0.10	3.77	0.001
	Rural	338	5.28	2.17	0.12
Live trap and shoot.	Urban	299	3.52	2.20	0.13	3.35	0.001
	Rural	344	4.12	2.30	0.12
Live trap and lethal injection.	Urban	298	3.48	2.11	0.12	3.77	0.001
	Rural	336	4.15	2.31	0.13
Shooting from the air.	Urban	297	3.13	2.17	0.13	2.57	0.1
	Rural	336	3.60	2.40	0.13
Hunting wolves.	Urban	299	4.41	2.22	0.13	2.7	0.007
	Rural	341	4.88	2.16	0.12
Poisoning wolves.	Urban	295	2.24	1.86	0.11	2.27	0.024
	Rural	334	2.61	2.22	0.12
Livestock guarding dogs.	Urban	299	5.52	1.73	0.10	2.22	0.027
	Rural	332	5.18	2.03	0.11
Harassment.	Urban	301	5.20	1.90	0.11	1.42	0.157
	Rural	328	4.96	2.19	0.12
^a Based on a 7-point scale: 1 = never acceptable to 7 = always acceptable.

Table 5. Utah residents’ top priority for wolf management (% who selected item).
	Urban	Rural
Response item:	n = 313	n = 352	Rank
Ensure there are always wolves in Utah………………….	17.3	8.5	3 -- 5
Maximize the number of wolves……………………………	2.9	3.4	6 -- 6
Minimize livestock - wolf conflicts………………………….	29.1	24.4	2 -- 2
Minimize any effects wolves might have on big game….	5.4	8.8	5 -- 4
Minimize negative economic impacts…………………….	37.4	39.2	1 -- 1
Maximize the visibility of wolves to increase tourism……	1.6	2.8	7 -- 7
Other…………………………………………………………..	6.4	12.8	4 -- 3

Table 6. Utah residents' support for various wolf management options.
Variable	Sample	n	Mean	Std. Dev.	t	%A	%N	%D	^2
Wolf numbers should be kept low to provide for plentiful deer and elk in an area.^a	Urban	316	4.83	2.88	4.54***	34.2	22.8	43.0	20.13***
	Rural	346	5.91	3.23		49.4	22.8	27.7
Wolf populations should be kept low to minimize their impact on livestock production.^a	Urban	318	5.68	2.95	3.80***	53.8	15.4	30.8	6.99*
	Rural	349	6.60	3.25		63.3	14.0	22.6
If wolves do not return to Utah by themselves, then they should be actively returned to the state.^a	Urban	320	4.69	3.05	4.01***	36.3	25.6	38.1	15.84***
	Rural	350	3.69	3.40		26.6	20.0	53.4
Wolves should not be reintroduced, but they should be allowed to repopulate Utah naturally.^b	Urban	319	4.41	1.87	0.901	48.9	22.9	28.2	1.91
	Rural	361	4.39	2.10		49.9	18.8	31.3
*Significant at P P P
^a Item measured on an 11-point scale where 0 = strongly disagree and 10 = strongly agree.
^b Item measured on an 7-point scale where 1 = strongly disagree and 7 = strongly agree.

1“Established” is defined as “at least 2 breeding pairs of wild wolves successfully raising at least 2 young each (until December 31^st of the year of their birth), for 2 consecutive years.” [USFWS, Reintroduction of Grey Wolves into Yellowstone National Park and Central Idaho, Final EIS, May 1994, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Helena, MT; Pages 6-66 and 6-67 in Appendix 8: Memorandum Regarding Definition of a Wolf Population. From EIS Team Wolf Scientist and Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Coordinator, March 11, 1994.]

1 This statement pertains to the Utah Wolf Management Plan as it was presented to the Utah Wildlife Board (Board) by the WWG and some members of the WWG may not support the changes made by the Board that are identified herein.

1 “Established” is defined as “at least 2 breeding pairs of wild wolves successfully raising at least 2 young each (until December 31^st of the year of their birth), for 2 consecutive years.” [USFWS, Reintroduction of Grey Wolves into Yellowstone National Park and Central Idaho, Final EIS, May 1994, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Helena, MT; Pages 6-66 and 6-67 in Appendix 8: Memorandum Regarding Definition of a Wolf Population. From EIS Team Wolf Scientist and Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Coordinator, March 11, 1994.]

2 “Managing Predatory Wildlife Species” dated January 19, 1996.

1 Steve Nadeau (Idaho Fish and Game Department) presentation to the Utah Wolf Working Group, 29 June 2004. Doug Smith (National Park Service) presentation to the Utah Wolf Working Group, 27 July 2004.

2 For the cougar management plan, see http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/cmgtplan.pdf .

For the bear management plan, see http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/bear/pdf/00bearplan.pdf .