wolves

Yellowstone National Park’s wolves have been contentious ever since they were reintroduced in 1995. Within the park, the roughly 100 canines are protected from hunting and trapping, and are a massive draw for tourists. But once they leave, those protections vanish, and the few wolves that venture out often die, quickly.

Cody Roberts pleaded not guilty to felony charges. Wyoming Public Radio’s Caitlin Tan briefs us on the scene at the courthouse and what comes next.

The Trump administration could be inching toward delisting the species from the endangered species list.

Cody Roberts ran down a wolf with a snowmobile and brought it into a bar in Feb. 2024. This was the first time Roberts has publicly appeared and talked on the issue.

As predators like grizzly bears and gray wolves expand their ranges or are being recovered to more habitats, wildlife managers in the Mountain West are increasingly tasked with preventing conflicts between the animals and people. Some are turning to new strategies and technologies, including drones.

After a judge lamented the “political yo-yo” process embroiling wolf management in the Northern Rockies, no one appears to know how to deescalate the debate.

Cody Roberts was charged with felony animal cruelty 18 months after the incident. What comes next will likely unravel over the fall.

Global outrage ensued after a Wyoming man ran down a wolf with a snowmobile and brought the live animal into a bar for hours in Feb. 2024. For 18 months no criminal charges were made, until now.

The decision doesn’t change the status of wolves, but it forces the agency to revisit the question of whether they should be federally protected, including in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

A new wolf pack may be forming right now in Jackson Hole, splitting their time between the National Elk Refuge and Grand Teton National Park.