Wolf abuse case points to need for some (targeted) changes

In the wake of this person’s serious lapse in judgment, Sublette County residents from all walks of life, people who happen to also be named Cody Roberts, and even senior center staff and a musician who performed at the bar more than a year ago have received hateful messages and death threats from animal rights activists across the country and around the world. (Not to imply that threats to Mr. Roberts and his family are appropriate, either. They certainly aren’t.)

A newspaper editor in the opposite corner of the state took a call from a Colorado woman who started the conversation with “Is this how everyone in Wyoming thinks wild animals should be treated?” (This editor wanted to reply, “Does everyone in Colorado condone Lauren Boebert’s drunken behavior in the audience of a Denver theater?”)

There’s no reason any of this should have happened, but it did. And rather than dismiss it as something that will soon be replaced by another anger-inducing controversy, we should pause and see what lessons can be learned from it.

First, there are the actions themselves. While it’s true that wolves are treated as predators in 85% of the state, someone in the past failed to specify that it’s not OK to intentionally run down an animal with a snow machine — or to kill a predator in any other cruel manner that intentionally causes the animal to suffer. Wyoming lawmakers need to review state statutes defining animal abuse/cruelty and make any necessary changes to account for this type of situation. (The Sublette County sheriff says an investigation of the incident is ongoing, and may result in additional charges/penalties, but it’s unclear if that will happen.)

At the same time, state officials must be careful not to overreact. Any changes to state law need to be made with thoughtful consideration in order to avoid tying the hands of ranchers, who should be allowed to protect their livelihood.

Next, Wyoming Game and Fish Department leaders and Gov. Mark Gordon need to analyze their delayed response to this embarrassing situation. While elected officials shouldn’t be obligated to issue statements of condemnation in every case, saying nothing in response to something this egregious for nearly two weeks after it came to light was a mistake.

In his three-part post on X (formerly Twitter), Gov. Gordon said, “I would be disappointed if anyone were to paint Wyoming with a broad brush and suggest that Wyoming citizens condone the reckless, thoughtless and heinous actions of one individual.” Yet that’s exactly what had been happening for days before this statement was made.

The governor, his staff and their counterparts at Wyoming Game and Fish need to be reminded of the basic lessons of crisis communication: Get in front of a controversial situation as quickly as possible, take control of the narrative, and tell people very clearly what you’re doing both to address the current circumstances and to prevent it from happening again. Instead, it took public records requests from members of the Wyoming media to pry loose a game warden’s redacted report and a short video clip confirming a few of the details of the Feb. 29 abuse.

Earlier last week, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission issued a statement about the incident during the first day of its two-day meeting in Riverton. It said, in part, “The actions of the defendant do not represent the value Wyoming people and our Commission have for our incredible and priceless wildlife resources. ... Wyoming has proven itself to be the gold standard in wildlife management. This incident perpetrated by one individual does not represent a failure in wildlife policy or management.”

We agree. What shouldn’t happen as a result of one man’s actions is putting gray wolves back on the Endangered Species List and handing management of them back to the federal government. We know Wyoming leaders will fight efforts to do so vigorously, just as they’re trying to take over management of grizzly bears. Not surprisingly, though, some environmentalists are pointing to this situation as evidence that the state can’t be trusted to manage wolves properly.

In fact, the opposite is true. For the past seven years, Wyoming Game and Fish has managed gray wolves according to an approved plan that has proven to be effective. As of Dec. 31, 2022, there were at least 338 wolves in the state, up from the 311 estimated three years earlier. They were part of an estimated 2,800 in the seven-state Northern Rocky Mountain region. New numbers are anticipated in the coming days, and we expect them to be just as strong.

Yet, earlier this year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to develop a National Recovery Plan under the Endangered Species Act for gray wolves in the region. As expressed through a letter from U.S. Sens. Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso, both R-Wyo., to agency Director Martha Williams, this effort has the potential to negatively impact the good work being done in Wyoming and surrounding states to keep the wolf population stable.

Does it look good to the outside world to allow anyone to kill a predator in just about any way they see fit? Of course not. Nor is it appropriate, and it needs to be changed.

But once again, one man’s thoughtless actions have triggered an avalanche of reactions, both within Wyoming and from the outside. The challenge will be sorting out the good from the bad, and deciding on the best course of action going forward.

Wyoming Tribune Eagle

April 20