It is deeply troubling that a top Wyoming Game and Fish biologist was put on a two-week administrative suspension without pay for speaking frankly at a scientific conference about problems in the framework the state Legislature established for the management of wolves in our state.

Game and Fish Director Brent Manning suspended Trophy Game Coordinator Dave Moody apparently because of his comments at the conference in Chico Hot Springs, Mont., last week. Gov. Dave Freudenthal says he backs the Game and Fish director's decision. The suspension, however, raises questions about whether the governor has done away, as he claims he has, with the "one voice, no dissent" policy that former Gov. Jim Geringer had put into place.

A 27-year employee at Game and Fish, Moody spoke at the 15th Annual North American Interagency Wolf Conference where wolf planners from Idaho and Montana also presented papers on wolf management and wolf interactions. Other presenters included wolf and wildlife biologists from universities as well as state and federal agencies.

According to the Mike Stark, reporter for the Billings Gazette, Moody spoke to his scientific peers about the framework the Legislature had established for the management of wolves in Wyoming. Moody noted to his colleagues the Legislature had passed a bill signed into law by Gov. Freudenthal, which classifies wolves as trophy game animals in a few wilderness areas in national forests adjacent to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, while everywhere else in the state, wolves are classified as predatory animals and can be killed on sight.

He wondered aloud if the wolf plan was workable from a biological standpoint. Would the plan provide a self-sustaining, viable population of wolves? Moody gave those who attended the conference his scientific assessment of the situation. He asked, as one biologist to a room full of biologists, what can we do to make the plan work? His emphasis was on making the plan work. Moody said, "We're going to try to right this ship if we can."

Moody had been give the responsibility to draft the final wolf management plan for Wyoming. Freudenthal said that Moody's views might conflict with the state's goals. Utter nonsense. Expressing questions and seeking the advice of other biologists on what Moody perceives as problematic does not conflict with state goals - quite the opposite. Moody was clearly seeking some advice and suggestions from other wildlife biologists to try to solve a tricky problem. Moody was doing precisely what he should have been doing.

In order to draft a workable wolf management plan, Moody must understand the problems and issues involved from a number of perspectives. Exploring those problems with other wolf biologists to find possible solutions makes good sense. What better place to air these questions and issues than in a scientific conference dedicated to wolves? No respectable scientist or biologist would do less.

Manning's reaction to Moody's critique of Wyoming's framework for a wolf plan at the conference throws a chill over those who might question an approach to wildlife management. The chill could spill over to other departments of state government and might freeze other voices and viewpoints. The Fish and Wildlife director's action will undoubtedly have far-reaching, negative ramifications for the state, especially since the governor acceded to Moody's suspension.