JACKSON - Ranchers in some areas of the state have differing views of whether Wyoming's proposed new wolf plan is good or bad news for their business.

Some ranchers in the Upper Green River Valley area - where wolves would receive no protection under the current draft plan - would rather see their lands incorporated into a proposed trophy game zone for wolves. That's because with trophy game status, the ranchers would have help with wolf control and would be reimbursed for livestock losses, actions that would not happen outside the trophy game zone.

But around Cody, some ranchers within the proposed trophy game area would rather see so-called predator status for wolves there, so they could have greater flexibility in controlling problem wolves.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department, for its part, says the draft plan is a balance between the two interests. The state Game and Fish Commission is expected to vote on the state's wolf plan when it meets in Thermopolis Thursday and Friday.

The plan would take effect once wolves are removed from federal protection.

In Boulder, Joel Bousman said ranchers aren't "wolf hunters" and don't have the professional skills available through USDA Wildlife Services - the agency the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hires to kill wolves, and the agency the state plans to use in its wolf control actions.

"This is a pretty complicated issue," Bousman said.

Outside Cody on the Monument Hill Ranch, Gary Lundvall said predator status for wolves would allow greater flexibility in dealing with problem animals, including trapping, snaring and aerial gunning.

Lundvall also said the packs the state aims to manage outside the national parks - eyed at the minimum of seven - will likely all be on lands around Cody because south of the parks there are elk feedgrounds, and the state has indicated it will not tolerate wolf activity near feedgrounds.

That means more potential problems for Cody-area ranchers. Lundvall said depredation on livestock is one issue, and keeping livestock on a range is another because wolves are constantly moving them.

"We have wolves here right now that you can't find," he said.

Lundvall said it is likely the state will begin compensating ranchers for livestock losses due to wolves even in predator areas because the number of complaints will be so high. So far, the state's plan indicates no payment for ranchers outside trophy game areas.

Bill Rudd, assistant wildlife division chief for the Game and Fish Department, said the plan is "really a balance between really different opinions even within the agriculture community."

"This compromise is a result of that," he said.

Rudd said the state will still use USDA Wildlife Services agents to kill wolves, and currently no one is being trained to take up that responsibility within the state agency.

How much ranchers will be paid for livestock losses is still being worked out within the Game and Fish Department, he said.

The agency recently released public comments it received on the wolf plan. There were a few comments to the from ranchers distrustful of Game and Fish's ability to help manage problem wolves in predator areas, and distrustful of the state's plan to keep wolves off the endangered species list after they're removed.

An overwhelming majority of comment letters criticized the state for a poor wolf management plan that manages wolves from a place of hatred rather than adequate wildlife management.

Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, said his organization has sought to classify wolves as predators in as much of the state as possible. However, he said trophy game status may work if Game and Fish has sufficient ability to respond to wolves and will compensate ranchers for losses.

Meredith Taylor with Taylor Outfitters said the state's wolf plan is not good for wolves or ranchers. She said the predator status in most of the state offers little control for wolf populations, and instead relies on a "first-come, first-shoot scenario."

"That's not good for wolves, because as we know, that's how they got listed in the first place - uncontrolled hunting," she said.

The population needs to be managed like other large carnivores - bears and mountain lions - so populations can be regulated, she said.

Environmental reporter Whitney Royster can be reached at (307) 734-0260 or at royster@tribcsp.com.