Montana Wolf Management Plan
Excerpted Press Release From Montana
Fish Wildlife and Parks
In anticipation of the Rocky Mountain gray wolf’s
full recovery and removal from the federal endangered species list, state
wildlife officials today (posted 3/14/03) released five alternatives for
managing Montana wolves. The 288-page draft environmental impact statement
presents a spectrum of five wolf management alternatives for public
comment. The EIS was prepared by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks to
meet federal requirements, comply with the Montana Environmental Policy
Act and to present an approach to wolf management acceptable to
Montanans.
The preferred alternative’s benchmark of 15 breeding
wolf pairs gives Montana the latitude to respond to local problems without
risking that the statewide wolf population would drop below the threshold
trigger for federal relisting. The agency’s preferred alternative seeks
to provide active assistance to landowners to minimize the risk of
livestock losses, allows livestock owners to defend livestock from wolves
when attacked, provides for regulated harvest of wolves and offers FWP
flexibility to manage wolf numbers and distribution
Our analysis. Alternative 2, the MTFWP
preferred alternative is a compromise between Alt 3, maximum wolf numbers,
and Alt 4, minimum wolf numbers. According
to FWP, this
alternative could result in as many as 54 breeding pairs or 657 wolves by
2015. There would be some kind of compensation program. Management costs
would be less than Alt 3 or Alt 4 and would be borne by state and federal,
and private entities. This plan would manage for a minimum of 15 breeding
pairs.
Alt 3 is preferred by environmentalists. It would
manage for a threshold of 20 breeding pairs or more. This plan could
result in as many as 66 breeding pairs and 807 wolves by 2015. Funding
would come from state, federal and private sources. There would be no
compensation for depradations. Management would come from state agencies
and would allow for more flexibility than Alt 2 or Alt 4 because of higher
wolf numbers.
Alt. 4 would manage for a threshold of 10 breeding
pairs and cap the population at 13 pairs or 154 wolves. After that hunting
and predator control would kick in. The state would have less flexibility
to manage but landowners would have more. It would cost more because more
intensive monitoring would have to be done to insure we did not drop below
the federal minimum of 10 breeding pairs but the funding would all come
from federal sources. Less impact on prey and livestock populations
expected.
Alt 1, the No Action alternative leaves the situation
as it is now with feds managing the wolf under ESA. This is not exceptable.
There should be a No Action alternative which simply declares the wolf a
predator and manages under applicable state laws. This was the purpose of
HB 283 but that bill was gutted by the legislature. Declaring predator
status for wolves would cause a state’s rights confrontation with USFWS
and the Martz administration is not willing to go there. But eventually we
must face this challenge. Otherwise we surrender our constitutional right
to manage state wildlife and MTFWP becomes irrelevant and unnecessary. Why
pay for an agency that takes its orders from the federal government and
not the people of Montana?
Alt 5 is a contingency alternative to be implemented in
case USFWS does not delist the wolf or they are prevented from doing so by
legal action. This alternative is not much different that the present
situation and will almost certainly be the alternative we have to live
with eventually. This alternative could result in 95 breeding pairs and
1167 wolves in Montana by 2015 as it is currently written. It will be a
disaster. This alternative should definitely be changed to declare the
wolf a predator and managed accordingly. This would cause the greens to
think twice about litigating the delisting. However it would certainly
require a vigourous defense of our right to manage state wildlife. But
that right is real and it exists in state and federal law.
If you are going to comment on the Montana Wolf
Management plan MFMU suggests that you support Alternative 4, the minimum
wolf plan, and request that Alternative 5 be changed to a predator control
management plan if delisting does not occur in the near future.
UPDATE
The Final EIS has been completed and sent to USFWS
for their approval. We are studying the document but do not expect
to find any substantive changes. Alternative 2 is still FWP's
preferred action plan for wolves.
Wolf management information is available via FWP's website at: www.fwp.state.mt.us
Click on Montana Wolf Management in the Hot Topics box. To request a copy
of the 288-page draft FEIS, call 406-444-2612. To see or
download a copy of the FEIS go to >>> http://www.fwp.state.mt.us/wildthings/wolf/finaleis/finalwolfeis.asp
EDITOR'S NOTE: There is another way to regain management
authority and that is to recognize that under the U. S. Constitution,
federal statutes including the Endangered Species Act, and Montana
statutes we never lost it. Montana and all the other states have
been bluffed and bullied by power hungry federal bureaucrats and
politicians into relinquishing their authority. Go to Who
Owns the Animals?
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MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS FOR
RELEASE - JANUARY 16, 2002
Contact: Tom Palmer, (406) 444-3051
GRAY WOLF NATURAL HISTORY-FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
POTENTIAL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR FEDERAL
DELISTING OF THE GRAY WOLF
MONTANA WOLF CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT
SCOPING--PROPOSED ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT SCHEDULE
MONTANA WOLF MANAGEMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL
The draft "Montana Wolf Conservation and Management Planning
Document" is based on recommendations made by Montana's Wolf
Management Advisory Council, a mix of livestock producers, hunters,
educators, conservationists and other citizens. The council prepared 26
"Guiding Principles" organized in four broad subject areas
that address the public interest, public safety, maintaining wildlife
populations and protecting the livestock industry.
In anticipation of the wolf's recovery, in 2000 former
Gov. Marc Racicot appointed the 12-member Wolf Management Advisory
Council to consider a wolf management approach for Montana to follow
once the wolf is delisted.
The planning document attempts to follow the council's goal to
develop a wolf management approach and framework that is biologically
possible, socially acceptable, and economically feasible, Erickson said.
Major issues identified in the planning document address: human safety,
livestock predation, compensation for livestock losses, funding, wolf
conservation and management, and maintaining Montana's deer, elk and
moose populations.
Based on the council's recommendation to encourage wolves where the
potential for conflict is lowest, the planning document suggests that
most of Montana's wolves would ideally inhabit western Montana's public
lands. In addition, the planning document suggests that:
1 wolves are a native wildlife species and a
part of Montana's natural environment and heritage;
2 the State of Montana is committed to
maintaining a recovered wolf population and to prevent wolves from being
reclassified as "threatened" or "endangered" under
federal law;
3 wolves, like mountain lions, would be managed in an ecological
fashion, using adaptive, proactive management approaches for both
predators and prey based on their population status;
4 wolves would be managed in an incremental approach, with more
take and flexibility to address conflict as wolf numbers increase;
5 under an agreement with FWP and the Montana Department of
Livestock, USDA Wildlife Services--the federal agency authorized to
prevent and respond to damage caused by wildlife--would address
wolf-livestock conflicts and control wolves involved in depredation
incidents;
6 livestock losses would be compensated at fair market
value;
landowners would be able to shoot wolves seen harassing livestock or
other domestic animals, just as they can other large predators under
state management;
7 hunting of wolves would be permitted when the population reaches
a level where a regulated harvest can be biologically sustained.
The wolf is currently listed as "endangered" in
northwestern Montana under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973
and under Montana's own Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act
of 1973. Wolves in southwestern Montana are classified as
"experimental, nonessential" populations under the federal ESA.
Federal wolf managers conclude that a total
of 30 breeding pair, equitably distributed in the tri-state recovery
area for three years, will trigger the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's
official proposal to delist the wolf, a process that could begin in
2003. Once delisted the wolves will come under state management. Among
the federal requirements for wolf delisting, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming
must have adequate regulations in place to maintain the recovered wolf
population within the northern Rocky Mountain Recovery Area. The final
Montana wolf management plan will be used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to demonstrate that Montana has established adequate regulations
to prevent wolves from become threatened or endangered again. Montana's plan, along with plans from Idaho and Wyoming, will be
submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The draft "Planning Document for Wolf Conservation and
Management in Montana" and the Wolf Advisory Council's "Report
to the Governor" are available via FWP's website at:
www.fwp.state.mt.us. To request copies call 406-444-2612.
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Gray Wolf Natural History-Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is a gray wolf?
A. The gray wolf is the species Canis lupus, largest member of the
canid family. All pet dogs originated from the gray wolf. Gray wolves
live in social groups called packs. Packs establish territories that are
defended from other wolves. Today, there are about 3,500 wolves in the
United States (about 3,000 inhabit the midwestern U.S.) compared to
about 400 that inhabited Minnesota in 1974 when wolves were initially
placed on the federal Endangered Species List.
Q. How large is a typical wolf pack?
A. In northwestern Montana, the average pack size is five to seven
wolves. In Yellowstone National Park, the average pack includes 10-15
wolves.
Q. What is the average size of a wolf pack's territory?
A. In northwestern Montana, the average wolf pack territory is 185
square miles. In the Greater Yellowstone Area, the average wolf pack
territory is 344 square miles.
Q. What do gray wolves eat?
A. The gray wolf is an opportunistic carnivore (meat eater) that is
keenly adapted to hunt deer, elk and moose. But wolves will also prey on
smaller mammals such as rabbits or beaver. Wolves often scavenge carrion
(dead animals). In Montana, the wolf diet tends to be white-tailed deer,
mule deer, elk and moose.
Q. Where in Montana are gray wolves found?
A. Today, there are two general areas of the state where wolves are
found: northwestern Montana and southern Montana, north and west of
Yellowstone National Park.
Q. How many wolves are there in Montana.
A. There are about 100 wolves in 18 packs in Montana.
Q. If FWP manages wolves how many will there be?
A. FWP would manage wolves as it manages other wildlife, by
identifying population objectives based on a variety of things,
including public comments, landowner tolerance, habitat conditions,
social factors, and biological considerations. Wildlife populations are
then managed according to the objectives and current population status,
using an array of management tools, including hunting. Should FWP begin
to manage wolves, the population will fluctuate as a result of
management actions, natural mortality, legal harvest, illegal take, wolf
productivity, and fluctuations in prey populations. -fwp-
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Potential Schedule of Events for Federal Delisting of the Gray
Wolf
By law, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must be reasonably assured
that adequate regulations are in place to prevent wolves from becoming
endangered again, should the protections of the Endangered Species Act
be removed. It is unlikely that the USFWS will propose wolves for
delisting unless Montana, Idaho and Wyoming have state management plans
in place. If, however, each state has management plans in place by
December 2002, federal officials say they will take following steps to
officially delist the gray wolf:
The scheduled called for the proposal to be put before the public
during the Winter of 2003. It is now April 2003 and no proposal
has been made although they have announced that they intend to delist
and they have changed the wolf status from endangered to threatened,
some degree of lesser protection.
Spring/Summer 2003
Nationwide public comment period on USFWS proposal to delist the
gray wolf.
Summer/Fall 2003
USFWS analysis of public comment and preparation for final
delisting rule.
Winter 2003-04
USFWS publishes final rule. The gray wolf is delisted and is
managed by the states according to their state management plans.
2004-09
The USFWS is required by law to monitor wolf population status for
at least five years to assure the population remains recovered, but
all management decisions are the responsibility of the states once
wolves are delisted. -fwp-
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Montana Wolf Management Advisory Council
Chase Hibbard (Chair); sheep and cattle rancher; Helena.
Terry Beaver; educator; Helena.
Dr. Charles Buehler, M.D.; orthopedic surgeon; Butte.
Darlyne Dascher; FWP commissioner and cattle rancher; Fort Peck.
Hank Fischer; former Defenders of Wildlife Northern Rockies
representative; Missoula.
Robin Hompesch; educator; Bozeman.
Jay Kirkpatrick; conservation program, Zoo Montana; Billings.
Bruce Malcolm; cattle rancher and outfitter; Emigrant.
Ira Newbreast; wildlife program, Blackfeet Nation; Browning.
Bruce Tutvedt, cattle rancher, Kalispell.
Dr. Nelson Wert, DVM; veterinarian; Townsend.
James Cross; hunter and wildlife biologist;
