Report shows mild increase in wolf numbers
Montana’s wolf population saw a mild increase last year even with the state’s first hunt, a state conservation and management report released Thursday revealed.
The state’s wolf population increased by 4 percent last year, compared to an 18-percent increase in 2008 and a 34-percent increase in 2007. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will most likely propose a higher harvest quota for the 2010 wolf season, the agency stated in a release.
“The combination of a conservative harvest by hunters, agency control and other mortality sources did not curtail population growth,” FWP Director Joe Maurier said.
The minimum recovery goal for wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains – in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming – was set at a minimum of 30 breeding pairs and a minimum of 300 wolves for at least three consecutive years, with them well-distributed throughout the recovery area. The goal was achieved in 2002, and the wolf population has increased every year since.
“Wolves are becoming a regular part of the landscape, just like lions,” said Kent Laudon, FWP wolf specialist in northwest Montana.
Laudon estimated there are roughly twice as many mountain lions in Montana as there are wolves.
Hunters harvested 72 wolves between Sept. 15 and Nov. 16 last year. FWP closed the hunt about two weeks before the general season was scheduled to end to ensure the 75-wolf quota would not be exceeded.
The wolf population grew by adding at least 166 new pups by the end of December and by establishing at least 26 new packs in 2009. The minimum Montana wolf population counts include 525 wolves, in 101 verified packs, and 37 breeding pairs.
Most of the wolf population increase occurred in northwest Montana’s Wolf Management Unit 1. The population grew to 308 wolves, in 64 verified packs, and 23 breeding pairs.
Laudon said that the numbers can never be exact with wolves dispersing, forming new packs or dying but that with constant monitoring and the use of radio collars, the agency can get a pretty good handle on the population.
“That number is a minimum population estimate,” Laudon said. “That is the lowest number that we have the highest degree of confidence in. The farther you move away from that number, the more it is just a guess.”
Laudon said he is confident in the accuracy of the number of packs, partly due to the public reporting wolves or signs of wolves, but that sometimes the numbers of wolves within a pack are unclear, especially in packs without a radio collar.
In western Montana’s Wolf Management Unit 2, the minimum counts were similar to previous years – at least 110 wolves in 20 packs, and five breeding pairs. In southwestern Montana’s Wolf Management Unit 3, minimum wolf counts showed a slight decline from 2008 to at least 106 wolves in 17 packs, and nine breeding pairs.
Lethal control and decreased immigration from Yellowstone National Park may explain the population leveling off over the past few years, officials said.
Despite the hunt – and with the increase in wolf depredation responses by FWP – wolf recovery continues to be accompanied by increases in both the number of livestock killed by wolves and the number of wolves killed to resolve conflicts.
Of the 255 wolf deaths documented in 2009, 145 were related to livestock depredations, 16 were illegal kills, and vehicles or trains struck eight. Others died from a variety of causes common to all wildlife species, including poor health and old age.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services killed 135 wolves in Montana last year to prevent further livestock depredations, and private citizens are attributed to killing 10 wolves that were caught chasing or attacking their livestock.
Cattle deaths confirmed by USDA Wildlife Services in Montana increased from 77 in 2007 to 97 in 2009, and confirmed sheep death losses nearly doubled from 111 to 202. About 38 percent of Montana wolf packs were confirmed to have killed livestock. Three wolf packs and lone wolves were responsible for nearly all confirmed sheep losses. Four llamas, two goats, and four dogs were also confirmed killed by wolves. Additional losses and injuries occurred, but either could not be verified or were determined to be “probable” wolf kills.
A variety of proactive non-lethal tools were also used in cooperation with landowners to reduce the risk of loss. For example, FWP collaborated in several range-rider projects and provided fladry – cloth or plastic flags that are attached to wire that can deter wolves from approaching an area – to numerous private landowners.
The recovery of the wolf in the northern Rockies remains one of the fastest endangered species comebacks on record. In the mid 1990s, to hasten the overall pace of wolf recovery in the northern Rockies, 66 wolves were released into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho.
“Nearly all of Montana’s wolves live outside national parks, which also means more intensive management is needed to strike the right balance between wolves and public acceptance,” Maurier said. “It’s very clear that Montana has made room for wolves.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about a year ago delisted the northern Rocky Mountain’s gray wolves in Montana, Idaho and parts of Washington, Utah and Oregon, but not in Wyoming. The decision is being challenged in Missoula federal court by several groups seeking to reinstate federal endangered species protections throughout the region.
Sightings & More Info
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks invites the public to help wolf management efforts by reporting sightings or signs of wolf activity.
To report a sighting and also to access the full wolf management report, go online to: http://fwp.mt.gov/wildthings/wolf/default.html