Enzi decries wolf
Senator says wolves are depleting wildlife, but facts don’t back him up.
By Angus M. Thuermer Jr. and Whitney Royster
U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi has complained to Interior Secretary Gale Norton that
wolves have eaten hundreds of elk calves this year, even though state and
federal statistics show otherwise.
In a July 12 letter, Enzi said elk herds that “historically had several
hundred calves at this time of year now have only one or two, or in some
cases none at all due to wolf predation.” Enzi told Norton that Wyoming
residents informed him of the situation and so the Republican senator is
calling for action.
“I feel it is very important your agency take the necessary steps to
review this situation and to provide improved management options for
controlling the wolf in Wyoming,” he said in his letter. In a news release
Enzi added that “the increased threat of wolves in Wyoming is having a
major impact on the state’s livestock and wildlife populations.”
But state and federal statistics show a much different picture than that
painted by the senator. Counts by state and federal biologists show that
the 7,578 female elk in the herd that wintered in Jackson Hole last season
had 1,727 calves with them. That herd is the principal one in Wyoming
that’s been affected by wolf predation.
Enzi’s comments elicited a response from his challenger, Democrat Joyce
Corcoran of Teton Village. She said elk and wolves should not be made into
a political issue.
“We need to have scientific studies before we go off on the wolves who are
just now making their comeback,” she said.
Wolves in the Gros Ventre River drainage, where the state runs three elk
winter feedgrounds, have drawn the most criticism from Wyoming hunters and
ranchers. Two packs circulate through the area and have made regular
kills. Some residents are upset the federal government brought the wolf
back to Yellowstone under the auspices of the Endangered Species Act after
the animal was extirpated from the state more than six decades ago.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stationed observers in the Gros Ventre
area last winter and counted 53 elk killed, said Ed Bangs, the agency’s
wolf recovery coordinator for the lower 48 states. “It’s about what it’s
always been,” he said of the kill rate.
Using a Yellowstone National Park study showing one wolf kills 1.8 elk a
month, wildlife managers estimate that the dozen wolves in the area likely
killed 264 elk over a year. “That’s a best guess and puts it in
perspective,” said Mark Gocke of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
Some 3,000 elk winter in the Gros Ventre area. The entire Jackson herd has
more than 13,500 members, Gocke said, more than the objective of 11,000.
According to Game and Fish statistics, hunters killed 2,485 elk from the
Jackson herd last year. Gocke said numbers have been decreasing since
about 1996, when the herd had more than 17,000 elk.
“We can’t say wolves are causing the herd decline,” Gocke said. Other
predators like black bears, grizzlies, mountain lions, drought and a
“liberal hunting season” all could contribute to the reduction, he said.
“Of those, a liberal hunting season is likely the major contributor to the
decline in numbers in the herd,” Gocke said.
Enzi’s press secretary, Coy Knobel, said the senator got his information
from residents during his tours of the state and through phone calls and
letters.
“He is getting information from constituents who have seen it firsthand
and are very concerned,” Knobel said. “The letter is asking [Norton] to
look into it. He’s hearing it from a lot of people, particularly hunters.”
In managing herds, biologists use a ratio of calves to cow elk as a key
indicator. In the Jackson elk herd unit, for example, there’s been an
average of 25.2 calves per 100 cows over the last 10 years. The ratio has
fluctuated between 20 and 30 and last winter was 22.8.
In the Gros Ventre herd segment in 2001, there were 17.5 calves per 100
cows, according to the annual survey by the Wyoming Game and Fish
Department. The next-lowest production year was 1997, when the agency
counted 22.8 calves per 100 cows. The 10-year average is 26.7.
With 3,528 elk in the Gros Ventre area and 2,572 cows, that means there
were 450 calves in the herd last winter. That’s a lot more than the “one
or two” or “none at all” referred to by Enzi.
Bangs said there has never been a case of a predator eating itself out of
house and home. Critics have said wolves will kill all elk.
“Biologically, it can’t happen,” Bangs said. “If prey goes down, we will
have fewer wolves.”
He added: “I don’t know of any problems with elk herds, but I do know of
problems with perceptions of elk herds.”
Gocke said it is too early to tell whether the lower calf ratio in the
Gros Ventre is an anomaly or a trend. If it’s a trend, the agency would
need to reduce hunting seasons accordingly.