Legislators warned of wildlife peril from wolves
08/08/02
By TOM LUTEY Chronicle Staff Writer
HELENA — Wolves will soon kill 43,000 Montana elk annually unless
the
predators are controlled, hunters told a joint legislative committee
Wednesday.
But biologists say proof of significant wolf damage is nonexistent.
“A couple years from now, this will be the biggest issue in the
state
of Montana,” Gardiner resident Bob Fanning told House and Senate fish and
game committee members.
Fanning, chairman of Friends of the Northern Yellowstone Elk Herd,
warned lawmakers of devastating consequences if the wolf numbers continue
to grow. He and a dozen other people concerned about the state’s
flourishing wolf population were invited to Helena by committee members
for an informational session on wolf recovery.
Montana expects to take control of the wolves as early as next year
as
the federal government removes the animals from the endangered species
list. Before Montana takes over wolf management, it must prove to to the
federal government that it has a plan for preserving the predators.
Managing the wolves is expected to cost Montana roughly $750,000 a
year. And although the state is currently dealing with an $92 million
budget shortfall, ranchers and hunters say wolf management can’t be put
off.
But while hunters and ranchers warned of dire consequences unless
the
state intervenes quickly, biologists said there was no evidence elk were
being significantly harmed by wolves.
There’s some truth that elk numbers are declining, said Kurt Alt, a
Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist.
FWP cut the number of late-season hunting licenses for elk in the
upper Gallatin Range three years ago from 500 to 80 because elk numbers
were dropping. Ideally the area should have had 1,400 to 1,600 elk, but
the number was closer to 1,000.
Next week wildlife officials will consider cutting 300 permits for
cow
elk in the Gardiner area to protect the elk breeding population.
Population counts just last spring show a downturn in the number of elk
calves, Alt said. Biologists found 12 grizzly bears, six black bears and
one wolf in the area. Those other predators, coupled with years of
drought, have taken a toll.
“I feel very comfortable in the numbers,” Alt said. “What I don’t
feel
comfortable with is how much of the predation can be attributed to
wolves.”
Biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Yellowstone
National Park echoed Alt’s remarks, although anecdotal evidence seemed to
overrule statistics during the hearing.
“From my experience, I have some real concerns here,” said Sen. Ed
Butcher, R-Winifred.
Butcher, a Senate Fish and Wildlife Committee member, said a wolf
with
three pups killed dozens of deer in a matter of days on his ranch a few
years ago.
Wolves have ruined backcountry camping for outfitter Bill Hoppe of
Gardiner. The last time he camped out, he didn’t see one deer, elk, or
bighorn sheep. Hoppe blamed wolves for devastating local wildlife.
In northwestern Montana near the Canadian border, wolves have killed
two turkey flocks, several deer fawns and chased away elk, said Rep. Aubyn
Curtiss, R-Fortine.
“My constituents have had very grave problems with wolves,” Curtiss
said, while handing out pictures of what appeared to be a wolf on a
neighbor’s porch.
Studying Curtiss’ photographs, outspoken wolf critic Rep. Joe
Balyeat,
R-Belgrade, pointed out that the apparent wolf had a red scarf around its
neck.
Curtiss conceded the animal might have been a wolf hybrid, someone’s
pet. But those pets do kill, she said, and it’s hard to distinguish them
from wild wolves. The only real difference between the two is that you can
shoot a hybrid. Shoot a wolf and you’ve broken federal law.