Idaho Wolf Recovery Off to a Good Start

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Central Idaho is one of three recovery areas involved in the northern Rockies wolf recovery effort. The other two are northwestern Montana and the Yellowstone ecosystem. The goal is the establishment of ten breeding pairs for three consecutive years in each of these areas.

Restoration has been so successful that in July, 1996, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt announced that no more wolves would be reintroduced in 1997, concurring with the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s recommendation. “The wolves already released have reproduced well and suffered few losses.”

Thirty-five Canadian wolves have been released in central Idaho so far and most have established territories on federal lands near their release sites. Nine wolf pairs have been spotted and it appears that seven or eight litters were born this past spring. In July, the Nez Perce Tribe and the USFWS, teaming up to monitor the Idaho program, confirmed the first documented litters of gray wolf pups born in Idaho in 80 years.

(Source: Idaho Wolf Update Vol. 2, No. 5 & 7; Wolf Action Issue 22)

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