Montana Releases Final Wolf Conservation And Management EIS
After three years of extensive public scrutiny and cooperation,
Montana
wildlife officials today released the state’s recommended plan to
conserve
and manage a recovered gray wolf population, a plan that initially
appears
acceptable to federal authorities.
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Director Jeff Hagener called the
long-awaited plan a “remarkable achievement” that recognizes the
need to
manage wolves as a part of Montana’s overall ecosystem and the
benefits of a
state-based conservation program.
According to federal managers, wolves in the northern Rocky Mountain
region are biologically recovered and no longer need Endangered Species
Act protections. Earlier this year, the gray wolf was downlisted from
“endangered” to “threatened” in northwestern Montana. Wolves in
southwestern Montana remain classified as “experimental, nonessential”
populations under the federal ESA.
Before wolves can be officially removed from the federal
government’s list
of endangered species, however, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming each must adopt
management plans and regulations that guarantee the wolf population’s
continued survival under state management.
FWP’s recommended wolf conservation and management plan, which is
largely
based on the work of the 12-member Montana Wolf Management Advisory
Council,
would maintain a recovered wolf population within Montana’s portion
of the
federally designated Northern Rocky Mountain Recovery Area. The
recommended
plan, FWP’s preferred alternative in the draft EIS, aims to meet the
ecological needs of wolves and their prey, yet squarely faces the
responsibility to address wolf-related conflicts.
“The plan honors the goodwill and trust of all those who worked
together,
side-by-side, to balance the needs of wolves with the needs of
people,”
Hagener said. “It’s a good compromise that offers more than some
folks would
like, but less than what others were hoping for. It allows the wolf
to find
its place among Montana’s native wildlife and gives Montana the
latitude to
respond to local circumstances. The plan is a remarkable achievement and
it establishes a new milestone in Montana’s wildlife-management history.”
The 420-page final environmental impact statement analyzes five
wolf-management alternatives and responds to more than 5,000 comments
received on the draft document released in March. FWP prepared the final
EIS to meet federal requirements, comply with the Montana Environmental
Policy Act and to present an approach to wolf management acceptable to
Montanans and others.
Director Hagener’s Record of Decision–the State of Montana’s
official
notice that one of the five alternatives presented in the Final EIS, or a
combination of alternatives, has been formally adopted–can be signed no
sooner than 15 days after the release of the final EIS, or not before
Sept. 6, officials said.
Under the recommended plan:
· wolves would be encouraged to inhabit places where the
potential
for conflict is lowest;
· wolf management would be based on wolf numbers,
distribution and
public acceptance, in a manner similar to the way the state manages
black
bears and mountain lions;
· wolf-management techniques, and methods to resolve wolf-
related
conflicts, would be based on a benchmark of 15 breeding pairs of
wolves in
Montana;
· FWP would help to establish a financial compensation
program for
wolf-related losses;
· landowners would be provided active assistance to reduce
livestock-depredation risks;
· livestock owners could defend their livestock from wolves
when
attacked;
· regulated harvest of wolves could be allowed;
· FWP could manage wolf numbers and distribution.
“We can say with pride that the recommended plan is the result of a
collaborative, grass-roots effort,” said Carolyn Sime, FWP’s wolf
conservation and management coordinator. “We owe the people of this
state
our sincerest thanks for taking the time to write letters, send e-
mails and
attend more than 25 community work sessions that helped to hammer
out the
final details in this plan.”
Federal officials also gave the recommended plan a positive
reception today.
“Montana has done an exceptional job,” said Joe Fontaine, the U.S.
Fish and
Wildlife Service’s assistant wolf recovery coordinator in
Helena. “Their
process was open, accessible, and marked by extraordinary public
participation. At first glance it appears to be a good effort, but
like all
of the plans, it will need additional review.”
Hagener characterized public participation in the process
as, “vocal, yet
focused, and intense, yet civil” and once again called for
Congressional
help in funding the plan that will annually cost the state between
$913,000
and $954,000. “We’ll need significant financial help from Congress to
fulfill our national responsibilities,” Hagener said.
Among the federal requirements for wolf delisting, Montana, Idaho,
and
Wyoming must have management plans and adequate regulations in place to
maintain the recovered wolf population within the Northern Rocky Mountain
Recovery Area. Federal officials and independent wolf experts will
evaluate each state’s wolf management plan and legal framework to ensure
that the three states do in fact have adequate regulations to prevent
wolves from becoming threatened or endangered again.
All three state plans are now complete, but it could be at least a
year
before the gray wolf is actually removed from the federal endangered
species list. If the northern Rocky Mountain wolf population could not be
delisted due to delays in other state-planning efforts or litigation, FWP,
based on the “contingency” alternative presented in the final EIS, could
seek an agreement with federal managers to employ some of the recommended
plan while the wolf-delisting process works it way through the final
federal administrative steps or legal challenges.
Wolves from Canada began to naturally recolonize northwestern
Montana in the
mid 1980s. In the mid 1990s, to hasten the overall pace of wolf
recovery in
the northern Rockies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released 66
wolves into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho. Since then,
wolves have expanded in number and distribution throughout the federally
designated Northern Rocky Mountain Recovery Area in Montana, Idaho and
Wyoming. An estimated 660 wolves, in about 80 packs with 43 of those
qualifying as breeding pairs, inhabited the northern Rockies recovery area
at the end of 2002. Federal officials estimated that 183 wolves, in 35
packs, and about 16 breeding pairs, inhabited Montana.
The final Montana Wolf Conservation and Management Plan EIS, and
related
wolf management information, are 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 final EIS, call 406-444-2612.