Wolves get new status
By Jim Mann
The Daily Inter Lake
The federal government on Tuesday downlisted wolves to “threatened species” status through much of the country, a move that is considered a precursor to removing northern Rockies wolves from the endangered list altogether over the next year.
“Wolves are coming back, and their new status highlights our progress toward recovering them across their range,” said Steve Williams, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in a prepared statement.
“Our action today gives us greater management flexibility for most gray wolf populations as we work toward the next step — removing wolves from the list of endangered species.”
But some observers say the federal government’s reclassification may actually complicate the joint delisting process for Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, because the service is downlisting wolves to “threatened” in several Western states that currently don’t even have documented wolf populations. Only the Southwest population is retaining its “endangered” status.
“What’s happening in the northern Rockies has been going well,” said Tom Skeele, executive director of the Predator Conservation Alliance in Bozeman. “The problem is they’ve lumped it with the rest of the West. They’re likely going to get groups from outside the Rockies to oppose the (delisting) plan because of the impact it will have on the ability to proceed with wolf recovery in those other states.”
The other states include Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and the northern reaches of Colorado and Utah.
“Just at a time when we’re ready to move forward with delisting and we’ve had success in the Northern Rockies, we may find that the whole process gets delayed because of this lumping with the rest of the West,” Skeele said.
The Fish and Wildlife Service’s announcement Tuesday was criticized from other quarters.
Roger Schlickeison, president of Defenders of Wildlife, accused the federal government of “turning its back” on a recovery process that is just beginning in the West.
“The goal of the Endangered Species Act is species recovery, not perpetually holding off extinction. We’re so close to that goal with the gray wolf that it would be tragic for us to stop now.”
The reclassification of wolves, a process started in 2000, includes special rules that will allow for more liberal wolf control measures in the northern Rockies.
The so-called “4-D” rule gives individuals the ability to haze wolves off their property, as long as they don’t harm them.
It allows ranchers to shoot wolves if they observe them in the act of attacking livestock on state, tribal or private land and it establishes lethal control permits for wolves that kill livestock on federal grazing allotments.
Finally, the service can issue permits to allow the use of rubber bullets to haze wolves that may present a threat to humans.
There are an estimated 664 wolves in 44 packs in the Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, which have taken steps to assume wolf management responsibilities from the federal government once the Northern Rockies delisting is complete.
Last week, Montana rolled out a 288-page draft management plan with five potential approaches to managing wolves.
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks has a “preferred alternative” in which wolf management would be based on numbers, distribution and public acceptance, similar to the way black bears and mountain lions are managed by the state. It sets a benchmark of 15 breeding pairs of wolves in Montana, and allows more wolves, depending on conflicts with humans and livestock, as well as impacts on big game.
Carolyn Sime, Montana’s wolf recovery coordinator, said it is the preferred alternative because it strikes a balance between public sentiments.
“It allows the agency flexibility to meet those concerns,” she said. “It meets our legal requirements, it allows us to resolve conflicts at a local level, it ensures human safety, and it allows the gray wolf to find its place among other wildlife we have in this state.”
The other alternatives include:
•No action — Wolves would continue to be federal protected, and management would be left to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
•Additional wolf — The state would adopt a program similar to the advisory council’s recommendations, but one that would allow larger wolf populations, with a benchmark of 20 breeding pairs.
•Minimum wolf — The state would adopt a strategy limiting wolf numbers to 10 breeding pairs, the lowest number acceptable to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Aggressive measures would be used to control populations, and mostly restrict them to public lands in western Montana;
•Contingency plan — An alternative designed for the event of a delay in delisting wolves, due to litigation or other reasons. The state would seek an agreement with the federal government to use the advisory council’s recommendations for managing wolves and resolving conflicts. This approach would put parts of the state plan to work until the delisting process is complete.
The alternatives were developed over much of the last year, based on 6,800 comments from 49 states, 70 percent of Montana’s counties and eight foreign countries.
The state will host 13 community work sessions from March 27 through April 24 to gather public input on the draft alternatives. Work sessions will be held in Kalispell and Whitefish April 23 and in Rexford April 24.
Information on wolf reclassification and Montana’s recovery plan is available at:
http://www.fwp.state.mt.us
http:endangered.fws.gov/i/A03.html