Wolves staking claims in White Clouds
New packs prompt old questions about land use
By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer
After a one-year hiatus, gray wolves have returned to the White Cloud
Mountains, renewing a debate in central Idaho over how huge tracts of
federal land in and around the region are managed.
Wolf advocates have applauded a federal ruling this year that prohibits
federal officials from killing wolves that prey on livestock in the
Sawtooth National Recreation Area, which includes the White Clouds. At the
same time, many object to grazing permits that allow thousands of sheep
and cattle to be placed in proximity of known wolf dens in the
756,000-acre SNRA.
Meanwhile, opponents of wolf reintroduction in Idaho have asserted that
Idaho’s wolves are negatively impacting livestock and elk populations,
threatening the valued institutions of ranching and hunting.
Two new wolf packs moved into the White Clouds this year, filling a void
left in 2002 by the erstwhile Wildhorse Pack, which disbanded, and the
Whitehawk Pack, which was killed by federal officials after it was
implicated in attacks on livestock.
The recently named “Galena Pack”-which resides in the western foothills
of
the White Clouds, near the Champion Creek drainage-was deemed a viable
pack last spring after a litter of five pups was born to two adults.
In July, officials confirmed the viability of a second new pack in the
northeastern White Clouds, named the “Castle Peak Pack.” That pack
comprises two adults-including the former alpha male of the Wildhorse
Pack-and four pups.
Carter Niemeyer, Idaho wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, the agency currently charged with managing reintroduced
wolf populations in Idaho, Montana, and Yellowstone National Park, said
the new packs bring to 20 the number of wolf packs with litters in Idaho.
An additional 20 known groups of wolves without a breeding pair reside in
the state.
Niemeyer said the USFWS has seen ample evidence to believe that wolves
are
also residing near the Bench Lakes in the Sawtooth Mountains.
The region around the White Cloud Mountains is considered by biologists
to
be excellent wolf habitat, offering the far-ranging canines room to roam
and abundant big game to feed on.
“It is very good wolf habitat,” said Robin Garwood, wildlife biologist
for
the SNRA.
The SNRA wolves currently have an extra measure of protection over that
provided by its status as a “threatened” species under the Endangered
Species Act. In April, U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill renewed a 2002
injunction that prohibits killing wolves in the SNRA-even those that prey
on livestock.
Still, wolf advocates have opposed permits that allowed approximately
4,500 sheep and 2,500 cattle to graze in the SNRA this summer-some in
pastures immediately adjacent to the den of the Champion Creek wolves.
A third wolf pack residing just outside the SNRA boundaries is not
protected by Judge Winmill’s order. The Buffalo Ridge Pack, which in
spring was established south of Clayton, has been a candidate for federal
control actions this year because of previous suspected livestock kills.
The pack, however, relocated this summer into the mountains above Squaw
Creek before any lethal control actions were deemed necessary.
Niemeyer said only a handful of suspected wolf predations on livestock
have been reported this year. “We’ve had an extremely quiet summer all
over Idaho,” he said.
Niemeyer said a key to this year’s success in keeping wolf-livestock
interactions to a minimum has been a series of collaborative efforts by
wolf managers and wolf advocates. Efforts have included installing
electric fencing in some areas and delaying the installation of cows with
calves in pastures near wolf dens.
“We certainly believe that if we can keep wolves and livestock apart,
that
would be the best solution,” Niemeyer said.
Despite the newfound success of wolves in the White Clouds, their future
is not certain. The wolves are scheduled to soon lose their federally
protected status, and eventually will be managed by the state of Idaho.
The state has determined it will manage wolves depending on the number of
packs in the state, with an overall goal of maintaining at least 15 wolf
packs in Idaho.