Wolves, which are never far out of the news in Montana, were
back at the top of the page last week as the alpha female from the Lamar
Valley pack in Yellowstone National Park was shot legally outside the
park by a Montana hunter.
The shooting caused concern among some
circles because it pointed to recent incidents of wolves from within the
park, where they are protected and popular with tourists, getting shot
outside the park.
The Lamar Valley female was one of three wolves
recently shot by Montana hunters that were collared by the National Park
Service in Yellowstone.
In response to concerns about the
Yellowstone wolves coming out on the north end of the park, the Montana
Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission on Monday shut down the wolf hunting
and trapping season in the portions of wolf management unit 313 just
north of the park.
However, the shooting of a collared wolf is the main concern for us.
Collared
wolves play an important role in helping wildlife officials collect
information on wolf packs. Among other things, the collars provide
biologists with information on the location of wolves, seasonal
movements and denning habits.
This kind of information is
important for people on both sides of the wolf issue. Wolf supporters
want the information provided by collared wolves because it’s one of the
best tools to locate packs for the purpose of tracking and counting.
Livestock
producers, many of whom are no fan of wolves, need the information
provided by collared wolves simply for tracking purposes. If wildlife
officials know when packs are in the vicinity of livestock, they can
more closely monitor their activities. If there is wolf depredation, a
pack with a collared wolf in it is easier to track down and remove.
For
similar reasons, hunters who are concerned that wolf numbers are
causing drops in elk and deer herds need the information provided by
collared wolves to help identify areas where wolf numbers are high and
ungulate numbers are low and to be able to see if there is some
correlation.
George Pauley, wildlife bureau chief with FWP, said
wildlife officials glean a multitude of information from collared
wolves. But the key component to this information is keeping collared
wolves alive in the population.
Additionally, there’s a cost
aspect to collared wolves. Often it takes quite a bit of man power and
effort to find and collar a wolf. This effort can often involve both FWP
and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services agency, which
is involved with wolf management around livestock depredation events.
Wolves
are often collared when a depredation occurs, Pauley said. It’s hard to
pin down the exact number of collared wolves in Montana, but the
estimates are between 30 and 50. So far this year out of the 92 wolves
killed during Montana’s wolf hunting season, only a handful have been
collared wolves.
Though shooting collared wolves isn’t illegal, FWP encourages hunters and trappers not to kill collared wolves.
source
