Wolf population decreases by more than 4 percent in 2012

Mar 21, 2013   |  

A gray wolf watches biologists in Yellowstone National Park after being captured and fitted with a radio collar. / AP file photo

Written by Tribune Staff

At least 625 wolves inhabited Montana at the end of 2012, according to state wildlife managers preparing the federally required annual wolf conservation and management report. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ complete report, which is expected to be available online at fwp.mt.gov by April 12, will show the wolf count decreased more than 4 percent in 2012, compared to a 15 percent increase in 2011 and an 8 percent increase in 2010.


The minimum wolf count is the number of wolves actually verified by FWP wolf specialists.
The minimum numbers verified by FWP at the end of 2012 include 625 wolves, in 147 packs and 37 breeding pairs. “We’re making some progress,” FWP Director Jeff Hagener said. “Confirmed livestock loss has been on a general downward trend since 2009, and we have more tools now for affecting wolf populations.”


FWP is not yet sure what number of wolves will ultimately be considered the right number for Montana. “There are still places where we need to manage for a better balance among other Montana wildlife and with Montana’s livestock producers and their families,” Hagener said.
For the purpose of reporting minimum counts to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Montana is divided into three areas that reflect the former gray wolf federal recovery zones. The zones overlap and include more than one FWP region. Here’s a summary of the 2012 minimum counts verified for those areas:


• The “Northwest Montana” area is located north of U.S. Highway 12 and Interstate 90 from the Idaho border east to I-15 along the Rocky Mountain Front. In this part of the state, where packs tend to be more remote and hunter and trapper access is generally more limited, counts showed 400 wolves in 100 verified packs and 25 breeding pairs, compared to 372 wolves in 2011


• The Montana portion of the “Central Idaho” area includes the portion of western Montana that lies south of U.S. Highway 12 and I-90, and west of I-15. In these broad valleys and ranchlands, FWP verified 93 wolves in 23 packs, with four breeding pairs, down from 147 wolves in 2011.
• The Montana portion of the “Greater Yellowstone” area includes southern Montana, east of I-15 and south of the Missouri River. Verified wolf counts here have been stable over the past five years, with 132 wolves in 24 packs, and eight breeding pairs counted in 2012, compared to 134wolves in 2011.
Hunters and trappers took 175 wolves in the 2012 calendar year, compared to 121 taken by hunters in 2011.


A total of 108 wolves were removed through agency control efforts in 2012 to prevent further livestock loss and by private citizens who caught wolves chasing or attacking livestock, up from 64 in 2011.


Confirmed livestock depredations due to wolves included 67 cattle, 37 sheep, one dog, two horses and one llama in 2012. Cattle losses in 2012 were the lowest recorded in the past six years. “We’ve taken a more aggressive approach to wolf-related livestock loss in recent years and this combined with regulated hunting and trapping is lowering livestock conflicts in some areas,” Hagener said.
The minimum federal recovery goal for wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains was set at a minimum of 30 breeding pairs and a minimum of 300 individual wolves for at least three consecutive years and well distributed throughout the recovery area of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

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