Madison Dapcevich, Special to Agweek
12.28.2015
Wolf livestock depredation is down in Montana because
of the hunting and trapping season that continues to deter wolves from
highly populated agricultural areas, experts say.
In 2011, the federal
government delisted wolves across western states after they were nearly
decimated at the turn of the 20th century.
Under
the federally approved Grey Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, wolf
populations have been reestablished in northwest Montana — one of the
fastest endangered species comebacks on record.
As a
species in need of management, wolf conservation became the primary
responsibility of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and in 2009, the
state opened its first wolf hunting and trapping season.
MFWP
Wolf Management Specialist Nathan Lance says population growth and
depredation rates have stabilized, and it is expected that will be the
case for future years, because of management tools currently in place,
including livestock removal and controlled mortality through hunting. “Wolf
hunting has been a tool that has thinned out the wolf population in
some problematic areas closer to populated areas,” says Steve Primm,
conservation director for People and Carnivores. He thinks an ethically
conducted hunt can be an effective management tool. In the face of
budget threats, experts also think hunting licenses could help offset
the costs of management programs.
Last year, 206 wolves
were killed during the hunting season. The biggest challenge in wolf
management to date will come this spring, when federal oversight shifts
to the state at the end of the 2016 federal fiscal year. Lance says wolf
management costs have the potential to be offset with hunting license
fees in a program that operates similar to Montana Fish and Game. “Managing
the risk of wolf conflicts costs money,” Primm says. “It’s a long-term
goal that all of the sharers figure out an equitable way to share those
financial burdens of trying to implement these tools. We’re trying to
figure out how to increase funding and make it more sustainable year
after year.”
Lance says, “Even though the state of Montana has been involved all this time,
there has been funding from the federal government to manage the wolf
conservation and management program.” Less-expensive techniques will
likely take the place of costly radio collaring and aerial tracking.
2015 totals
In
2015, there were 28 confirmed wolf kills across Montana, with the
Livestock Loss Board paying out $188,000 in total depredation costs.
Montana
Livestock Loss Board Executive Director George Edwards says 95 percent
of ranchers turn in claims when suffering a loss, but it’s the
unconfirmed kills that have the biggest impact. “The
bigger loss isn’t necessarily the death loss but the reduced weight when
wolves are present. It’s the ones you can’t find — the missing that are
so hard to verify,” Edwards says.
Lance credits the
success of wolf programs to the collaboration between ranchers,
governments, hunters and conservationists alike. “Wolves are a beautiful
animal to see,” says Montana born-and-raised hunting guide Andrew
Wicks. “They are also by far the sneakiest, hardest thing to find in the
forest — and they’re smart, too. Without proper management they are
absolutely destructive, killing machines.”
Effective wolf management relies on reducing risk rather than giving a certain guarantee, Primm says. “Since
delisting in Montana, I think the numbers show that wolf depredation
seems to be declining, but it is still acute,” Primm says. “We’ll
continue to see problems on remote rangelands where it’s difficult to
keep an eye on livestock.”
“I respect the connection
people feel to wolves, and I do believe that an ethically conducted hunt
can be an effective management tool,” he says. “The wolves that don’t
get [hunted] are going to get smart and learn to avoid populated areas,
or they’re going to get very clever and wary. Hunting is going to modify
their behavior.”
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