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Thriving Canadian Wolves in Rocky Mountain States No Longer Endangered

Posted on: Thursday, 21 February 2008, 21:00 CST

A pioneering group of Canadian wolves sent to the U.S. to re-establish wolf populations in the Rocky Mountain states has done so well the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ruled Thursday that they're no longer endangered - meaning that American hunters will soon be able to stalk them again.

"The population's doing great," said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery co-ordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We've got more wolves in more places than we thought we'd have - and we've got fewer problems than we thought we'd have."

Hunters and ranchers had eradicated wolves from Idaho, Montana and Wyoming until they started creeping southward from Canada in the 1980s, said Bangs. Then, in 1995 and 1996, two groups of grey wolves totalling 66 individuals were collected from Alberta and British Columbia and brought to central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park.

Since then, the wolf population has been increasing about 24 per cent per year. There are now a total 1,513 of the predators in the three states that are part of the program.

"Wolves are amazing animals," Bangs said. "They're very resilient if people will just give them a little bit of a break."

Yellowstone probably has as many wolves as it can carry. The vast national forests of central Idaho are also wolf hotbeds.

Restoring a top predator to the ecosystem has produced noticeable changes in Yellowstone, one of the U.S.'s most popular national parks.

Bangs said elk are behaving differently, affecting willow growth next to streams. Ravens have learned to follow wolf packs around.

Scavengers such as lynx and wolverine have also benefited. Populations of bald and golden eagles - even chickadees - have all increased.

Coyotes now travel alone or in pairs instead of in large packs.

"They act more like wild coyotes now rather than trying to act like wolves," said Bangs. "The ecological ripple in Yellowstone has been pretty dramatic."

Once the endangered population designation is removed from the wolves, so is their federal protection. That means wolves will have the same status as other game animals such as deer or moose.

"Wolves would just become a resident game animal," said Bangs. "We strongly believe that public hunting can be a valuable management tool and the state should include public hunting as part of their public management program."

The three states are now in process of deciding how to manage their populations and when to set their wolf hunting seasons, likely in the fall.

Environmental groups said Thursday they will sue the federal government to keep the animal listed.

"The enduring hostility to wolves still exists," said Earthjustice attorney Doug Honnold, who is preparing the lawsuit. "We're going to have hundreds of wolves killed under state management. It's a sad day for our wolves."

Bangs acknowledges the reintroduction wasn't problem-free. Area residents worried about threats to themselves and their livestock.

In response, Montana law allows anyone to shoot a wolf if it's threatening them or their livestock or a pet.

Fish and Wildlife officials themselves have killed 725 problem wolves since 1987, an annual cull of about nine per cent of the population a year. A private foundation has also paid out about US$900,000 in compensation for wolf attacks on livestock since 1987.

But skeptics have been won over, said Bangs.

"The key is you have to be open and honest with people. You have to involve the local public that's going to be affected by these things and you have to have an effective program to deal with the occasional conflicts."

Wolf populations in the western Great Lakes states were delisted in 2007. Wolves are still being reintroduced into the southwestern U.S.

Wolves outside of the Rocky Mountain and Great Lakes states remain on the endangered list.

Source: Canadian Press

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