Protecting Western Wolves UPDATE #2

The Latest Efforts to Protect Western Wolves

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in September that wolves in the West may need a return to protection under the Endangered Species Act. While agreeing to begin a twelve-month study of the possible need for protection, the agency declined to immediately restore protection on an emergency basis, and wolves will be killed while the USFWS studies. 

Recently, twenty-one U.S. senators led by New Jersey’s Cory Booker and Michigan’s Gary Peters asked Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to temporarily protect western wolves for 240 days while permanent protections are considered. Matthew Brown of the Associated Press notes that signers to the letter included senators from California and Nevada in the West, but none from the Northern Rockies states. 

Numerous Tribal nations have also called for emergency relisting. A federal wildlife agency spokesperson told the AP that emergency protection  “remains on the table.” The Endangered Species Act gives Haaland authority to institute emergency protection if she determines a species faces a significant threat.

The USFWS says that protecting wolves in the northern Rockies or across the western United States may be warranted now because new laws in Idaho and Montana promote such widespread killing of wolves.

So, sadly, the number of wolves killed during the current wolf hunting season in Montana and Idaho is a key factor in whether the survivors regain protection under the ESA. 

History shows us that many wolves will die while the USFWS ponders protection. More than 320 wolves were killed during Montana’s 2020 hunting season. Officials told AP's Brown that the 2020 death count is significantly more than the preceding eight-year average of 242 wolves per year. And this year could be even worse since Governor Gianforte signed legislation that allowed wildlife commissioners to legalize previously outlawed wolf killing methods, including snaring, baiting and even hunting at night.

Although watching the number of wolves taken is painful, it's essential to stay informed. I will regularly post data from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) on wolf kills in any of Montana's wolf management units during the six months of hunting and trapping. (See table below.) 

The Danger to Yellowstone and Glacier Wolves 

Park wolves dispersing or following food out of Yellowstone National Park can be shot once they step paw into units 310, 313, and 316. For over a decade Montana limited the number of wolves that could be taken in 313 and 316. Last year that quota was one wolf in each unit. New rules abolished those quotas and so far FWP reports five wolves have been killed in 313 and 316. 

Park wolves stepping out of Glacier National Park can be shot in units 110 and 130. Three wolves have been killed in 130 so far. 

Remember that most of these wolves were born and raised in parks where hunting is not allowed and humans do not represent danger. This can make them an easy target outside the park.

After two female pups and a female yearling from the Junction Butte Pack were killed in unit 316, Yellowstone Park Superintendent Cam Sholly stated in a press release, “Yellowstone plays a vital role in Montana’s wildlife conservation efforts and its economy. These wolves are part of our balanced ecosystem here and represent one of the special parts of the park that draw visitors from around the globe. We will continue to work with the state of Montana to make the case for reinstating quotas that would protect the core wolf population in Yellowstone as well as Montana’s direct economic interests derived from the hundreds of millions spent by park visitors each year.”

The release adds: "Visitor spending within communities that are 50 miles from Yellowstone exceeds $500 million per year, tens of millions of which is spent by visitors coming to watch wolves and supporting Montana businesses in gateway communities.” 

To protect wolves around Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, wildlife advocacy groups have asked federal officials to impose a 5-mile zone near park boundaries where wolves could not be hunted.

Rick Lamplugh writes to protect wildlife and preserve wild lands. His award-winning books, In the Temple of Wolves; its sequel, Deep into Yellowstone; and its prequel, The Wilds of Aging are available signed. His books are also available unsigned or as eBook or audiobook on Amazon.

To Learn More:

1) Read the AP article by Matthew Brown

2) Read the letter below signed by 21 senators:

October 28, 2021

The Honorable Deb Haaland Secretary
Department of the Interior 1849 C Street NW Washington, D.C. 20240

Dear Secretary Haaland: 

We are writing to urge the Department of the Interior to issue an emergency listing to restore temporary federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections to the gray wolf in the western United States.

On September 15, in response to two petitions to list the gray wolf in the western United States, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (the Service) announced a substantial 90-day finding, initiating a status review of the gray wolf in the western United States. We applaud this announcement and believe it is the right decision. However, we are deeply concerned that this decision, which initiates a comprehensive review, followed by a 12-month finding on whether listing is warranted or not, and only then potentially begins the formal relisting process, does nothing to protect gray wolves in the interim at a time when their survival is threatened by harmful policies that have already been enacted in several states.

Many of us wrote to your predecessor, Secretary Bernhardt, to urge against wolf delisting in July 2019. In that letter, we argued that returning wolves wholly to state management could stall or even reverse the progress that had been made toward their recovery. Unfortunately, our concerns were justified. After federal protections were formally removed by the Trump administration in early 2021, several states immediately moved to establish harmful wolf management policies. In the Northern Rockies region, where wolves were congressionally delisted in 2011, Idaho passed a new statewide law allowing up to 90 percent of the state’s existing wolf population to be killed. In Montana, the state government has sanctioned killing up to 85 percent of its wolf population beginning in fall 2021. These laws are already having devastating impacts on wolves and on federally-protected ecosystems – three Yellowstone National Park wolves were killed in just the first week of Montana’s hunting season. Further, both Montana and Idaho have authorized the use of inhumane practices like chokehold snares with the potential to kill entire packs.

If continued unabated for this hunting season, these extreme wolf eradication policies will result in the death of hundreds of gray wolves and will further harm federally protected ecosystems like Yellowstone. The Department of the Interior can prevent these senseless killings, and we urge you to immediately establish emergency interim protections while the Service completes its status review.

As you know, wolves are an integral component of North American ecosystems. More than 600 scientists have written to request emergency relisting of the Northern Rockies wolf population, precisely because wolves’ role in maintaining healthy ecosystems is being jeopardized by the policies now being implemented by Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. As the scientists note, “Without the presence of key species in numbers, we are merely conserving scenery and not functioning ecosystems.”

Furthermore, wolves hold spiritual and cultural significance to many Native American tribes throughout the United States. The wolf treaty, signed by more than 120 tribes and tribal organizations, illustrates how important wolves are in tribal culture. Unfortunately, the Trump administration did not engage in any meaningful tribal consultation ahead of the delisting decision, despite the fact that tribal consultation is critical to the federal government’s trust responsibility and is necessary in a true government-to-government relationship. To this end, leaders representing hundreds of Tribal Nations, including every Tribe in Canada, wrote to you on three occasions last month urging an emergency listing decision and requesting consultation on future relisting and delisting measures, as required by law.

Given the above, we urge you to immediately issue an emergency listing to establish temporary federal protections for gray wolves. An emergency listing, which extends for 240 days, will prevent more wolves from being killed before the Service makes a determination about whether relisting is warranted. Furthermore, as part of its status review, we respectfully request that the Service both engage in meaningful tribal consultation and consider the impacts of state-level policies like those in Idaho and Montana as they reevaluate the gray wolf’s status.

Thank you for your consideration of our request. We look forward to working with you to ensure that wolves are adequately protected in the United States.

Sincerely, 

3) Visit Montana FWP for daily updates and map

Important information on the hunting and trapping season:

2021-2022 Wolf Season Dates in Montana

Archery
September 4 – September 14

General 
September 15 – March 15

Trapping

Nov. 29 - March 15, 2022*

*These dates do not apply to the federally designated Grizzly Bear Recovery Zones in Montana. For these zones, the trapping season will start on Dec. 15 unless otherwise determined by FWP due to evidence the majority of bears in these areas have begun hibernation. 

Hunters are allowed to purchase and possess 10 wolf hunting licenses – a separate license for each wolf they take – and trappers are allowed a bag limit of 10 wolves. This means an individual who hunts and traps can take a total of 20 wolves in a license year.

Hunters and trappers must call in their wolf take within 24 hours. 

4) For more information on hunting regulations 

5) To report a dead wolf or possible illegal activity: 

contact 1-800-TIP-MONT (1-800-847-6668) or a local game warden.

Photo of wolf and pups by Idaho Fish and Game