Monitoring

Packs in the Yellowstone, central Idaho, and NW Montana areas appear to be in their normal home ranges.

In Yellowstone a couple members of the Nez Perce Pack couldn't be found and it was suspected they might have gone back toward Dillon. A courtesy call was made to local ranchers, and USDA Wildlife Services. An extra flight was put up the next day and again they were not located. Another flight located all back at the Nez Perce den, again courtesy calls were made to inform everyone that they wolves were in the Park as they had been. The Washakie pack continues to move throughout the Dubois area and monitoring has indicated there have been no further attacks on livestock.

In Idaho, up to nine packs have produced pups. All wolves (except B-14 which is currently in NW Montana near Butte) that are being monitored via radio-telemetry remain within the Idaho Experimental Population area on National Forest lands.

Wolves in northwestern Montana may not be as common as hoped. Field crews are finding that most packs appear small and not that many pups are being produced. The current estimate is about 45 adult wolves, plus the 1998 pups. Hopefully, efforts this summer will allow us to more accurately estimate the number of wolf breeding pairs in northwestern Montana.

Control

Nothing new to report.

Research

Nothing new to report.

I & E

Please help with wolf monitoring efforts by reporting suspected wolf observations. Reclassification, and the resulting increased management flexibility that would result from a threatened status will not occur if the wolf population in NW Montana is stalled at only 6 breeding pairs or is declining.

The court will hear the Diamond G Ranch litigation on July 20 in Casper, WY. Bangs and Fontaine (USFWS), Niemeyer, Phillips, and Nelson (USDA-WS), the ranch owner, ranch manager, and Alaskan biologist Dave Kelleyhouse will be called as witnesses.

During the week of July 6, Roy Heberger and Curt Mack made presentations at the annual meeting of the Intertribal Timber Council at Hon-Dah, Arizona.

!!JOBS!! The Service is hiring 2 permanent field wolf (GS 11/9) biologists and will station them in Lander, Wyoming. They will likely be advertised beginning the first of August. If you already sent in your name you will be mailed information shortly after August 10. If you haven't received any mail about the WY jobs by August 10 but left your name and address earlier- try again. If you or someone you know may be interested in these positions, simply send your name and address- FWS. 100 N. Park, #320, Helena, MT 59601. Montana jobs (term GS 9 and 7) should be advertised in August.

The weekly wolf report can now be viewed at the Service's Region 6 web site at http://www.r6.fws.gov/wolf Contact: Ed Bangs (406)449-5225 or Internet-ED_BANGS@FWS.GOV

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