What was the largest wolf pack in Wyoming has been whittled down by government control and is now done for, although new wolves will probably soon enter pretty much the same area and meet the same fate.

On Monday, Wildlife Service shot the last 5 of the Daniel Pack in Sublette County. It was Wyoming's most southerly pack.

This pack was discovered in the summer of 2003 at a fairly remarkable number of 17 wolves. Over the next 2 1/2 years their numbers slowly declined, with mortality during an dangerous summertime radio collaring, illegal kills, 4 collared members were likely poisoned in the winter of 2003-4, 5 wolves were control killed last fall, and now the last 5.

Over the course of time the pack killed about 21 cattle (cows and calves) and about 20 sheep. The most recent kills were on private ground. There are a lot of livestock scattered throughout most of their range.

On the other side of the upper Green River Basin from the Daniel Pack's home there are now 3-4 new wolves in the upper Green River, and 3-4 new wolves in the general Pinedale area. These would replace the old Green River Pack and the Pinedale Pack, all of which were control killed too.

Sublette County has been a big black hole for wolves.

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This is a matter of opinion; some will disagree heatedly, but I think Sublette County represents the dysfunctional West in the most stark fashion. . . some of the other nearby countries too.

When I first visited a good 30 years ago, I thought it was one of the most beautiful places on earth. The first time I saw the Wind River Mountains, they actually had the northern lights shimmering over them. I had great times there, catching big trout, climbing mountains, and even riding a horse to the crest of the Winds.

Since that time the Basin has sprouted numerous unplanned, ugly sub-divisions that destroy the view even at a remarkably low population density. The elk are highly infected with brucellosis. Chronic wasting disease can't be far behind. The elk exist on feedlots in the winter like cattle, spreading the disease about. The entire basin is filling up with thousands of gas wells. The air quality has declined due to emissions from the wells. Areas of gas development, especially coal bed methane have proven to make the areas the best places in the West to acquire the West Nile virus. The saline outflow from these well is ideal habitat for Culex tarsalis, the worst mosquito (most efficient vector) for spreading the disease.

The local political leaders seem unwilling or powerless to stop any of this. Instead they just recite the old formulas.

Adding to the direct pressure of disease and gas development on wildlife there has been an influx of workers who like to hunt, and as a result deer numbers are down in SW Wyoming (where there are no wolf packs).

An article in the Casper Star Tribune addressed the issue of deer hunting in SW Wyoming.

April 3, 2005. "Petition calls for hunting reduction." By Jeff Gearino. Casper Star Tribune Southwest Wyoming bureau.

Regarding this, Robert Hoskins, President of the Dubois Wildlife Association, wrote: ". . . . increased hunter numbers is due to the population influx for oil & gas development.  Overhunting is one of the consequences of western oil & gas development for wildlife that seldom gets much attention from federal agencies in EISs, etc.  And hunter conflict is one of the ignored social consequences of development.  None of this additional impact is good.

It's interesting that local hunters are putting blame for additional pressure on deer where it belongs -- the many hunters who've moved in for the oil & gas boom, rather than on wolves.  Granted, wolves haven't quite made it that far south yet, and the Daniel Pack just lost 5 animals to federal control actions."

Robert Hoskins
Crowheart WY

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4-11-2005. Here is a final statement from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the Daniel Pack and the future. This is from The "Gray Wolf Recovery Weekly Progress Report" of Week of 4/4 to 4/8, 2005.

Brief informational discussion about wolf control and pack removals- On 3/28/05, the USFWS killed the remaining 5 wolves from the Daniel Pack after 3 confirmed cattle depredations occurred in one week on private property. Over the last 3 years, the Daniel Pack has been involved in 21 confirmed depredations and 20 additional probable depredations in an area full of cattle and sheep grazing on private property and public allotments.

Are there any wolves left in the Daniel Pack? As far as we know the pack no longer exists but some wolves may still be in the area. Estimating the exact size of any wolf pack can be difficult and depends on the pack’s sight-ability, time of year, and how often it is monitored. It’s normal for the number of wolves in any pack to fluctuate throughout the year. In addition to seasonal fluctuations, over 10% of a wolf population is usually made up of single “satellite” wolves that hang around established packs or have dispersed to find new packs/mates but aren’t directly associated with a pack. In 2003, the Daniel Pack consisted of 18-19 wolves. Over the next 2 years, 17 Daniel Pack wolves died. Two adult wolves and one pup died in capture-related control efforts; 1 adult wolf and 3 sub-adult wolves were found dead [under LE investigation]; 5 wolves were killed in 2 separate control actions in 2004; and 5 wolves were killed in a control action in 2005.

Throughout winter 2005, local residents reported seeing 6-7 wolves in the area, however no other wolves were seen during the control action on 3/28/05. Neither of the two female wolves killed in that control action were pregnant. Could there be a single remaining Daniel Pack female denned in the area? Possibly, but March 28th is too early for wolves to den. A possible scenario is that last year’s control action, that removed 5 wolves, disrupted the pack’s social structure sufficiently that the breeding female was lost and no new alpha female took her place in time to breed.

In saying the Daniel Pack was eliminated by control does not mean there are not other wolves in the Daniel or Big Piney areas- there probably are some individuals or soon will be. The USFWS will continue to monitor the area for other wolves. We appreciate and depend on wolf reports from the public and our agency cooperators to detect new wolves- please help. Thanks.

Finally here is an article from ground zero of the Wyoming natural gas boom centered on Pinedale, WY. It appeared in the Christian Science Monitor 4-11-05. "Gas bonanza shakes dust from Western towns." By Todd Wilkinson. Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor.

It's hard to find much hope for wildlife in the future of Sublette County, Wyoming.