Idaho wolf update mid-December 1997

Idaho wolf update mid-December 1997

12-22-97

Here is the latest Idaho wolf update from Timm Kaminski, Idaho Gray Wolf Project Leader, Nez Perce Tribal Wolf Recovery Team. I have distilled his report so that it fits into my earlier Idaho updates web pages. Please compare this to the updates of September 4, September 17, September 30, October 10, October 27, Nov. 5, Nov. 18 etc. . . . While the basic information is from the wolf team, unless otherwise indicated, the commentary is my own; especially those of a social or a political nature. Ralph Maughan.

A very limited budget has kept tracking flights to just two a month. I will comment on the irony of this latter. The most recent flights were conducted Dec. 10-12. The wolf team indicates that more flight effort is being made near the town of Salmon since the Jureano Pack's recent killing of three Walker (tracking) hounds near town.

It is reported that 23 of the wolves being radio-tracked are paired, or in packs. Three of these pairs or packs include wolves that were not part of the reintroduction, i.e., "native" wolves, or are reintroduced wolves with failed radio collars. A month ago this was of but passing interest, but it is more significant now because of Judge Downe's ruling that non-native wolves must be removed.

Wolves north of the Salmon River

Wolves, most of them probably "native," are reported to move between between Bovill and Elk River and south to Oviatt Meadows. There are at least three wolves. This is in northern Idaho about 25 to 30 miles east of Moscow.

Bitterroot National Forest-
Wolf 31M was not located, nor has he been for some time. This was the only Idaho wolf that attacked livestock in 1997. That was over on the Payette National Forest.

The two pups captured from the Boulder (native) Pack in SW Montana are still in the Running Creek enclosure deep in the Selway/Bitterroot Wilderness. The report says they are to be slated for release with their two siblings in Montana in January. This is a change of plans, perhaps in response to the experience with releasing the "unschooled" (in hunting) Sawtooth pups/yearlings in Yellowstone last spring and summer. Whether the remaining adult in the pack, the alpha female, will still be shot is not known to me.

Clearwater National Forest-
It was reported that B15F and her pups, the Kelly Creek Pack, was in the Cabin Creek drainage near the Kelly Creek Divide. I think it significant that the report never mentions B15's mate, clearly a "native" wolf. Mention of him in the reports ended shortly after the pair had their first litter. This is what I call a "legally hybrid" pack. No, the wolves are not wolf/dog hybrids. They are hybrids in the sense of the distinction that Judge Downes made -- part native wolf and part reintroduced wolf. He said that all reintroduced wolves and their offspring must be removed? What about mixed offspring?

Wolves B7M and B11F (a.k.a. the "Running Creek pair"), released in northern Idaho, August 2, 1997, continue to stay in northern Idaho rather than returning to the Big Hole Valley of SW Montana where they got into trouble in late 1996. This long-bonded pair were located a bit east of Elk Summit near the northern boundary of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.

Idaho Panhandle National Forest-
The most northerly of the known reintroduced wolves, B20F, was located near where she has been for some time. This was in Vanderbilt Creek near the Idaho/Montana border.

Nez Perce National Forest-
The four-member Selway Pack, the Idaho pack with the biggest territory, was located in Mallard Creek near the northwestern boundary of the River of No Return Wilderness. Previously they had been located on the easternmost part of their territory -- the West Fork of the Bitterroot River in SW Montana.

After failure to locate for some time, lone wolf B33M was located in the South Fork of Crooked Creek.

Wolves South of the Salmon River-
"Up to twenty-two radio-collared wolves remain south of the Salmon River. Nine wolf pairs occur in this area including five pairs that have produced 25-27 wolf pups this year; two of these pairs [also] produced pups in 1996."

The Chamberlain Basin pack (10-12 wolves, including the alpha pair B9M and B16F) was located in the canyon of Big Creek a bit west of the confluence of Cabin Creek in the River of No Return Wilderness. This is winter range, although the report said that many elk remained up high -- on the ridgetops and in Chamberlain Basin.

Wolf B-22-F and her "associate" were located in the Middle Fork Salmon River near the confluence of Smith Creek. This is in the middle of the River of No Return Wilderness and big game winter range. Is this "associate" a native wolf? They have been together for some time.

The Bear Valley Pack, wolves B-28-M, B-30-F and wolf B-19-M were located just south of Stolle Meadows in the headwaters of the South Fork of the Salmon River (west central Idaho). They were last located in the Bear Valley Creek drainage and before that in Tranquil Basin.

The Landmark Pack, wolves B6-F, B8-M, 4 sub-adults and 4 pups were located in the Pistol Creek, not moving far in the last month. This is in the southern end of the River of No Return Wilderness. This is also winter range.

The Stanley Pack , B23F and B27M and their six pups remained on the east side of Sawtooth Valley/Stanley Basin area. They were located in Basin Creek.

The Jureano Mountain Pack, B25-F and B32-M and their 6 pups caused a sensation in the excitable town of Salmon on Nov. 28 when they killed at least two hounds that were chasing a bobcat northwest of town. After the hounds were killed by the wolves (who the wolf team says were probably defending their pups) the Salmon City Council passed a resolution authorizing city and county police, state troopers and Fish and Game to "protect the life and property of Salmon citizens'' using whatever force is necessary against the wolves if they came into town. Luckily the wolves didn't sack the city. Instead they moved to the western side of their range -- about 20 miles from town -- over many mountains. They were located in Panther Creek near the main fork of the Salmon River. Note: the town of Salmon sits up against Salmon River Mountain. Westward from there it is continuous mountains for about 150 miles.

The controversy over the incident with the hounds was a faction prompting Idaho's Governor Phil Batt to ask that all wolves in Idaho be radio-collared so people would know where they were. He asked that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service divert funds to the Nez Perce tribal wolf project for the radio collars.

There are some practical problems here. The Service has few extra funds for wolves, and the lack of funding is primarily because the congressionals from Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have not supported funding the program because they don't want wolves. The fiscal year budget for 1998 is set. Nevertheless, the Fish and Wildlife Service found and gave the Nez Perce Tribal Wolf Recovery Team an extra $100,000 on Dec. 22. This will make life a bit easier for Tim Kaminski who has been working 28-hours trying to track the wolves by himself. Story on Batt's request in the Dec. 19, 1997, Post Register.

Wolf B24M continues to inhabit the valley and ridge about six miles north of Salmon. He is occasionally seen by residents. No. 24 seems to be preying on white tailed deer that live along the Salmon River.

The Moyer Creek Pack, wolves B-29-M and B-37-F and their five pups were also located in Panther Creek, although quite a way up this long drainage. This pack has carved out a territory in the Salmon River Mountains due south of that of the Jureano Mountain Pack.

Long time pair B35-F and Wolf B18-M were located in the Frank Church Wilderness in the headwaters of Warm Springs Creek in the Salmon River Mountains.

Wolf B36F, apparently a lover of high altitudes, was found near where she has been most of the summer and fall -- this time at 11,000 near the head of Warm Springs Creek (a different Warms Springs Creek than nos. 35 and 36 above). This is in the top of the White Cloud Peaks. I got some email saying that the archery hunt had left many wounded elk in this high country. Number 36 is probably finishing off the wounded elk.

Wolf B3F or "Akiata" is still being observed in the Centennial Mountains on the Idaho/Montana border (Targhee and Beaverhead National Forests). Her radio collar failed and she was "lost" for a long time, but the unique colors on the color allowed her reidentification and location. There will be an attempt to trap her this winter and give her a new collar.

Autumn willows near the West Fork of Camas Creek, just
northwest of Kilgore, Idaho, where the Snake River Plain
gives way to the Centennial Mountains of the
Idaho/Montana border. Wolf B3F has been observed in
this general area for about a half year now.
Copyright Ralph Maughan

Outreach-
The wolf team reports

"Contacts made between hunters, guides and outfitters remain overwhelmingly positive. Nonetheless, some complain that wolves have already impacted big game populations in the State. Harvest of ungulates is down across much of Idaho and Montana, owing in some areas to high
mortality due to last winter. In addition, mild Fall weather and particularly a lack of snow even in the high country has permitted elk to remain at high elevations and on summer range. The late spring coupled with slow receding snowpack and availability of forage through Fall has made elk
in some areas of the State difficult to access."

I should add that the same is true in Wyoming. I note that the SNOTEL - River Basin Snow Water Content charts -- show between 50 and 75% snowpack throughout central and eastern Idaho and into most of the Yellowstone Country.

In addition to the mild weather, one person from Stanley, Idaho emailed me saying,

"Perhaps if Idaho hunters would get their big bellies down off their oversized ATVs, and hike up to where the elk and deer have fled, away from the motorized assault force, more hunters would have achieved success this year. I was out the entire fall and saw a lot of hunters wishing for more snow so the animals would come to them. ... with scant snow, the wildlife stayed high."

An outfitter from Wyoming told me the same thing about the poor elk hunt near Jackson Hole this year. The extra two weeks added to the hunt this year due to the poor take only yielded about 250 more elk. He takes folks into the backcountry to hunt where success is almost always high. More and more hunters cruise the backroads in their rigs hoping an elk will walk by.

Email addresses for members of Congress and other officials.

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