Subject: From Timm Kaminski

To: Interested Individuals and Agencies and Ed Bangs,
Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Coordinator

From: Timm Kaminski

Following is the last Idaho Wolf Update from me and a hope for continued
efforts to restore and manage wolves into Idaho's future.

As of 2 March 1998 I was dismissed from my employment as Idaho Wolf Project
Leader for the Nez Perce Tribe. As Project Leader, I alone bear responsibility
for my actions and those of others, regardless of circumstances.

For 2 decades I was privileged to be involved in restoring a native
carnivore to this extraordinary state. I served as the first biologist to
gather and compile information on the wolf in Idaho beginning in late 1978.
Subsequently I spent 6 winters and summers in the Idaho backcountry as a
biologist and graduate student, served the Recovery Team for 9 years,
trapped and followed wolves, wrote the first northern Rockies wolf control
plan for the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1986, and worked for 2 years as
congressional staff on the EIS before going to work for the Tribe in 1996.
There were dedicated people involved in each of these efforts; like them, I
tried to contribute.

During my tenure as Idaho Wolf Project Leader, many with whom I came in
contact asked why I would want such a job. I replied that I knew from years
of prior work what had been promised; it was now time to follow through. My
belief is that wolves and people can share Idaho's space and resources if
they are open to the possibility...and respectful of each other's interests.
|Most with whom I have worked during the past 2 years, mindful of
our disagreements, share that view.

I have watched the process of restoring wolves go forward, knowing well
that wolves' indifference to our comfort will cause us to think in more ways
than we're accustomed. I experienced firsthand Idaho's coming to terms
with our past views about large predators.  It has been a slow process.
Many remain concerned about how many wolves will be where, and the
imposing of further regulations. But ranchers, outfitters, sportsmen and
others share my reverence for life. Not one I have met begrudges the wolf
a rightful place, and most quietly marvel at its size and strength. The
struggle has been difficult, but I believe it's been good for us.

Upon accepting the Project Leader job, I was asked to bring credibility to
the Tribe by establishing a scientifically credible and comprehensive
approach to restoring wolves and monitoring Recovery. By most accounts,
efforts by my predecessor [Mike Jeminez] and myself yielded progress to that
end. My departure now seems abrupt, even to me. Regardless, recovery of
Idaho's wolf population will forward through work of many individuals, insuring
that wolves again become part of the Idaho landscape, and that legitimate
concerns are met. No one individual's departure can be allowed to make a
difference; we owe more than that to the wolves we brought here and
residents of Idaho they will live among. There have been and continue to
be many good people willing to help. My message to those who follow me is
simple...work diligently, work together, and above all else, work forward.

Ranchers, sportsmen, and elected state and county officials in Idaho have
been willing to give this endangered species recovery effort a good chance.
As evidence of the social acceptance and credit deserved by Idahoans of
rural and urban communities across the State, more wolves have remained
alive and been viewed with tolerance if not admiration than in Yellowstone
or northwest Montana for more than 3 years. Considerable numbers of people
were pleased with the return of a reproducing wolf population to Idaho; a
considerable were not. Regardless of differences, people of Idaho and its
many visitors have acted with dignity by following the intent of the
rulemaking, working together, and speaking up when they felt there were
problems. In response, our collective attempt was to blend biological
knowledge with common sense solutions. Rather than wait, Nez Perce Tribe,
Wildlife Services, and Fish and Wildlife Service professionals tried to
anticipate conflicts and communicate with people where problems seemed
likely. When difficulties arose, we tried to resolve them quickly. While
unfamiliar to many in our own agencies, the approach has worked for people
and wolves.

Efforts to make wolf restoration a success in Idaho have enjoyed good
fortune. Wolves have reproduced, survived, and remained near to where they
were released. There have been few livestock depredations thus far, and as
promised, no land-use restrictions in more than 3 years. But success has
not come without costs, many hidden from the  unknowing. All 3 Project pilots
without hesitation have regularly dropped whatever they were doing to
assist the Project when needed, in all kinds of conditions. Field
biologists repeatedly donated their evenings, weekends and holidays to
gather information in the Idaho backcountry. Odd and long hours were driven
responding to complaints, or to share information with livestock producers,
hunters, county commissioners, and others. Ranchers shared ideas at late
night meetings and allowed access to their land, a single woolgrower
experienced significant losses, and houndsmen provided information we
didn't have. Though not without bumps along the way, mutual respect, shared
interest, and kept commitments have brought progress toward delisting.
Moreover, people are coming to value the wolf in some areas of the State.
Earning and keeping the trust of Idaho residents now requires in turn,
positive response by management agencies. By doing their part, people of
Idaho rightly expect us to do ours.

Keeping trust will require that our promise of progress toward delisting is
effectively and efficiently met. In the midst of our differences, Tribal
staff and I had come to an impasse over how to approach the coming year's
work: I for more biologists on the ground amid an expanding wolf
population; the Tribe for a more centralized effort in Lapwai. At the time
of my departure we had not reconciled.

To date, the Tribe has done a commendable job. But rapid growth in wolf
numbers and distribution means more wolves in more places and more impacts
real or perceived, where people are not accustomed to wolves presence. Year
'round monitoring requirements, and quick response to conflicts where
wolves live among people and livestock is outstripping the ability of a
single, distant, and centralized agency to keep pace. Managing Idaho's 8
wolf packs and 5 established pairs, impending dispersers from 6 1997
litters, and as many as 45-60 pups - in 1998 represents a sign)ficant and
complex challenge. Operating "in front of the curve" will require
appropriately matching a capable work force over 11 million acres of
backcountry and inserting organization and policies designed to support
field efforts for implementing a statewide program of this complexity and
breadth. Based on my experience, a constructive interagency dialogue for
how agencies and interests can best meet recovery objectives, sustain
progress toward delisting, and involve Idaho Department of Fish and Game
during the remainder of 1998 and beyond is necessary now.

Failure to safeguard the interests of individuals who live or work near
wolves risks straining the social acceptance expressed thus far for Idaho
wolf recovery, and future conservation efforts. To insure Recovery criteria
are met, wolves are conserved, and progress toward delisting continues, I
recommend the following:

*  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in cooperation with the Governor's
Office and Fish and Game Commission should request legislation for Idaho
Department of Fish and Game's full involvement in managing an experimental
population of gray wolves in Idaho.

*  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should establish a multiskilled
workgroup composed of scientists, affected livestock permittees, outfitters
and recreationists to work with the Fish and Wildlife Service, Department
of Fish and Game, Nez Perce Tribe, Wildlife Services, Wolf Educaton &
Research Center and Wolf Recovery Foundation on clarifying respective
agency and interest group roles to sustain progress toward delisting. I
suggest the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service. and Idaho Department
of Lands be invited to cooperate.

*If less than full involvement, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game
should select an employee to lead an interagency Idaho wolf management
effort. That person should be detailed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service on an Interagency Personnel Exchange (IPA) through the time of
delisting.

*  The Wolf Oversight Committee in cooperation with the Governor's Office,
Nez Perce Tribe, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should immediately seek
Idaho Congressional delegation assistance for Idaho Department of Fish and
Game operating funds for the remainder of FY 1998, and FY 1999.

For all the enjoyment that experiencing wolves' return to Idaho brought me,
my work with many good people across Idaho and Montana, unexpectedly,
brought me more. Through wolves' return I benefitted personally and
professionally; I learned a gret deal. To those who shared time,
floorspace, the coffee pot, and otherwise gave much, my thanks.

I'll continue to devote my efforts to resource conservation in the Northern
Rocky Mountains. I wish those involved in managing Idaho's wolves from this
time forward all the best.

Timmothy Kaminski