Controversial Wyoming Wolf Plan Adopted by WY Game and Fish Commission

Controversial Wyoming Wolf Plan Adopted by WY Game and Fish Commission

July 31, 2003, update Aug. 1, 2003

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission met in Sheridan, Wyoming this week and adopted the controversial Wyoming wolf plan. This plan implements the legislation the Wyoming legislature passed last winter and Governor Freudenthal signed. See the story in the Casper-Star Tribune. "Wolf plan gets OK." By Jeff Gearino. Casper Star Tribune.

The bill was very controversial because it classified wolves in Wyoming into 2 groups "trophy game," and "predators." The names are not as important as how they were to be managed. "Trophy game" [wolves] could only be shot by permit or in an authorized hunt. "Predator" wolves could be killed at any time for any reason. Moreover, the area for "trophy" wolves was limited to YNP, Grand Teton NP, the tiny John D. Rockefeller Parkway joining the 2 Parks and the 4 wilderness areas in Wyoming physically adjacent to YNP -- the North Absaroka, Washakie, Teton, the small Wyoming portion of the Absaroka/Beartooth, and tiny Winegar Hole. The major problem with the trophy wolf areas is that not a single wolf pack uses these wilderness areas as the bulk of its territory and so most of the time every non-National Park pack could be subject to uncontrolled killing. Even Park packs which sometimes stray outside the Parks as does Mollie's pack, the Yellowstone Delta Pack, and even the Druids, could easily end up in areas where they could be shot at anyone's whim. Last winter, the Nez Perce Pack, the pack the inhabits the very center of Yellowstone left the Park briefly to visit the National Elk Refuge were under the new Wyoming plan they could have all been shot for fun.

Legislation needs a plan for actual implementation of a policy, so the Wyoming Department of Game and Fish produced a plan which was released to the public July 18. See Draft Final Wyoming wolf management plan.

Happily, but without any authority, the Department added 2 more wilderness areas to "trophy" wolf areas the Jedediah Smith (West Slope of the Tetons), and the Gros Ventre.

Interpretation of the statute concluded that there would be a minimum of 15 wolf packs in Wyoming and the state would guarantee that 7 of these packs would be outside the the 2 national parks. Currently, there are from 4 to 8 such packs, depending on how you define "outside the parks," "a pack," and "inside Wyoming."

Wyoming Game and Fish thinks the packs outside the Parks are ". . . Teton, Gros Ventre, Washakie, Sunlight Basin, Absaroka, Beartooth, Greybull River, and Green River packs."

Others disagree. The Teton Pack has always denned inside Grand Teton National Park, but most of its range is outside. Is it a Park pack? The Beartooth Pack may den in Montana. Is it a Wyoming Pack? The Green River Pack consists of a female and 5 pups and no other adults (the alpha male was shot because it killed a few cow calves). It is no longer a pack. The alpha female may be killed soon. I don't know if the cubs will be clubbed to death or left to starve. There is no good evidence the Gros Ventre Pack still exists. There has not been a verified sighting for 2 years. If it does persist, it does not have pups.

Wyoming GF thinks there are a total of 23 packs currently in Wyoming, including the Parks. I find the following Wyoming packs in the Parks Agate Cr, Bechler, Cougar Creek, Druid Peak, Geode Cr, Leopold, Mollie's, Nez Perce, Slough Creek, Swan Lake, Yellowstone Delta. Two Yellowstone Park packs should be considered Montana wolf packs Rose Cr and Chief Joseph. So, I can only count 19 packs in Wyoming. There may be less depending on the status of Beartooth, Gros Ventre, and Green River.

The Casper Star Tribune credits the Wyoming Governor's spokesman Mike O'Donnell with the following statement at the meeting "Mike O'Donnell told commissioners the governor thinks it's 'critical' for wolf delisting to move forward because wolf populations are growing annually. The more wolves in the state, the harder -- and more expensive -- it will be to manage the animal, he said.

"Idaho had 22 packs of wolves at this time last year ... now they have 41 packs," he said. "If the commission does not act now to begin this delisting process, we'll be standing here next summer with over 40 packs in Wyoming with a far greater range than they have now."

In fact at the end of last year there were just 9 packs (packs defined as "breeding pairs") in Idaho. If one also includes wolf pairs without pups, and groups of wolves to the 9, there were 19 pairs or groups in Idaho. So far this year 18 breeding pairs have been identified in Idaho. Where did this O'Donnell get "22 packs," much less, now, "41 packs?" O'Donnell also thinks next summer there might be 40 packs in Wyoming. Is this likely with at most 19 packs now and Yellowstone basically with as many packs as it will ever have? I suspect that at the end of the year the number of wolves in Wyoming, outside of the Parks, may be less than at the end of 2002, given the demise of the Green River Pack, a control action on-going with part of the Washakie Pack, the Absaroka Pack with a bad case of mange, and a relatively modest pup crop for the year.

There is no excuse for O'Donnell's information about Idaho. The figures are readily available on-line. See http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov/annualrpt02/table3.pdf. He could also have gone to the State of Idaho's wolf page at http://www2.state.id.us/fishgame/info/programsinfo/wolves/wolf.htm Do we need to teach this O'Donnell how to Google? Does Governor Freudenthal hire liars, or just fools? Update 8-1-03. And is the governor a liar? See: "Governor: It’s time to delist wolves." Montana Forum com.

It is clear wolves are not growing exponentially, though that is what the governor says. Here are the figures I have put together over the years from many official sources. The numbers include Greater Yellowstone wolves in Montana as well as Wyoming: End of 1995- 21; End of 1996- 57; End of 1997- 97; End of 1998- 111; Spring 1999- 170; End of 1999- 115-120; Spring 2000 (mid-May estimate)- 190-200; Fall 2000- 165-185; End of 2000- 177; End of 2001- 218; End of 2002- 270. If they were growing exponentially each year, the total would be have been 2668 wolves at the end of 2002.

At hearing wolf supporters outnumbered wolf opponents about 5 to 1, but in Wyoming ranch, ag, and mineral interests always get to give their input -- the input that counts -- behind closed doors. At the hearing the ag interests, didn't have much to say, confirming what I just said.

The livestock lobby is in kind of a bind -- the plan is stronger, protecting wolves more than they want; but it is still probably too weak for the USFWS. The anti-wolf interests could file a lawsuit against the plan, and probably win. Would that be politic for them?
Update 8-1-03. Maybe they will. See: Park County commissioners not pleased with wolf plan. Casper Star Tribune. They say they might sue!!

This plan will not take effect until Montana produces a plan and all three states Idaho, Wyoming and Montana's plans are approved by the Department of Interior.

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