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Wolves kill livestock near Hammett
The first case of wolves killing livestock in Elmore County has been confirmed following an investigation by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
A cow and a calf, not related to each other, were killed by one to three wolves at a ranch near Hammett last week.
As part of the various agreements of the wolf recovery plan, designed to help wolves expand in numbers and range in Idaho, the Defenders of Wildlife will provide reimbursement to the unidentified rancher for the loss.
Gray wolves have been appearing in increasing numbers in Elmore County in the last few years. They had been almost wiped out in this part of Idaho in the early 20th century.
At least one wolf was involved in the kill, but tracks of two other wolves were found in the area, which may indicate a new pack is forming.
Steve Nadeau, Fish and Game's statewide large carnivor program coordinator, said leg traps will be set to try and capture the wolf involved in the kill. Initially, that wolf will be collared and tracked. If depredations of livestock continue to occur, however, the department "will authorize lethal removal," he said.
Wolves normally prey on elk, primarily, and deer, but, especially during winter, are known to expand their culinary habits to include livestock such as cattle and sheep, which is why most ranchers and sheepherders have opposed many aspects of the wolf recovery program.
Under federal law, ranchers can shoot a wolf only if they catch it in the actual act of attacking an animal. Nadeau said a wolf can't be shot if it is found to be feeding on a cow or calf "because the majority of livestock losses are due to causes other than predation, and just because he's feeding on a carcass doesn't mean he killed it."
Wolves are not considered to be a threat to humans. Nadeau said that the only confirmed cases of wolf attacks on humans have occured only where wolves had become "habituated" to humans, such as being fed by them (similar to the problems that used to occur with bears in Yellowstone National Park).
Nadeau said Elmore County has had "a couple of established packs for a couple of years now," especially in the area north of Anderson Ranch Reservoir. He said it was natural for wolves to expand into areas where "there aren't any."
The US Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduced 15 wolves into Idaho in 1995. At that time, the Idaho Legislature strictly limited Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) involvement with wolves and wolf recovery.
In 1996 an additional 20 wolves were reintroduced. Since that time, the number of wolves in Idaho has increased, and in 2003 officials believe there are now approximately 362 wolves, 25 verified breeding pairs and approximately 33 documented packs well distributed from the Canadian border south to I-84.
In April, 2003, Governor Kempthorne, Fish and Game Director Huffaker, and the Idaho Legislature negotiated and passed a bill into law that allows the State to participate in wolf management. The bill, H0294, allows IDFG to assist the Governor's Office of Species Conservation (OSC) in implementing the State of Idaho's Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, as well as participate in wolf management with the USFWS and the Nez Perce Tribe.
Wolves are listed as threatened and as an "experimental non-essential population" in central Idaho, and therefore are under management authority of the federal government. Idaho cannot conduct management that is not in coordination with and under the authority of the USFWS while wolves are still federally listed. Federal management of wolves in Idaho remains essentially the same even though they have been reclassified. The only difference is that IDFG may now legally participate in management activities.
Recently, the USFWS reclassified, or down-listed wolves from endangered to threatened in north Idaho and northern Montana, and everywhere within the western Distinct Population Segment (DPS), when wolf populations reached the federal biological recovery goal in December 2002, that is "30 breeding pairs of wolves well distributed throughout the three states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming for three consecutive years".
That change does nothing to change wolf management in Idaho except in the upper Panhandle region north of Interstate 90.
The next step is delisting wolves in the western DPS. The DPS includes Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, Northern Utah and Northern Colorado, Nevada and California. A recovered population in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming means the entire western DPS has achieved recovery.
Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) the USFWS will delist wolves when the combined policies of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming provide an "adequate regulatory mechanism" to govern wolf management. To be "adequate" means to assure that if the states took over management, the wolves will be protected and maintained as a viable population sufficiently distributed among the three states.
The USFWS interprets the Endangered Species Act to mean that the three states have to provide wolf management plans and establish state laws that satisfactorily provide these protections. Currently, the states of Idaho and Montana have completed their plans and they were deemed acceptable by the USFWS. Wyoming's plan was not acceptable to the service, therefore delaying delisting until Wyoming makes adjustments to its plan.
It will take at least a year to delist once Wyoming's plan is accepted.
The state wolf plan requires that a minimum of 15 packs of wolves be maintained in Idaho. Currently Idaho has about 40 packs well distributed across the state. The state has begun planning and coordinating with the USFWS, the Nez Perce Tribe, and Wildlife Services to transition into the primary management role.
Once delisted, wolves will likely be managed similar to black bears and mountain lions. The state will likely propose hunting wolves to provide opportunity for harvest of wolves, as well as to attempt to reduce problems with livestock and to maintain a balance between wolves and their prey. If the state allows hunting of wolves, they will be managed at a level that allows a harvestable surplus, which will likely be higher than the minimum required for delisting.
Once wolves are delisted, the USFWS will monitor wolf management in the three states for five years. The states will be required to verify and report wolf pack activity.
Land management agencies like the Forest Service and BLM will be responsible for their regular land management duties, but IDFG will request their assistance in monitoring and management of wolves.
Biologists are strongly urging the public to report wolf sitings to either the Idaho Department of Fish and Game or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.