Tag Archives: wolves

Wolves as “park stewards”?

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Now, here’s an interesting idea: Introducing wolves into national parks to control elk and deer herds and prevent overgrazing. Dunno if this would ever be feasible in the real world — managing a pack of neutered, collared wolves seems a bit (ahem) over-engineered compared to more straightforward alternatives — but the underlying science is plausible. If nothing else, it’s a nice break from coverage of The Great Wolf Hunt Squabble.

Here’s the lead-in . . .

With ballooning elk and deer populations eating up greenery and altering ecosystems at national parks across the country, a group of researchers is suggesting an unusual solution: introduce small packs of gray wolves to curb the expanding herds.

Read the entire article . . .

Despite hunts, wolves holding steady

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Here’s  a wolf population status overview from an AP article appearing on today’s Flathead Beacon web site . . .

A new tally of gray wolves in the Northern Rockies shows the population held steady across the region in 2009, ending more than a decade of expansion by the predators but also underscoring their resilience in the face of new hunting seasons in Montana and Idaho.

Read the entire article . . .

Year-end review of Montana’s first wolf hunt

Environmental Issues, News,

The Missoulian has a good year-end review of Montana’s first wolf hunt.

Here are a few tidbits culled from the article…

The wolf hunt accounted for just over a third of the wolves killed during the past year. Poaching, “control actions” and other events accounted for the rest.

Eleven wolves were taken in Flathead County, the highest single-county total. This includes the two killed legally in the “North Fork Sub-unit.” Overall, three-quarters of the harvest came from seven counties.

Montana FWP must have kept fairly detailed statistics. For instance, the article states that, although most of the wolves killed were healthy, two had a slight case of mange, one had fleas, another had porcupine quills in its shoulder and two reportedly had hernias. (Huh? Hernias?)

For more, read the full write-up . . .

Montana says wolf hunt worked, but lawsuit looms

Environmental Issues, News, ,

From an AP article posted to today’s Flathead Beacon . . .

An examination of Montana’s first public gray wolf hunt showed at least nine of the animals were killed in an area prone to livestock attacks — a finding that could blunt criticism that the hunt was ineffective.

Confident state wildlife officials said they could increase the quota on the predators next year. They want to zero in on a number that would strike a balance between protecting the wolf population and curbing attacks on livestock and big game herds.

Read the entire article . . .

State FWP insists wolves recovered enough to be delisted

Environmental Issues, News, ,

From today’s Missoulian . . .

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks claims wolves are recovered sufficiently to be delisted from the federal Endangered Species Act.

“The delisting of this population in Montana is a well-deserved victory for the ESA,” attorneys for FWP wrote in a brief filed in a federal lawsuit filed earlier this year by conservation groups looking to overturn the delisting. “The delisting accomplished two fundamental goals of the ESA, to recover a species and transfer the care of the wolf from federal oversight to state management.”

Read the entire article . . .

Wolf hunt did not kill Kintla Pack alpha female

Environmental Issues, News, ,

From this week’s Hungry Horse News . . .

Contrary to rumors, a wolf killed up the North Fork by a hunter was not the alpha female of a Glacier Park pack.

Kent Laudon, wolf management specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks said the wolf was a 2-year-old and was wearing a radio collar, but it was not the alpha female of the Kintla Pack.

Read the entire article . . .

Wolf hunt shut down after quota filled

Environmental Issues, News,

That’s it for Montana’s wolf hunt this year . . .

Montana is shutting down its first public hunt for gray wolves since their removal from the endangered species list after state officials said they expected to meet the season’s quota of 75 by Monday evening.

The quota was met two weeks before the season’s scheduled close. The 75 killed equals about 15 percent of a statewide wolf population estimated at 500.

Yet even with the success among hunters, the number of wolves in Montana is expected to increase this year by 20 percent or more because wolves are such prolific breeders.

Read the entire article . . .

Trophy seekers fuel poaching increase

News, , , ,

Today’s Missoulian has an article on the increased number of poachers this year who seem to be killing game just to get a little ego boost . . .

The poacher who pulled the trigger on Maximus — one of Montana’s greatest grizzlies — left the big bear to waste.

So did the poacher who shot two wolves up near Glacier National Park. And the poacher who killed the big bull elk north of Columbia Falls. And the poacher who dropped the trophy bull moose down along the Jefferson.

Read the entire article . . .

Biologist’s findings show forest diversity & health influenced by wolves

Environmental Issues, News, ,

The October 25th Missoulian had a fascinating article — with photos — on Cristina Eisenberg’s study of the surprisingly broad impact wolves have on the general forest ecosystem. Thanks to Oliver Meister for pointing this one out . . .

A clinging mist quieted the morning meadow, the icy hem of its robes brushing silent against autumn’s crackling knee-high grass.

In the darkest shadows, the cold crunch of snow remained, criss-crossed with wolf tracks, bear tracks, elk and deer tracks. Scat and bone and hair and hide. These were the morning news reports written in muddied prints, each with a thin film of ice.

Cristina Eisenberg scanned the headlines, then waded into the meadow to read the particulars.

“It’s all here,” the researcher said. “You just have to know the language.”

Read the entire article . . .