Yellowstone’s Wolves Threatened

When the gray wolf was taken off of the Endangered Species List and management was handed over to state governments, Idaho immediately began slaughtering its wolves, and Montana started responsibly –with a reasonable statewide hunting season, fair chase ethics, and scientifically established quotas for each wolf management unit—but within two years degenerated into anti-wolf policies almost as bad as Idaho. Wolves in the Western states have no federal protection and under current regulations, the states only need to maintain a total 15 breeding pairs or 150 wolves (per state) in order to keep wolves delisted and OFF the Endangered Species List. As such, there is currently no carrot nor any stick to prevent these states from essentially reversing wolf recovery and killing them down to tiny token populations. The “15 pair” rule is not based on sound science and may be challenged in the future. Idaho’s wolf “management” plan is essentially promoting slaughter up until the wolf population gets down so low (below 15 pairs) that US Fish & Wildlife would have to relist the gray wolf.

But for right now, it is crucial to concentrate on Montana, as Montana’s proposed 2013-2014 Wolf Season plan is a grave threat to the famous Yellowstone National Park wolves. While the wolves in the rest of Montana and Idaho are also very important, it is critical to begin by helping Yellowstone wolves because, quite frankly, if we cannot save the world’s most famous wolves in the world’s most famous national park, we cannot conserve wolves anywhere.
Although Yellowstone National Park is a federal protected area with no hunting, any wolf that steps outside the boundary is fair game for hunters and trappers. Animals do not recognize artificial political boundaries, and though “Park wolves” spend the vast majority of their time inside Yellowstone, even short forays just outside the Park boundary can be devastating if the surrounding states enact anti-wolf policies. This is not an issue about Montana allowing a state wolf hunting season or about individual “problem” wolves being removed to protect property, but about policies that essentially treat wolves as VERMIN instead of wildlife and complete disregard for the unique situation adjacent to Yellowstone National Park.

Last year northern Yellowstone’s wolves, the most viewed and photographed wolves in the world, suffered huge losses during the Montana wolf hunting season. Although these wolves are mainly Park wolves, they do wander outside the northern boundary into Montana at times, especially during elk and deer season when gut piles outside the Park attract them. Almost all of the Park wolves killed in Montana last season were killed in the Gardiner Basin, which is just outside the northern boundary of Yellowstone Park and is critical winter habitat and a major elk hunting area (the gut piles from elk taken by hunters attract wolves to the area). Montana had set up a small subunit with a quota of 3 wolves along the northeast edge of Yellowstone Park in the Beartooths, but this quota region did not include the Gardiner Basin, and isn’t used by large wildlife after the snow starts falling. In the Gardiner Basin, like in the rest of the state of Montana, there was NO wolf quota at all; wolves could be shot and trapped with no limits for almost all wolf hunting units in the state.

In fact, when so many wolves were killed that Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks actually closed the wolf season in Gardiner early, the agency was sued by Citizens For Balanced Use, Big Game Forever, Montana Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, Montana Outfitters & Guides Association, and Montana Rep Alan Redfield for “depriving the public of the right to hunt wolves” [in one area of about 60 sq. miles total in the entire state of Montana because so wolves had been killed that the Yellowstone Wolf ,Research Project actually had to be suspended for the year!]. They won on a PROCEDURAL technicality about the public comment period. When the state complied with a comment period, they received 40,000 comments against re-opening the closed area to wolf hunting and about 200 in favor: the VAST majority supported Yellowstone’s wolves.

Why was the no quota zone in Gardiner Basin such a big deal?
First, virtually any wolf that shows up in this area is a PARK wolf, meaning that it spends most of its time within Yellowstone National Park as part of a pack that is well known to wildlife watchers, wildlife photographers, and wolf biologists conducting research.

Yellowstone’s wolves are world famous and critical for scientific studies: precisely because they allow humans to view them (instead of avoiding humans at all costs which is what wolves that are hunted usually do) and because the lack of human caused mortality allows individual wolves to live longer and for packs to remain stable and within predictable territories. The area outside the Park in question in which Yellowstone wolves are threatened comprises a grand total of about 60 sq. miles out of the entire state of Montana, (147,000 sq. miles) and it hardly seems unreasonable that the state should take the importance of this area into account and at least set low quotas; especially given how many people come to the Montana towns bordering the Park in order to see wolves.

Last hunting season, at least seven radio-collared wolves were killed including alphas, as well as many non-collared Park wolves. The famous Lamar Pack has split after losing its alpha female last season, the Blacktail pack currently has only two members, the Mollies pack is almost gone, and the famous Canyon pack that summers in Hayden and winters in northern Yellowstone lost members. As of right now, there are about 27adult wolves in the entire Northern Range of Yellowstone, and 2 of 4 social units have 3 or fewer members. This year, the Montana legislature denied re-appointment to 3 PRO-SCIENCE and reasonable Commissioners on the Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks Commission and appointed a committee that is hostile to wolves and other predators.

And now Montana has put forward a plan that will be even worse.
Like last year, this year Montana proposes no statewide quota on wolves, including no trapping limits statewide, except for two small subunits with quotas near national parks.

In addition, this year’s Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks proposal will also:
1) Increase the wolf season from the end of February until the end of March. Not only will this result in more dead wolves, but allowing hunting and trapping into March will increase the number of pregnant wolves killed.
2) Increase the wolf quota in the Beartooth area subunit from 3 to 7 wolves.
3) Exclude the Gardiner Basin from any quota subunit and includes this area in the no quota, unlimited kill zone. Gardiner Basin is where almost all Park wolves killed last season were taken, and where most will die again this year unless this is changed.
4) Allow hunters and trappers to BAIT for wolves. Unethical anywhere, but essentially permitting people to lure Park wolves into Montana to their deaths. They also allow using electronic calls to lure wolves.
5) Increase the personal bag limit to 5 wolves PER PERSON. Combined with no quotas in the Gardiner Basin, and the ability to bait and trap, this will essentially allow individuals to wipe out entire Yellowstone Park packs.

BUT THIS PLAN HAS NOT YET BEEN APPROVED! It is in the proposal stage and subject to public comment until June 24. You do not need to be a resident of Montana to comment, and remember, National Parks and public lands belong to ALL of us! It is your right to complain about senseless wildlife slaughter! This is not necessarily objecting to any form of a wolf hunt, but an objection to an unethical and unsustainable management policy.
ALL PUBLIC COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY JUNE 24 TO BE COUNTED AND CONSIDERED.

Comments can be emailed or sent by letter. In all comments, please hit on the following critical points:
1) VERY LOW quota or NO wolf hunting buffer in subunit adjacent to northern Yellowstone Park
2) Gardiner Basin in its entirety MUST be included in this very low quota subunit
3) No baiting for wolves or setting traps in baited areas for wolves
4) No extended wolf season
5) No increased bag limit from last year
6) Reasonable, scientific quotas set statewide that maintain at least 430 wolves statewide and management that takes wolf pack social structure into account
7) No wolf trapping or limits on trapping

Please email:
General Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks:      [email protected]
MT Governor Steve Bullock:           [email protected]
Environmental Adviser Tim Baker:  [email protected]
MT FWP Director Jeff Hagener: [email protected]

Or comment on Montana FWP website at:
http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/publicComments/2013_14proposedWolfSeason.html

Please send your comments to as many as the above addresses as you can. Email is great, but snail mail is even more effective because it takes more effort and gets more notice. If you can send a physical letter, and ONLY IF it will arrive in time for June 24, please send your letters to:


Wolf Comments c/o FWP
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
1420 East Sixth Avenue
P.O. Box 200701, Helena, MT 59620-0701

FWP Chairman Dan Vermillion:
Dan Vermillion, Chairman 
PO Box 668 
Livingston, MT 59047 
(406) 222-0624


Montana Governor Steve Bullock:
Governor Steve Bullock
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 200801
Helena, MT 59620-0801
Tel: 1.855.318.1330

Link to leave comment: http://www.govelect.mt.gov/contact.aspx
All comments any format must be respectful but firm. State your objections clearly, but UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES use threatening, obscene, or belligerent language.
Thank you for helping to conserve Yellowstone’s amazing ecosystem.