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Montana gains control of its wolves
By SHERRY DEVLIN of the Missoulian
Proclaiming it both a biological and a political success story, Interior Secretary Gale Norton on Monday announced plans to turn over the management of Montana's booming population of gray wolves to Montanans.
In the 10 years since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduced wolves to Yellowstone National Park and the central Idaho wilderness, wolf numbers have grown "far more quickly than anyone ever predicted," Norton said.
"We have seen a species recover," she said. "That's one success story. But so is the cooperation we've seen between state and federal governments."
About 850 wolves now inhabit Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, said Ed Bangs, the federal government's wolf recovery coordinator. Of those, about 700 animals are in the Yellowstone ecosystem and central Idaho.
Under the rule announced Monday, the states of Montana and Idaho - and Indian tribes in those states - can assume virtually all responsibility for wolf management, if they have Fish and Wildlife Service-approved wolf management plans.
Montana and Idaho already have such plans, so will take over most wolf-management duties within the next few months.
The Nez Perce Tribe of central Idaho has also submitted a management plan for federal review.
Wyoming has been the holdout, refusing to write a plan that would maintain a healthy population of wolves in that state.
In Montana, gray wolf program coordinator Carolyn Seim said Monday's announcement was "very welcome news."
"We do believe this is a positive step forward," Seim said. "We've worked very hard to put a plan together, and we feel this rule rewards our efforts as an agency - and the efforts of the people of Montana."
Already, the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks has taken the lead in managing wolves in northwestern Montana, where the species is protected as threatened.
The new rule affects those wolves considered "experimental, nonessential" animals by the federal government when they were released into Yellowstone Park and the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in January 1995.
The dividing line between "threatened" wolves and those considered "nonessential" is
Interstate 90.
With the new rule, Seim said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will take the lead on wolf management statewide.
"We feel like we are ready to go," she said. "And we feel like we have a public that supports state-led wolf management."
In Idaho, Gov. Dirk Kempthorne hailed the change in a telephone news conference with reporters.
The objective, he said, "is an atmosphere and an environment that allows the species to do well."
"This is a tremendous step forward for the state of Idaho," Kempthorne said. "The old rule was written to protect 25 to 50 wolves. Now we have over 500 wolves; the dynamics have changed, so the management also must change."
Besides delivering more authority to the states, the new rule also gives private landowners greater flexibility in dealing with "problem" wolves.
The regulation provides that:
n Wolves attacking livestock, dogs or livestock-herding animals on private land can be killed by landowners without prior written approval.
n Wolves attacking livestock and livestock-herding or livestock-guarding animals on public grazing allotments can be killed by grazing permitees, guides or outfitters, and on ceded lands by tribal members without written approval.
n Wolves causing unacceptable impacts to wildlife populations, such as herds of deer and elk, can be killed by state or tribal agencies - but only after the states or tribes complete science-based analyses that have been subjected to public and peer review, and have been approved by the federal government.
n States can also issue written authorization to landowners or grazing permitees to control wolves that consistently pose a threat to their livestock.
Bangs, at the Fish and Wildlife Service, said the new rules "will tend to keep wolves from spreading out into other areas."
"Right now, all the good wolf habitat in Idaho and the greater Yellowstone area is filled with wolves," Bangs said. "This won't change population densities in those areas much at all. But it will tend to keep the population within the primary recovery areas."
And it will be easier to kill wolves, he said. "Under the old rule, a wolf had to have its teeth in the livestock for a rancher to shoot. Under the new rule, it has to be a foot away, chasing them. It's a small difference, but a significant one."
Seim, however, said the state of Montana has no intention of "just going out there and eliminating wolves."
"No," she said. "That's not what we are about."
"Our plan works to integrate wolves into the human and the natural landscape," Seim said. "It works to find ways to have wolves fit in."
The key difference with state management, she said, will be the closer proximity of wolf managers to wolf populations.
"We'll have people living in these communities, working closely with landowners," she said. "That's a big difference from my perspective. It allows the state agency to be very responsive."
Money continues to be a concern for state wildlife managers, Seim said. A fully implemented wolf management program would cost about $900,000 a year - in Montana alone.
But the federal government is working to give the state the needed funds, and Montana's program will gradually increase as the money increases, according to Seim.
Montana is disappointed that wolves will remain on the Endangered Species List - and will remain there until Wyoming adopts a wolf-management plan, Seim added. "We would prefer that today's announcement was the delisting announcement, but we still see it as a positive step."
Not everyone was enthused by Norton's decision, including Defenders of Wildlife - one of the national conservation groups that championed wolf reintroduction.
"While Defenders of Wildlife supports strong and active state participation in managing wolves, it is essential that such management does not erase or compromise the incredible achievements made under the reintroduction program to date," said Nina Fascione, the group's vice president of field conservation.
"The new rule potentially jeopardizes wolf recovery efforts just as they were beginning to show some success," she said.
Said Suzanne Stone, the group's Rocky Mountain field representative, "After more than a century of extermination efforts in the West, and with illegal wolf killing on the rise, it is irresponsible to severely loosen restrictions on killing wolves."
The new rule takes effect in Montana and Idaho in 30 days.
By SHERRY DEVLIN of the Missoulian
Proclaiming it both a biological and a political success story, Interior Secretary Gale Norton on Monday announced plans to turn over the management of Montana's booming population of gray wolves to Montanans.
In the 10 years since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduced wolves to Yellowstone National Park and the central Idaho wilderness, wolf numbers have grown "far more quickly than anyone ever predicted," Norton said.
"We have seen a species recover," she said. "That's one success story. But so is the cooperation we've seen between state and federal governments."
About 850 wolves now inhabit Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, said Ed Bangs, the federal government's wolf recovery coordinator. Of those, about 700 animals are in the Yellowstone ecosystem and central Idaho.
Under the rule announced Monday, the states of Montana and Idaho - and Indian tribes in those states - can assume virtually all responsibility for wolf management, if they have Fish and Wildlife Service-approved wolf management plans.
Montana and Idaho already have such plans, so will take over most wolf-management duties within the next few months.
The Nez Perce Tribe of central Idaho has also submitted a management plan for federal review.
Wyoming has been the holdout, refusing to write a plan that would maintain a healthy population of wolves in that state.
In Montana, gray wolf program coordinator Carolyn Seim said Monday's announcement was "very welcome news."
"We do believe this is a positive step forward," Seim said. "We've worked very hard to put a plan together, and we feel this rule rewards our efforts as an agency - and the efforts of the people of Montana."
Already, the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks has taken the lead in managing wolves in northwestern Montana, where the species is protected as threatened.
The new rule affects those wolves considered "experimental, nonessential" animals by the federal government when they were released into Yellowstone Park and the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in January 1995.
The dividing line between "threatened" wolves and those considered "nonessential" is
Interstate 90.
With the new rule, Seim said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks will take the lead on wolf management statewide.
"We feel like we are ready to go," she said. "And we feel like we have a public that supports state-led wolf management."
In Idaho, Gov. Dirk Kempthorne hailed the change in a telephone news conference with reporters.
The objective, he said, "is an atmosphere and an environment that allows the species to do well."
"This is a tremendous step forward for the state of Idaho," Kempthorne said. "The old rule was written to protect 25 to 50 wolves. Now we have over 500 wolves; the dynamics have changed, so the management also must change."
Besides delivering more authority to the states, the new rule also gives private landowners greater flexibility in dealing with "problem" wolves.
The regulation provides that:
n Wolves attacking livestock, dogs or livestock-herding animals on private land can be killed by landowners without prior written approval.
n Wolves attacking livestock and livestock-herding or livestock-guarding animals on public grazing allotments can be killed by grazing permitees, guides or outfitters, and on ceded lands by tribal members without written approval.
n Wolves causing unacceptable impacts to wildlife populations, such as herds of deer and elk, can be killed by state or tribal agencies - but only after the states or tribes complete science-based analyses that have been subjected to public and peer review, and have been approved by the federal government.
n States can also issue written authorization to landowners or grazing permitees to control wolves that consistently pose a threat to their livestock.
Bangs, at the Fish and Wildlife Service, said the new rules "will tend to keep wolves from spreading out into other areas."
"Right now, all the good wolf habitat in Idaho and the greater Yellowstone area is filled with wolves," Bangs said. "This won't change population densities in those areas much at all. But it will tend to keep the population within the primary recovery areas."
And it will be easier to kill wolves, he said. "Under the old rule, a wolf had to have its teeth in the livestock for a rancher to shoot. Under the new rule, it has to be a foot away, chasing them. It's a small difference, but a significant one."
Seim, however, said the state of Montana has no intention of "just going out there and eliminating wolves."
"No," she said. "That's not what we are about."
"Our plan works to integrate wolves into the human and the natural landscape," Seim said. "It works to find ways to have wolves fit in."
The key difference with state management, she said, will be the closer proximity of wolf managers to wolf populations.
"We'll have people living in these communities, working closely with landowners," she said. "That's a big difference from my perspective. It allows the state agency to be very responsive."
Money continues to be a concern for state wildlife managers, Seim said. A fully implemented wolf management program would cost about $900,000 a year - in Montana alone.
But the federal government is working to give the state the needed funds, and Montana's program will gradually increase as the money increases, according to Seim.
Montana is disappointed that wolves will remain on the Endangered Species List - and will remain there until Wyoming adopts a wolf-management plan, Seim added. "We would prefer that today's announcement was the delisting announcement, but we still see it as a positive step."
Not everyone was enthused by Norton's decision, including Defenders of Wildlife - one of the national conservation groups that championed wolf reintroduction.
"While Defenders of Wildlife supports strong and active state participation in managing wolves, it is essential that such management does not erase or compromise the incredible achievements made under the reintroduction program to date," said Nina Fascione, the group's vice president of field conservation.
"The new rule potentially jeopardizes wolf recovery efforts just as they were beginning to show some success," she said.
Said Suzanne Stone, the group's Rocky Mountain field representative, "After more than a century of extermination efforts in the West, and with illegal wolf killing on the rise, it is irresponsible to severely loosen restrictions on killing wolves."
The new rule takes effect in Montana and Idaho in 30 days.
May have to take you up on that offer as I'm always looking for new places to hunt and will be spending mucho time this year trying for a mule deer.
