Topics
Wolves
Summary
Few wildlife conservation efforts have been as controversial as that of the grey wolf in the Northern Rockies. Federal efforts to protect the wolf have clashed with state efforts to control wolf populations and protect livestock and game from predation by wolf packs.
Idaho and Montana have been given federal authority to manage wolf numbers using public hunts. Federal officials require Idaho to maintain a population of at least 150 wolves and 10 breeding pairs.
Idaho wildlife officials have boosted bag limits, expanded trapping and extended hunting seasons in some areas to help further reduce wolf populations in all corners of the state. Its 10-month wolf season runs until June.
Idaho’s wolf managers estimated 500 to 600 wolves roamed the state as of spring 2012, down from the more than 1,000 when the 2011 hunting season opened in August.
Hunters and trappers killed 364 wolves since the 2011 season opened, while dozens more wolves have died of natural causes or been killed for preying on livestock or targeted as part of a strategy to lessen impacts on specific elk herds in the state.
A federal appeals court in March rejected a lawsuit from conservation groups that wanted to block wolf hunts across the Northern Rockies. The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Congress had the right to intervene when it stripped protections from wolves in spring 2011.
Lawmakers stepped in after court rulings kept wolves on the endangered list for years after they reached recovery goals. Wildlife advocates claimed in their lawsuit that Congress violated the separation of powers by interfering with the courts. But the court said Congress was within its rights, and that lawmakers had appropriately amended the Endangered Species Act to deal with Northern Rockies wolves.
There are more than 1,700 wolves in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and expanding populations in portions of Eastern Washington and northeastern Oregon. Wolf hunting could resume in Wyoming this fall.
In parts of Montana, ranchers and local officials frustrated with continuing attacks on livestock have proposed bounties for hunters that kill wolves. Montana wildlife officials said they will consider ways to expand hunting after 166 wolves were killed this season, short of the state’s 220-wolf quota.
Wolves once thrived across North America but were exterminated across most of the continental U.S. by the 1930s, through government sponsored poisoning and bounty programs.
Wolves were put on the endangered list in 1974. Over the last two decades, state and federal agencies have spent more than $100 million on wolf restoration programs across the country. There are more than 4,500 of the animals in the upper Great Lakes and a struggling population of several dozen wolves in the Desert Southwest.
Prior lawsuits resulted first in the animals’ reintroduction to the Northern Rockies and then later kept them on the endangered list for a decade after the species reached recovery goal of 300 wolves in three states.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is monitoring the hunts. But agency officials have said they have no plans to intervene because the states have pledged to manage wolves responsibly.
Federal officials have pledged to step in to restore endangered species protections if wolf numbers drop to less than 100 animals in either Montana or Idaho.
Even without hunting, wolves are shot regularly in the region in response to livestock attacks. Since their reintroduction, more than 1,600 wolves have been shot by government wildlife agents or ranchers.
Latest updates in this topic
Conflict resolution specialist reveals tools for national wolf dialogue
BILLINGS – Few discussions result in more fur flying than those involving people with differing views on large carnivores like gray wolves.
Washington OKs killing of more wolves in northeast Washington
Another wolfpack is under the gun after a series of attacks on livestock.
Washington will try to kill wolves in pack near Canadian border
Two wolves from a pack in northeast Washington are set to be killed following a series of attacks on livestock.
Idaho on track to meet wolf population goals
LEWISTON – Idaho is on track to meet its wolf population goals within the next four or five years, according to the state’s fish and game department.
Wolves keep endangered status in Washington
Gray wolves in Washington will remain on the state’s endangered species list.
State kills over 80 bears in southwest Alaska in second-year effort to boost caribou
State wildlife officials have now killed a total of 180 brown bears on Southwest Alaska caribou calving grounds in just over a year as part of a contested strategy to …
Under pressure: Study analyzes how elk manage threats from predators, humans
Elk in northeastern Washington have a lot to deal with.
Field Reports: Yellowstone names new leader of wolf program
A longtime biologist is taking the helm of Yellowstone National Park’s wolf research and monitoring efforts.
State kills two wolves in southeastern Washington
Two wolves that were part of a group that had been attacking livestock have been killed.
State authorizes killing of up to two wolves in southeastern Washington
Washington state officials have approved the killing of up to two wolves in southeastern Washington after the animals were linked to a series of cattle deaths.
Washington Fish and Wildlife considering lethal removal of wolves in Asotin County
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife managers are considering options, including lethal control, to stop wolf attacks on livestock in Asotin County.
Washington buys upgraded devices to help prevent wolf-livestock conflict
Washington wildlife officials have added to their wolf conservation repertoire with an improved version of an old tool to keep carnivores away from livestock.
Wolf report spawns debate over population, hunting
When it comes to the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks and wolves, no one seems to be happy.
Yellowstone wolf population rebounds from hunter harvest
The wolf population in Yellowstone National Park has rebounded somewhat following a reduction in 2021-22 when hunters killed 25 animals that primarily lived inside the refuge where hunting is banned.
‘The Return of Wolves’: New book by S-R’s Eli Francovich delves into politics of wolves in the American West
“Wolves incite the kind of passions usually reserved for war and infidelity —passions that highlight deep political and social divides,” Eli Francovich writes in his new book, “The Return of …
State biologists confirm wolf pack on Mount Spokane during annual wolf survey
Washington biologists have confirmed the existence of a wolf pack on the western flank of Mount Spokane. The pack was confirmed during the state’s annual wolf survey and has a …
Montana wolf harvest drops for 2nd year in a row, despite laws to make hunting, trapping easier
Despite laws enacted by the Legislature two years ago to increase wolf kills in Montana, the state’s wolf harvest dropped for the second year in a row.
How does Idaho count wolves? Critics say state uses ‘smoke and mirrors,’ misleads public
How does Idaho count wolves? Critics say state uses ‘smoke and mirrors,’ misleads public
Washington wolf bill likely dead
A bill that would have given local governments in Eastern Washington more authority to kill and move wolves is likely dead.
Proposed bill would give counties more control over wolf management in Washington
Washington counties would have more control over tracking, moving and killing gray wolves per proposed legislation.
As Idaho’s wolf numbers decline, Fish and Game hopes to whittle population by additional 60%
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game estimates wolf populations have dropped, and officials said they hope to implement a plan that would slash numbers to a fraction of the …
National Park Service proposes ban on ‘controversial’ hunting and trapping methods in Alaska’s federal preserves
The National Park Service wants to reinstate bans on what it describes as “controversial” hunting and trapping activities on Alaska’s federal preserves, including luring bears with bait, shooting swimming caribou …
After famed Yellowstone wolf biologist retires regional experts reflect on his impact
Although Doug Smith, the recently retired wolf biologist for Yellowstone National Park, never worked in Washington State, his influence is felt here according to regional wolf experts.
‘Honest, hardworking, humble’: Yellowstone National Park’s lead wolf biologist retires after 28 years
Doug Smith was hired to reintroduce gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park in the early 1990s. In the years that followed, his team radio collared 41 wolves, acclimated them to …
Spokane Audubon meeting features Washington wolf management
The Spokane Audubon Society’s Dec. 14 meeting, featuring wolf conservation and management in Washington state, will be in-person and available online via Zoom online.
Cougars kill wolves in Washington, raising questions about predator-on-predator dynamics
It’s dog-eat-dog out there, except occasionally in Washington when it becomes a cat-eat-dog life.
Idaho wolf population stable one year after liberalized hunting, trapping rules went into effect
Idaho’s overall wolf population has remained stable despite liberalized hunting and trapping laws that went into effect last year. That was Idaho Department of Fish and Game Director Ed Schriever’s …
Washington officials determine 6 wolves found dead in Northeastern Washington were poisoned
Wolf advocacy groups are offering reward money for the conviction of the poachers.
Washington wildlife officials mistakenly kill wolf pup
Washington wildlife officials mistakenly killed a wolf pup Thursday believing the animal was an adult member of the Smackout pack.
Washington wildlife commissioners vote against wolf-livestock rule
Washington will not implement wolf-livestock rules two years after Gov. Jay Inslee asked state wildlife managers to reduce the number of wolves killed.
State wildlife commission debates wolf rule in charged meeting
In a sometimes heated meeting Washington wildlife manages continued to debate whether or not to implement new wolf-livestock rules, Friday.
Togo wolf pack kills another calf in northeast Washington, state considering how to proceed
Wolves killed a calf on private industrial timberland this week and the attack, which is the latest in a series this month, could prompt the Washington Department of Fish and …