This spring, Congress passed legislation that removed wolves from the endangered species list in Montana and Idaho. This delisting represents a success, of sorts, for the controversial federal program that reintroduced wolves to the northern Rockies in the 1990s. Wolves, which had once roamed across large areas of the country, had been placed on the federal endangered species list in 1974. Their reintroduction, opposed by ranchers concerned about livestock, among others, took years of compromises to carry out.
Now, with the number of wolves in the northern Rockies having far exceeded goals set by the Endangered Species Act, Idaho and Montana are planning wolf hunts in the fall. M. David Allen, president of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, a group based in Montana and dedicated to wildlife conservation and advocating for hunters, discusses.
Q. Talk a little about the recent history of wolves in the northern Rockies.
A. It was decided upon to reintroduce wolves in an “experimental, nonessential” classification into the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. The first wolves were brought down from Canada in 1995. There is a segment of the population here that felt that wolves were missing from the landscape and needed to be reintroduced.
Q. How many were reintroduced? How many are there now?
A. Fifty to 70 were reintroduced. The number 1,700 is the number that has been used for two years — as if there’s been no growth. Some of us believe there are 2,500 to 3,000 right now. The original goal that everybody agreed to was 100 wolves in each of three areas and 30 breeding pair — 10 in each area. Then they said, “Let’s build a buffer into that. Let’s add five breeding pair to each state and 50 wolves to each state.” We have surpassed both of those by 500 percent or better. [Montana has 550 to 600 of the wolves that are in the northern Rockies.]
Q. What’s the problem with wolves?
A. The prediction was they could reduce the elk population in the northern Yellowstone herd by 15 percent. The winter count, which is when most wildlife is counted, in 1995, was 19,000 plus.
This winter, the count was 4,400. That was the showcase herd of Rocky Mountain elk. That’s where our concern and our alarm comes from. This is way beyond what was predicted. Even the pro-wolf folks didn’t expect this. You have to manage all wildlife. You can’t have an amnesty program for some wildlife. The real issue is common-sense wildlife management. If we start trying to kid ourselves that we can return the land to the “natural way,” that’s a fantasy because there’s some 300 million of us. If we want to return it to the “natural way,” we’ve all got to get on a spaceship. It’s an ideological battle, not a scientific debate. There’s no debate that wolves have recovered. What’s being done now by environmental and animal rights groups is creating more damage because they are overreaching. [Some of these groups believe wolves should not have been removed from the protected list.] We’re big boys. We can live with wolves. But they’ve got to be managed. Our state has the best wildlife managers in the world.
Q. With wolves no longer protected, will there soon be new wolf hunting in Montana?
A. The state is preparing for fall hunts now. They will probably begin selling licenses in August. The state will come up with their management number. In Montana, I have heard there is a recommendation for [hunting] 200 wolves. That number is not set yet because the public comment period is not closed. I don’t object to that number. I think it would begin to bring the wolf population in check. I don’t know if achieving a population of 300 [the original number of wolves planned for the northern Rockies during reintroduction] short-term is realistic. Simply having hunting season for wolves is not going to significantly impact the wolf population. In the first couple of years, it might. But wolves are not stupid animals. They will change their lifestyle and go deeper into the wilderness to avoid being hunted. I don’t have a magic number, but we have got to reduce the wolf population we’ve got now by at least 50-60 percent. Some say it’s got to go even lower, and some say there’s got to be at least 5,000 or they’ll be threatened with extinction.
Q. Having said that, what do you think needs to be done to keep things in balance?
A. Montana must be given the ability to set population thresholds and management numbers for wolves just like they do for bears, deer, mountain lions and other wildlife. They then need to bring the number of wolves down to that management number. Hunting is one part of it. But there are other ways, like trapping and having federal agents come in and take out problem wolves.
What pro-wolf people do not understand is that the longer you go and let this problem get out of control, the harsher the methods will have to become.
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