places forwolves · 2019-12-16 · yellowstone, the push to remove gray . wolves in the northern...

WolvesPLACES for

The Northern Rockies

© S

ANDY

SIS

TI

The alpha female (left) and male (right) of the Canyon pack move along the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park. Now that federal protection for wolves has been removed, wolves that venture beyond park borders are subject to the overly aggressive wolf-management tactics adopted by neighboring states.

The Northern Rockies were once a gray wolf stronghold, but predator removal programs initiated in the 1880s essentially wiped wolves out in the region by the 1930s. Wolves received legal

protections with the passage of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973 and started dispersing into northwest Montana from Canada in the 1980s. In 1995 and 1996, a total of 66 wild gray wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park and in central Idaho. The purpose of reintroduction was to jump-start wolf recovery in the Northern Rockies. Wolves did their part, steadily increasing their numbers and range.

Today, thanks to the ESA, dedicated conservationists and the wolf ’s own robust ability to reproduce, gray wolves are back in the region and naturally recolonizing adjacent areas. At the end of 2012, there were at least 1,674 wolves, including more than 100 breeding pairs: 625 in Montana, 277 in Wyoming, 683 in Idaho, 46 in eastern Oregon and 43 in eastern Washington.

The PotentialVast areas of suitable wolf habitat remain unoccupied in national forests and national parks in the former western range of the gray wolf.

Unfortunately, just as wolves had established a healthy, intercon-nected regional population, they were removed from the endangered species list, first in Idaho and Montana, then in Wyoming. Wolf management shifted from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to the state resource agencies.

Overly aggressive management by the states is consistently reduc-ing wolf numbers and the connectivity necessary for wolves to ex-pand into unoccupied areas in the Northern Rockies and neighbor-ing states. Consequently, full recovery of the wolf in the American West is threatened.

2 Places for Wolves • Northern Rockies

Defenders advocates for the protection and management efforts necessary to retain and restore wolves in numbers sufficient to ensure their long-term survival and maintenance of the critical role they play in the ecosystem.

Keeping wolf populations healthy in the areas wolves currently occupy (solid red lines on map) is also essential to facilitate natural recolonization by wolves dispersing from existing populations (gray arrows indicate potential dispersal corridors) to additional suitable and appropriate wolf habitat (dashed red lines).

Note: The suitable habitat for wolves designated on the map is an approximation based on peer-reviewed studies, expert opinion of our staff and habitat modeling, a complex science that involves superimposing multiple factors such as wolf range and dispersal routes, road density and usage, vegetation types, prey density, presence of livestock, development, slope and elevation.

Current and Potential Wolf Habitat and Dispersal Corridors in the Northern Rockies

KootenaiIndianRes.

KalispelIndian Res.Indian Res.Indian Res.

SpokaneIndian Res.

ColvilleIndian Res.

CoeurD'alene

Indian Res.

Nez Perce Indian Res.

FlatheadIndianRes.

BlackfeetIndian Res.

Rocky BoysIndian Res.

FortBelknapIndianRes.

Fort PeckIndian Res.

NorthernCheyenne

Indian Res.

CrowIndian Res.

Wind RiverIndian Res.

Fort HallIndian Res.

Uintah andOurayIndian Res.

Duck ValleyIndian Res.

Te-moakIndian Res.

Fort McdermittIndian Res.


Summit LakeIndian Res.

DuckwaterIndian Res.

GoshuteIndian Res.

Skull ValleyIndian Res.

Burns Paiute ColonyIndian Res.

UmatillaIndian Res.

CANADAUNITED STATES

WASHINGTON

Burns Paiute ColonyBurns Paiute ColonyBurns Paiute Colony

OREGON

NEVADA

MONTANA

IDAHO

UTAH

WYOMING

COLORADO

Coeur d’Alene

Moscow

Kalispell

Sandpoint Browning

LewistonWallaWalla

CoeurD'aleneD'aleneD'aleneD'alene

CoeurCoeurD'aleneD'alene

Spokane

Grangeville

Missoula

Helena

Butte

Great Falls

Lewistown

Bozeman

Gardiner Cooke City

Boise Sun Valley

Ontario

Baker City

Burns Paiute ColonyBurns Paiute ColonyBurns Paiute ColonyBurns Paiute ColonyBurns Paiute ColonyBurns Paiute ColonyBurns

Elko

Ely

Austin

Salt Lake City

Provo

Price

Ogden

Rifle

Craig

Rawlins

Kemmerer

Jackson

WestYellowstone

Buffalo

Sheridan

Worland

Riverton

Lander

Rock Springs

Greybull

Aspen

Grand Junction

Idaho Falls

Pocatello

Twin Falls

SalmonBaker CityBaker CityBaker City

La Grande

Pendleton

Sun R.

Salmon R.

Coeur d’AleneCoeur d’Alene

Clark Forkrk

FlatheadFlathead

k

Flathead Lake

Fort PeckLake

BighornLake

KalispelIndian Res.

KalispelIndian Res.

KalispelIndian Res.Indian Res.Indian Res.Indian Res.Indian Res.

F.D.R.Lake

Great SaltLake Flaming Gorge

Res.

Colville

Columbia R.

Yellowstone R.

Snake R.

Uintah andOurayIndian Res.OurayIndian Res.Ouray

G

reen

R.

Missouri R.

WASHINGTON

WallaWalla

Snak

e R.

Flathead LakeFlathead Lake

Kalispell

Flathead LakeFlathead LakeFlathead Lake

Glacier National Park

Arches N.P.

Indian Res.Indian Res.Great Basin

N.P.

Yellowstone National Park

John D. RockefellerMem. Pkwy.Grand

TetonN.P.

Butte

Helena N.F.

Kootenai

SandpointSandpointSandpointSandpointSandpoint

KaniksuN.F.

ColvilleN.F.

OkanoganN.F.

KootenaiN.F.

Lewis andCLarkN.F.

Lewis and CLarkN.F.

Bozeman

.

BozemanGallatin

N.F.

TargheeN.F.

FlatheadN.F.

Helena

HelenaN.F.

Buffalo

SheridanSheridan

Buffalo

BighornN.F.

BeaverheadN.F.

Salmon N.F.

Challis N.F.

Payette N.F.

CusterN.F.

John D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. Rockefeller

ShoshoneN.F.

N.P.N.P.N.P.N.P.Natl. Elk

Refuge

k

LoloN.F.

Nez PerceNez Perce

ClearwaterN.F.

GrangevilleGrangevilleGrangevilleGrangeville

m

Nez PerceN.F.

Sun ValleySun Valley

SawtoothN.F.

SawtoothN.F.

Humboldt-Toiyabe

N.F.Fort McdermittFort McdermittFort McdermittFort Mcdermitt

Humboldt-Toiyabe N.F.

MalheurN.F.

UmatillaN.F.

WallaUmatilla

N.F.

Wallowa-Whitman

N.F.

Te-moakIndian Res.

Te-moakIndian Res.

Humboldt-Toiyabe

N.F.

DuckwaterEly


CaribouN.F.

Wasatch-CacheN.F.

Salt Lake CitySalt Lake CitySalt Lake CitySalt Lake City

Wasatch-CacheN.F.

Wasatch-Cache

N.F.AshleyN.F.

Ashley N.F.Salt Lake City

eAshleyAshley

High UintasWilderness Area White River

N.F.

Grand JunctionGrand JunctionGrand Junction

Grand MesaN.F.

Grand JunctionUncompahgre

N.F.

RouttN.F.

Salt Lake CitySalt Lake City

ProvoProvo

Salt Lake City

Wilderness Area


ProvoProvo

Salt Lake City

Wilderness Area

UintaN.F.

ProvoProvoManti-La-SalN.F.

BitterrootN.F.

BoiseN.F.

MissoulaMissoulaLolo N.F.

MoscowMoscow

St. JoeN.F.

Coeur d’AleneCoeur d’AleneCoeur d’Alene

C

Coeur d’AleneCoeur d’AleneCoeur d’AleneCoeur d’AleneCoeur d’AleneCoeur d’Alene

CoeurD’Alene

N.F.

JacksonJacksonBridger-

TetonN.F.

90 90

25

94

90

84

84

84

80

80

15

15

15

70

70

15

90

Helena N.F.

KaniksuN.F.

ColvilleN.F.

OkanoganN.F.

KootenaiN.F.

Lewis andCLarkN.F.

Lewis and CLarkN.F.

GallatinN.F.

TargheeN.F.

FlatheadN.F.

HelenaN.F.

BighornN.F.

BeaverheadN.F.

Salmon N.F.

Challis N.F.

Payette N.F.

CusterN.F.

ShoshoneN.F.

Natl. ElkRefuge

LoloN.F.

ClearwaterN.F.

Nez PerceN.F.

SawtoothN.F.

SawtoothN.F.

Humboldt-Toiyabe

N.F.


MalheurN.F.

UmatillaN.F.

UmatillaN.F.

Wallowa-Whitman

N.F.

Humboldt-Toiyabe

N.F.


CaribouN.F.

Wasatch-CacheN.F.

Wasatch-CacheN.F.

Wasatch-Cache

N.F.AshleyN.F.

Ashley N.F.


N.F.

Grand MesaN.F.

UncompahgreN.F.

RouttN.F.

UintaN.F.

Manti-La-SalN.F.

BitterrootN.F.

BoiseN.F.

Lolo N.F.St. JoeN.F.

CoeurD’Alene

N.F.

Bridger-TetonN.F.


Arches N.P.Great Basin

N.P.



TetonN.P.

Sun R.

Salmon R.

Clark Fork

Flathead Lake

Fort PeckLake

BighornLake

F.D.R.Lake


Res.

Columbia R.

Yellowstone R.

Snake R.

Gre

en R

.

Missouri R.

Snak

e R.

Coeur d’Alene

Moscow

Kalispell

Sandpoint Browning

LewistonWallaWalla

Spokane

Grangeville

Missoula

Helena

Butte

Great Falls

Lewistown

Bozeman

Gardiner Cooke City

Boise Sun Valley

Ontario

Baker City

Burns

Elko

Ely

Austin

Salt Lake City

Provo

Price

Ogden

Rifle

Craig

Rawlins

Kemmerer

Jackson

WestYellowstone

Buffalo

Sheridan

Worland

Riverton

Lander

Rock Springs

Greybull

Aspen

Grand Junction

Idaho Falls

Pocatello

Twin Falls

SalmonLa Grande

Pendleton

WASHINGTON

OREGON

NEVADA

MONTANA

IDAHO

UTAH

WYOMING

COLORADO

CANADAUNITED STATES

KootenaiIndianRes.

KalispelIndian Res.

SpokaneIndian Res.

ColvilleIndian Res.

CoeurD'alene

Indian Res.


FlatheadIndianRes.





NorthernCheyenne

Indian Res.

CrowIndian Res.





Te-moakIndian Res.





GoshuteIndian Res.



UmatillaIndian Res.

Occupied wolf range

Suitable wolf habitat

Potential dispersal corridor

Federal land

Tribal lands

0 100 mi

0 100 km

©2013 International Mapping


KootenaiIndianRes.

KalispelIndian Res.Indian Res.Indian Res.

SpokaneIndian Res.

ColvilleIndian Res.

CoeurD'alene

Indian Res.


FlatheadIndianRes.





NorthernCheyenne

Indian Res.

CrowIndian Res.





Te-moakIndian Res.





GoshuteIndian Res.



UmatillaIndian Res.

CANADAUNITED STATES

WASHINGTON

Burns Paiute ColonyBurns Paiute ColonyBurns Paiute Colony

OREGON

NEVADA

MONTANA

IDAHO

UTAH

WYOMING

COLORADO

Coeur d’Alene

Moscow

Kalispell

Sandpoint Browning

LewistonWallaWalla

CoeurD'aleneD'aleneD'aleneD'alene

CoeurCoeurD'aleneD'alene

Spokane

Grangeville

Missoula

Helena

Butte

Great Falls

Lewistown

Bozeman

Gardiner Cooke City

Boise Sun Valley

Ontario

Baker City

Burns Paiute ColonyBurns Paiute ColonyBurns Paiute ColonyBurns Paiute ColonyBurns Paiute ColonyBurns Paiute ColonyBurns

Elko

Ely

Austin

Salt Lake City

Provo

Price

Ogden

Rifle

Craig

Rawlins

Kemmerer

Jackson

WestYellowstone

Buffalo

Sheridan

Worland

Riverton

Lander

Rock Springs

Greybull

Aspen

Grand Junction

Idaho Falls

Pocatello

Twin Falls

SalmonBaker CityBaker CityBaker City

La Grande

Pendleton

Sun R.

Salmon R.

Coeur d’AleneCoeur d’Alene

Clark Forkrk

FlatheadFlathead

k

Flathead Lake

Fort PeckLake

BighornLake

KalispelIndian Res.

KalispelIndian Res.

KalispelIndian Res.Indian Res.Indian Res.Indian Res.Indian Res.

F.D.R.Lake


Res.

Colville

Columbia R.

Yellowstone R.

Snake R.

Uintah andOurayIndian Res.OurayIndian Res.Ouray

G

reen

R.

Missouri R.

WASHINGTON

WallaWalla

Snak

e R.

Flathead LakeFlathead Lake

Kalispell

Flathead LakeFlathead LakeFlathead Lake


Arches N.P.

Indian Res.Indian Res.Great Basin

N.P.



TetonN.P.

Butte

Helena N.F.

Kootenai

SandpointSandpointSandpointSandpointSandpoint

KaniksuN.F.

ColvilleN.F.

OkanoganN.F.

KootenaiN.F.

Lewis andCLarkN.F.

Lewis and CLarkN.F.

Bozeman

.

BozemanGallatin

N.F.

TargheeN.F.

FlatheadN.F.

Helena

HelenaN.F.

Buffalo

SheridanSheridan

Buffalo

BighornN.F.

BeaverheadN.F.

Salmon N.F.

Challis N.F.

Payette N.F.

CusterN.F.

John D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. RockefellerJohn D. Rockefeller

ShoshoneN.F.

N.P.N.P.N.P.N.P.Natl. Elk

Refuge

k

LoloN.F.

Nez PerceNez Perce

ClearwaterN.F.

GrangevilleGrangevilleGrangevilleGrangeville

m

Nez PerceN.F.

Sun ValleySun Valley

SawtoothN.F.

SawtoothN.F.

Humboldt-Toiyabe

N.F.Fort McdermittFort McdermittFort McdermittFort Mcdermitt


MalheurN.F.

UmatillaN.F.

WallaUmatilla

N.F.

Wallowa-Whitman

N.F.

Te-moakIndian Res.

Te-moakIndian Res.

Humboldt-Toiyabe

N.F.

DuckwaterEly


CaribouN.F.

Wasatch-CacheN.F.

Salt Lake CitySalt Lake CitySalt Lake CitySalt Lake City

Wasatch-CacheN.F.

Wasatch-Cache

N.F.AshleyN.F.

Ashley N.F.Salt Lake City

eAshleyAshley


N.F.

Grand JunctionGrand JunctionGrand Junction

Grand MesaN.F.

Grand JunctionUncompahgre

N.F.

RouttN.F.


ProvoProvo

Salt Lake City

Wilderness Area


ProvoProvo

Salt Lake City

Wilderness Area

UintaN.F.

ProvoProvoManti-La-SalN.F.

BitterrootN.F.

BoiseN.F.

MissoulaMissoulaLolo N.F.

MoscowMoscow

St. JoeN.F.

Coeur d’AleneCoeur d’AleneCoeur d’Alene

C

Coeur d’AleneCoeur d’AleneCoeur d’AleneCoeur d’AleneCoeur d’AleneCoeur d’Alene

CoeurD’Alene

N.F.

JacksonJacksonBridger-

TetonN.F.

90 90

25

94

90

84

84

84

80

80

15

15

15

70

70

15

90

Helena N.F.

KaniksuN.F.

ColvilleN.F.

OkanoganN.F.

KootenaiN.F.

Lewis andCLarkN.F.

Lewis and CLarkN.F.

GallatinN.F.

TargheeN.F.

FlatheadN.F.

HelenaN.F.

BighornN.F.

BeaverheadN.F.

Salmon N.F.

Challis N.F.

Payette N.F.

CusterN.F.

ShoshoneN.F.

Natl. ElkRefuge

LoloN.F.

ClearwaterN.F.

Nez PerceN.F.

SawtoothN.F.

SawtoothN.F.

Humboldt-Toiyabe

N.F.


MalheurN.F.

UmatillaN.F.

UmatillaN.F.

Wallowa-Whitman

N.F.

Humboldt-Toiyabe

N.F.


CaribouN.F.

Wasatch-CacheN.F.

Wasatch-CacheN.F.

Wasatch-Cache

N.F.AshleyN.F.

Ashley N.F.


N.F.

Grand MesaN.F.

UncompahgreN.F.

RouttN.F.

UintaN.F.

Manti-La-SalN.F.

BitterrootN.F.

BoiseN.F.

Lolo N.F.St. JoeN.F.

CoeurD’Alene

N.F.

Bridger-TetonN.F.


Arches N.P.Great Basin

N.P.



TetonN.P.

Sun R.

Salmon R.

Clark Fork

Flathead Lake

Fort PeckLake

BighornLake

F.D.R.Lake


Res.

Columbia R.

Yellowstone R.

Snake R.

G

reen

R.

Missouri R.

Snak

e R.

Coeur d’Alene

Moscow

Kalispell

Sandpoint Browning

LewistonWallaWalla

Spokane

Grangeville

Missoula

Helena

Butte

Great Falls

Lewistown

Bozeman

Gardiner Cooke City

Boise Sun Valley

Ontario

Baker City

Burns

Elko

Ely

Austin

Salt Lake City

Provo

Price

Ogden

Rifle

Craig

Rawlins

Kemmerer

Jackson

WestYellowstone

Buffalo

Sheridan

Worland

Riverton

Lander

Rock Springs

Greybull

Aspen

Grand Junction

Idaho Falls

Pocatello

Twin Falls

SalmonLa Grande

Pendleton

WASHINGTON

OREGON

NEVADA

MONTANA

IDAHO

UTAH

WYOMING

COLORADO

CANADAUNITED STATES

KootenaiIndianRes.

KalispelIndian Res.

SpokaneIndian Res.

ColvilleIndian Res.

CoeurD'alene

Indian Res.


FlatheadIndianRes.





NorthernCheyenne

Indian Res.

CrowIndian Res.





Te-moakIndian Res.





GoshuteIndian Res.



UmatillaIndian Res.

Occupied wolf range

Suitable wolf habitat

Potential dispersal corridor

Federal land

Tribal lands

0 100 mi

0 100 km

©2013 International Mapping


Cartography by International Mapping© 2013 Defenders of Wildlife

3 Places for Wolves • Northern Rockies

The Challenges The primary threat to wolves in the Northern Rockies is overly aggressive state management that caters to anti-wolf sentiment fueled by myth and misinformation. Conflicts over wolves center on livestock losses and the perceived impact of wolves on elk and deer populations and hunting opportunities. Ever since federal protection was removed, state policies and legislation have been aimed at dramatically reducing wolf populations in the region. Even though the states pledged to manage wolves like other native species, state fish and game commissions and legislatures have been directing and pressuring their wildlife-management agencies to significantly lower wolf numbers through lethal control, hunting and trapping.

Unlike black bear and mountain lion hunters, wolf hunters can get multiple tags (up to 10 per person), hunt nearly year-round, trap and snare in some parts of Idaho, and kill pups. Wyoming has removed all protection for wolves across most of state, once again making the species vulnerable to eradication from important portions of its historic range. The state quickly opened both a regulated hunting season and an unregulated predator zone that covers more than 80 percent of the state where wolves can be killed by anyone—and by almost any means—year-round, including on national forest lands.

More than half of the known wolves in the predator zone were killed in just the first few months following delisting. These wolves are important not only for their ecological benefits but also because they are in the best position to disperse into the historical range of the wolf in Colorado and Utah, where there are still no documented wolf packs despite excellent suitable habitat and public support for their return.

No other species, especially one with a total population of less than a few thousand, is being managed as aggressively as Northern Rockies wolves. People who are unwilling or unprepared to share the landscape with wolves have unduly influenced the management of these important predators. In less than two years, more than 1,100 wolves were killed in the

The Push to Delist

Just 13 years after the first releases in Yellowstone, the push to remove gray wolves in the Northern Rockies from the endangered species list began.

2008The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) removes Northern Rockies wolves from the endangered species list, approving management plans that allow Montana, Idaho and Wyoming to reduce their wolf populations to 150 wolves each, slashing the regional population from nearly 1,800 to 450 wolves.

After Defenders of Wildlife and others sue FWS, citing the inadequacy of these state plans and lack of the connectivity between wolf populations specified in the recovery plan to ensure genetic diversity, a federal judge reinstates protection for wolves.

2009FWS attempts to delist wolves again, this time excluding Wyoming on the basis of its inadequate wolf-management plan.

2010After another lawsuit, a federal court overturns the 2009 decision to delist wolves, ruling that FWS can not remove protection in only a portion of the Northern Rockies wolf population’s core range, because conditions that support the recovery of wolves must be present in a significant portion of their entire range in the region.

2011A legislative “rider” attached to a must-pass budget bill ends federal protection for wolves in Idaho and Montana, eastern Oregon and Washington and northern Utah, the first-ever removal of a species from the endangered species list by Congress. Wyoming wolves remain on the list because the state still does not have an FWS-approved wolf-management plan.

2012Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar reaches an agreement with the Wyoming governor to reverse course and accept Wyoming’s wolf plan with only minor changes, and FWS again delists wolves in Wyoming. The state quickly opens a regulated hunting season. It also establishes an unregulated predator zone that covers more than 80 percent of the state, including national forest lands, where wolves can be killed by almost any means year-round.

2013Defenders goes back to court in an attempt to restore ESA protection for wolves in Wyoming.

© H

ANK

PERR

Y

1130 17th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 • 202.682.9400 • defendersofwildlife.org

Northern Rockies, and states seem determined to slash wolf numbers even more. The federal delisting plan offers no mechanism to prevent Idaho, Montana and Wyoming from killing all but 150 wolves each and requires no scientific justification that 150 wolves constitute a healthy, recovered wolf population.

For Northern Rockies wolves to recover and assume their important role in ecosystems, states must manage wolves as an accepted and valued native species—like mountain lions and black bears. States must also ensure adequate connectivity between wolf populations to allow for natural recolonization in Washington, Oregon, Utah and Colorado. Education and outreach efforts are also vital to foster more tolerance for wolves and to promote the use of nonlethal methods to address conflicts and to secure a future for wolves in the region.

Carroll, C. M. K. Phillips, C. A. Lopez-Gonzalez, and N. H. Schumaker. 2006. Defining recovery goals and strategies for endangered species: the wolf as a case study. Bioscience 56: 25-37.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife: dfw.state.or.us/Wolves/population.asp

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2012. Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Program 2011 Interagency Annual Report. M.D. Jimenez and S.A. Becker, eds. USFWS, Ecological Services, 585 Shepard Way, Helena, Montana, 59601. Available at: www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/annualrpt11/030612_FINAL_NRM-Background-Summary_2011.pdf

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife: wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_wolf/

References

© S

ANDY

SIS

TI/W

ILD

AT H

EART

IMAG

ES

© D

EFEN

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A wolf specialist with Wildlife Services, the federal agency charged with wolf control, installs fladry—colorful flags affixed to a barrier. This simple, economical, effective nonlethal wolf deterrent is widely used in sheep-grazing areas.

places forwolves · 2019-12-16 · yellowstone, the push to remove gray . wolves in the northern...

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