Estimates Put Wolf
Numbers Up in Rockies
September 07, 2005 — By Becky Bohrer, Associated Press
BILLINGS, Mont. — The number of gray
wolves in the Northern Rockies has increased to more than 900 since last
year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated Tuesday.
According to the agency's mid-year estimate, 912 wolves now roam the
three-state region, compared to 835 in December, said Ed Bangs, Fish and
Wildlife's wolf recovery coordinator in Helena, Mont.
The agency attributed the increase primarily to Idaho's growing wolf
population. The number of wolves in Montana is up from 2004 but below
2003, and it is down in Wyoming due to illness and competition for food
and territory in Yellowstone National Park, officials said.
Wolves once had been virtually wiped out in the Lower 48 states to
protect livestock.
Gray wolves were reintroduced to the Northern Rockies a decade ago, and
in 2002 met the government's recovery targets. Wyoming has not submitted
a management plan deemed acceptable by the federal agency, a necessary
step before gray wolves could lose federal protection.
"But people who think wolves are just going to keep going, that's not
true," Bangs said. "We're probably approaching as many wolves as we can
handle in these conditions and times."
Wildlife officials use the estimates to gauge where monitoring efforts
need to be focused.
Idaho had by far the most wolves in the region, with an estimated 525.
Steve Nadeau of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game said the state
also saw a surge in livestock killed by wolves, though he had no
immediate tally.
As wolves expand their territory, he said, that's to be expected. He
described the current situation as "manageable."
In parts of Montana and Idaho, ranchers now have greater latitude in
protecting livestock from predatory wolves.
Source: Associated Press |