Trump administration proposes delisting the gray wolf

Recently it was announced that the Trump Administration proposed the delisting of the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List.

Game Warden Benge Brown noted the wolf has been on and off the list over the years in not only Wyoming, but Montana and Idaho as well. On April 25, 2017, a court mandate returned management of the gray wolves to the state. The animals can be something of an issue, he said, having attacked livestock at local farms and ranches.

Brown explained there are a lot of wolves in the state, and there are designated predatory animal management and trophy game management areas, with the former covering the majority of the state and the latter focused around areas in Shoshone National Forest, Teton National Forest, the Absaroka Range and the Wind River.

The difference in the areas is there is no season and no limit in the predatory management area, Brown said. In the trophy game area there is a set limit and season, and also if wolves kill livestock within the trophy area the livestock owner may be eligible for recompense from Wyoming Game and Fish. Seasons for the gray wolves designated as trophy animals typically begin in September of October and end Dec. 1, with a limit of one wolf per license and a up to two licenses purchased per person in one calendar year.

Brown further note Wildlife Services can kill wolves in a predatory area, but also in the trophy game area if there is an issue such as a large number of killings done by the animals.

The Wyoming Game and Fish is currently in the process of compiling its gray wolf monitoring and management annual report for 2018, which will be available in April contain additional information on the number and activity of the wolves.

According to the 2017 report, at least 347 wolves in at least 53 packs (including at least 23 breeding pairs) inhabited Wyoming on December 31, 2017. Of the total, there were at least 97 wolves and at least 11 packs (including at least three breeding pairs) in Yellowstone National Park, at least 12 wolves and two packs (with at least one breeding pair) in the Wind River Reservation, and at least 238 wolves and 40 packs (including at least 19 breeding pairs) in Wyoming outside Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Reservation.

A total of 168 wolf mortalities were documented statewide in Wyoming in 2017: 162 in Wyoming outside Yellowstone National Park and the Wind River Reservation; 5 in Yellowstone National Park; and 1 in the Wind River Reservation. Causes of mortality included 150 caused by humans, 12 natural and six unknown.

Seventy-two wolves were captured and radio-collared for monitoring purposes in 2017. Eighty-three radio collared wolves in 33 packs were being monitored at the end of 2017.

A total of $677,114 was spent to monitor and manage wolves in Wyoming by all jurisdictions combined, not including livestock depredation compensation. In 2017, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department instituted a wolf hunting season with the biological objective to reduce the wolf population by approximately 24 percent in the trophy game management area.

Wolves were confirmed to have killed 194 head of livestock (113 cattle and 81 sheep) and 1 dog statewide in Wyoming. An additional five cattle were injured by wolves but survived. Control efforts lethally removed 62 depredating wolves statewide in an effort to reduce livestock losses due to wolves. A combined minimum of $528,328 was spent on wolf damage management in Wyoming by Wildlife Services ($216,714) and livestock depredation compensation by the State of Wyoming ($311,614).

In other predator news, though there have been statements and social media posts circulating about the dangers of coyotes, Brown reported he has not heard of them being an issue in the area.