Northern Rockies wolves are recovering, but not recovered
By RENEE VAN CAMP

Ever since man first laid eyes on wolves, tales have been spun of the great devastation from these so-called evil creatures of the night.

Some of these stories come straight from what nightmares are made of, some from books we put our children to bed with and others from myths handed down through generations. The argument remains if these tales are fact or fiction.

Even before the reintroduction into Yellowstone and Idaho, wolves have been the lead villain in the story of livestock depredation.

The issue is not whether wolves kill livestock - they occasionally do.

But according to Ed Bangs, Wolf Recovery Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "wolves are not decimating the livestock industry, nor are they driving any ranchers out of business."

Bangs should know. He is responsible for sending out the troops to kill the guilty. The Department of Agriculture reports that in 2002 there were 5.9 million cattle and 985,000 sheep in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. There were 660 wolves.

It is clear that livestock are not in danger of extinction. Last year wolves killed 99 sheep and 52 cattle in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, according to the 2002 Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery report. In Montana during 2002, coyotes were responsible for killing 13,900 sheep, according to the Montana Agricultural Statistics Service.

Dogs were responsible for 10 times as many sheep losses as wolves.

Nevertheless, wolves have paid dearly for their infrequent run-ins with livestock. In 2002, 46 wolves were legally killed. So far in 2003, federal agents have destroyed 30 wolves, all but 5 in Montana, where three packs have been eliminated. The punishment does not fit the crime.

Wolves prefer elk and deer, but even when dining on their native prey, hunters and outfitters serve them a full dose of accusations. Wolves are being blamed for everything from the lack of deer throughout the Northwest, to the shrinking populations of the northern Yellowstone elk herd.

But according to hunting reports, the so-called demise of native ungulate herds hasn't caused any freezers to sit empty. In 2002, there were 61,000 elk harvested from Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.

In fact, drought, humanity's urban sprawl and continual habitat destruction have had more severe impacts on elk and deer.

Besides, hunters normally prey on the largest, healthiest and most dangerous animals. Wolves normally prey on weak, sick and old animals, forcing herds to become stronger and larger over time - oddly enough catering to hunters.

The final chapter in this book of wolves is now upon us: eventual delisting. Within the next year or two, wolves are slated to lose any remaining protections offered by the Endangered Species Act.

They have recently been dealt the blow of losing the endangered classification. In 30 states where wolves have been downlisted to "threatened," only six contained wolves.

For delisting to go forward here, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming must have approved wolf management plans. Idaho's plan is complete. Montana's is in the final round of comments, and Wyoming is trailing slightly. All three allow hunting, and in much of Wyoming, wolves will likely be classified as predators to be shot any time for any reason, or no reason at all.

Science tells us extinction risks become severe when the number of breeding individuals falls below 50.

The alternatives that Montana is currently proposing support between 10-20 breeding pairs. Studies have indicated that a breeding population of 500 is a conservative measure to assure population viability and sustainability.

This is a far cry from the 20 to 40 that could be represented in Montana.

Recovery is not on the road to guaranteed success, as we are led to believe. Wolves are being listed as recovered in 24 states where they don't exist, including Washington, Oregon, California, much of Colorado and Maine.

With the USFWS requiring states to design action alternatives, the best answer is clearly the "no action" alternative in the Montana plan. Wolves are not ready for state management. There are many pages left to write in this story. They are recovering, but far from recovered.