On March 12, 2003, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks released their DRAFT wolf management plan (EIS) for public comment. After a 60 day period, public comments will be compiled into a final EIS and one of the five alternatives (or a combination of the alternatives) will be chosen to be the basis of the FINAL wolf recovery plan that will be submitted to USFWS. This plan has to be accepted in order for wolves to be de-listed and their management handed over to the individual states.

This is an opportunity to speak out and let FWP know how YOU think wolves should be managed in Montana. Last year FWP received over 6,800 comments regarding their Planning Document. Those comments were used in creation of this Draft EIS, so every position is important and will be considered. Please take time to make your voice heard!

The five alternatives for Montana's wolf conservation and management plan include:

• No Action: FWP would not adopt a wolf conservation and management program. Wolves would remain on the endangered species list and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would continue to manage wolves in Montana.
• Updated Council: FWP would adopt an updated version of Montana's Wolf Management Advisory Council's Wolf and Management Planning Document. Wolf management would be based on numbers, distribution and public acceptance, similar to that for black bears and mountain lions. Wolf management techniques, and the methods used to resolve conflicts, would be based on a benchmark of 15 breeding pairs in Montana. This is FWP's preferred alternative.
• Additional Wolf: FWP would adopt a wolf conservation and management program similar to the Advisory Council's recommendations, but one that allows more wolves to inhabit Montana. Wolf management would be based on numbers, distribution and public acceptance, similar to that for black bears and mountain lions. Wolf management techniques, and the methods used to resolve conflicts, would be based on a benchmark of 20 breeding pairs in Montana.
• Minimum Wolf: FWP would adopt a wolf conservation and management program to limit wolf numbers to 10 breeding pairs, the lowest level acceptable to USFWS. Wolf management wouldn't mirror black bear or mountain lion management. Aggressive management would check wolf population growth and restrict wolf distribution to mostly public lands in western Montana.
• Contingency: If the northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf population could not be delisted due to delays in other state-planning efforts or litigation, FWP would seek an agreement with federal authorities to employ the Advisory Council's recommendations to manage wolves and resolve wolf-related conflicts. The agreement would allow Montana to put portions of a plan into practice while the wolf-delisting process works it way through legal procedures.

AWR's Position

Support the NO ACTION ALTERNATIVE!
No de-listing and state management at this time.

The USFWS will continue to kill wolves. In addition, with the recent downlisting to threatened, private citizens can now legally kill wolves, without a permit, if they find them preying on their livestock on private land.

Wolves have met federal "recovery goals." However, they do not accurately represent a recovered population. Studies have shown that thousands of individuals are required to have genetic viability, not hundreds. USFWS has not conducted a population viability study based on scientific evidence. The arbitrary "15 pack" level is simply a number that has been assigned and has not been tested and proven to be a viable level. The science is not there to prove this.

According to the Endangered Species plan species must regain a "significant" amount of their native territories to be considered recovered. Wolves exist in less than 10% of their native territories. 10% is not significant. Scientific studies must be conducted to determine at what percentage of distribution would be considered "significant". These studies have not been conducted.

With all of the animosity and the uneducated accusations that natives are placing on wolves, now is not the time for delisting. Montana, as well as Idaho and Wyoming has proven that they cannot be responsible enough to ensure a viable population of wolves when in this state alone, there have already been 19 wolves killed in 2003, that's over 10% of the entire population of wolves in the state.

Unfortunately, legal and illegal killing will continue until extensive education and outreach actually begins to make a difference. We must compensate that with a scientifically-proven viable population of genetically healthy wolves that can successfully re-populate after killings that (so far this year) have wiped out entire packs of wolves.

Talking Points

Support the NO ACTION ALTERNATIVE because:

• No Population Viability Analysis has ever been prepared for wolves in the Northern Rockies. The Reintroduction DEIS and FEIS (1993; 1994) simply assumed that the recovery goals would provide for "minimum viability." However, no formal scientific analysis of viability based on genetics and demography has ever been done. Thus, it is inappropriate to de-list wolves and turn management authority over to the states prior to having this vital information. There is widespread agreement in the scientific literature that long-term viability for genetic concerns alone requires an effective breeding population size of at least 500, which translates into total population size in the thousands.
• No analysis of sustainable mortality has been calculated that would be in concert with a population viability analysis.
• No analysis of migration corridors needed to maintain adequate levels of genetic interchange throughout the region has been prepared.
• Wolf recovery in the Northern Rockies has been politically driven, without adequate consideration of the best available science, as required by the Endangered Species Act.

Send comments to:

Wolf Plan EIS
Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
490 North Meridian Rd.
Kalispell, MT 59901

Or go to: http://www.fwp.state.mt.us/

The draft EIS, and related wolf management information and comment areas, are available via FWP's website at: www.fwp.state.mt.us. Click on Montana Wolf Management in the Hot Topics box. To request a copy of the 288-page draft EIS, call 406-444-2612.

Community Work Sessions

Attend a "Community Work Session" and voice your comments in person and participate in discussions that will shape the final plan for managing wolves in Montana. Each work session will begin with an open house from 6:30-7 p.m. followed by introductions and a short presentation. The community work sessions are designed to obtain comments from all participants. Opportunities for questions and answers will follow the work session.

The community work sessions are set for 6:30-9 p.m. at the following 13 locations:

• March 27 Billings
  Billings Convention Center
  1223 Mullowney Lane
• April 1 Glasgow
  Cottonwood Inn
  45 1st Ave NE
• April 3 Avon
  Community Center
  Main Street
• April 8 Missoula
  Meadow Hill Middle School
  4210 Reserve
• April 14 Bozeman
  Holiday Inn
  5 Baxter Lane
• April 15 Gardiner
  Gardiner High Gym
  510 Stone St
• April 16 Butte
  Red Lion Inn
  2100 Cornell Ave
• April 16 Dillon
  University of Montana &laqno;Western
  Matthews Hall -Lewis & Clark Rm
  710 S Atlantic
• April 17 Ennis
  High School Gym
  323 S Charles
• April 21 Great Falls
  MSU College of Technology
  2100 16th Ave S
• April 23 Kalispell
  Flathead High School
  644 4th Ave W
• April 23 Whitefish
  Muldown Elementary School
  1500 E 7th St
• April 24 Rexford
  Rexford Plaza
  Highway 37