Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) officials are accepting comments on a draft proposal to reduce the gray wolf population to 500 animals over the next five years.
The draft plan, titled “Idaho Gray Wolf Management Plan: 2023 – 2028,” provides guidance to a viable, self-sustaining wolf population while addressing the challenges of chronic livestock depredations and persistent impacts on ungulate populations.
The 500-wolf benchmark is what U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recommended as a target for the state when it delisted Rocky Mountain gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act in 2009.
According to IDFG, the wolf population between 2019-21 was around 1,270 wolves annually, taking into consideration losses due to hunting and trapping, depredation control and other human-caused mortality.
IDFG stated the state’s wolf population alone is above what USFWS considered to be the carrying capacity for the entire Northern Rocky Mountain states of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington. Wolves continue to cause chronic conflicts with livestock, and since 2014, at least 299 livestock producers have experienced more than 1,291 verified depredation losses to wolves. Wolf predation has been identified as a primary factor preventing the recovery of several elk zones below objective population levels.
The plan proposes the continuation of hunting and trapping as the primary tool for managing wolves with longer seasons, no bag limits and no area-specific harvest limits. It would reimburse hunters and trappers for expenses limited to game management units specified by IDFG. It would also focus on units with chronic livestock depredations or units where ungulate populations are limited by predation.
The mortality rate was 33% in 2019-21, but reproductive rates have kept the population steady. In 2022, IDFG estimated the summer wolf population was 206 fewer animals, down to 1,337 from a peak of 1,543 animals in the previous three years. IDFG attributes the lower numbers to smaller pack sizes. To achieve the goal of 500 animals, IDFG indicates that the wolf mortality rate would need to increase to 37%, or 513 wolves, annually for six years.
When the population approaches the goal of around 500 wolves, IDFG will adjust the hunting and trapping season on public land and focus on control actions in areas to alleviate wolf impacts on ungulates or chronic livestock depredation areas.
The draft plan states IDFG would continue to monitor the wolf population to assess the mortality rate, abundance and reproduction. The agency would continue to use cameras with other monitoring techniques, such as radio collaring and population modeling, to maximize the accuracy of camera-based population estimates.
Livestock depredations would also continue to be monitored and collaboration with federal agencies would continue using lethal and non-lethal measures. IDFG would incentivize hunters and trappers limited to game management units specified by IDFG and focused on units with chronic livestock depredations.
Objections
Environmental groups decried the plan, stating that cutting the wolf population by 60% over six years would have a detrimental effect and is not science-based management.
“I’m disappointed that Idaho’s new wolf management plan only further cements its short-sighted goal of increasing hunting and trapping of wolves statewide,” said Andrea Zaccardi, legal director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s carnivore conservation program. “This is just one more example highlighting why states can’t be trusted to manage wolves. The Fish and Wildlife Service must act quickly to return federal protections.”
In an article by Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, she said the “assault” on wolves began 12 years ago to remove protections for the wolves in the Rocky Mountain region. Amundson said the “assault” continued in 2021 with the passage of Idaho Senate Bill 1211. The bill expanded trapping and hunting methods and removed the limit on the number of wolves that could be hunted, which resulted in a population decline. Amundson said the management plan incentivizing hunters and trappers does nothing to reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock or boost elk populations.
“Idaho’s draft plan is not based on science,” Amundson said. “The truth is that studies show that wolves manage their own populations based on how much prey and habitat is available, as well as their own complex social structures and territorial nature. We’ve seen evidence of that in the Great Lakes region, where wolf populations have remained stable for many years, largely in the absence of trophy hunting and trapping.”
According to Michigan’s draft wolf management plan, the wolf population in the Upper Peninsula region showed mostly steady growth from 1989-2011. Since 2011, the wolf population has remained stable, ranging from 618-695 wolves, “suggesting wolves may have reached their carrying capacity in the Upper Peninsula.”
Ag in favor
Cameron Mulrony, executive vice president of the Idaho Cattle Association, told WLJ the association supports active and proper management of all wildlife, including wolves.
“We want to make sure we have all the tools in the toolbox to manage wolves in the state of Idaho including the lethal take on those animals that are in high depredation areas,” Mulrony said. “Our goal is not to necessarily wipe out the wolf population, they’re here, they’re going to be here, but we want them to be actively managed to reduce conflict and be sustainable within the wildlife population of the state.”
Mulrony pointed out that the current wolf population is three times the sustainable level and should fluctuate around 500 animals as per USFWS when they delisted the wolf in the region. Mulrony said the association is grateful that IDFG is updating the wolf management plan and the group would be commenting on the plan. He encourages members’ voices to be heard, particularly in depredation areas, and to review and comment on the plan.
The Idaho Farm Bureau Federation supports the direction of the draft wolf management plan and encourages its members to take the time to read the draft plan and provide input by commenting.
The draft plan is available at idfg.idaho.gov/form/wolf-plan-2023, and comments will be accepted until March 6 at the same website. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
