Wolf reintroduction a success, in biological sense, feds say

By SCOTT McMILLION

Chronicle Staff Writer

Gray wolves are now a recovered species in the Northern Rockies, at least in a biological sense, according to the top wolf official for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"Recovery is complete, which is not a surprise," Ed Bangs said Friday. He is wolf recovery team leader for the FWS.

However, that doesn't mean the big carnivores will immediately be removed from the list of federally protected endangered species.

Some political hurdles in the state of Wyoming must be cleared first, and some environmental groups grumble that there is no scientific basis to declare wolves recovered yet.

Biologists are now completing their tally of packs or "breeding pairs" of wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, a job they do at the end of every year.

Bangs said the three states contain roughly 40 packs, or breeding pairs, which FWS defines as an adult male and female that raised at least two pups to the end of the year.

FWS considers wolves biologically recovered when 30 packs have produced pups for the third year in a row. Unless a whole lot of wolves die in the next few days, that threshold will be crossed Tuesday.

Defenders of Wildlife, a national environmental group, isn't happy with that definition of recovery.

When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in 1995, FWS said recovery would require 10 packs each in greater Yellowstone, in central Idaho and in northwest Montana, where wolves recolonized naturally.

However there have never been 10 packs in northwest Montana so FWS later changed the definition of recovery to 30 packs anywhere in the three states.

"We're very concerned" about that change, said Nancy Weiss, Western director for species conservation for Defenders. She said the change was made "without any scientific basis" or public input.

In addition to the roughly 40 packs, Bangs said there probably are 70 groups -- pairs and single wolves wandering around -- that don't meet the legal definition of a pack. A total of about 650 to 700 wolves live and hunt in the three states.

Before the FWS will begin the process of delisting wolves, it must be assured that all three states have acceptable wolf management plans in place. Idaho has such a document and Montana is completing one.

Wyoming, on the other hand, is far from finished. That state's Game and Fish Commission is pushing a plan that would designate wolves as trophy animals in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and in nearby wilderness areas. That means they could be controlled there, but not eliminated. In the rest of Wyoming, the wolf would be considered a predator that can be shot on sight.

FWS won't delist the wolves until Wyoming changes that stand.

"The only reason wolves got extinct (in the northern Rockies) is because we killed them all," Bangs said.

Montana Gov. Judy Martz, wildlife managers, ranchers and others have been urging Wyoming to change its position, which is not yet finalized. Letting wolves remain on the list of endangered species is not acceptable, Martz wrote to Wyoming officials earlier this month.

Bangs noted that Idaho went through a process similar to Wyoming's before it finally adopted this year a plan the feds can live with.

An annual wolf report is scheduled for completion by Feb. 1. That document will list all the packs and map their known territory.

Scott McMillion is at scottm@gomontana.com