Status update on the 1995 Idaho wolves

1/31/96.

---

Although there are twenty new wolves in Idaho, I
want to give an update on the status of those re-
introduced to central Idaho in Jan. 1995. In part,
I want to do this because of the incredible misin-
formation and disinformation that is spread by wolf
opponents in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana.

A leader in the "wise use" movement from Salmon,
Idaho asserted two days ago that the introduction
was a failure because already six of the 1995 Idaho
wolves were dead.

Here are the data from the most recent air tracking
flight (a couple weeks old).

Wolves B6 and B8 (MF) remain paired in the SW corner
of the Frank Church/River of No Return Wilderness,
(FC/RNR).

B14 traveled over 100 miles from the Lochsa River
southward to the Twin Peaks area NW of Challis, ID.
B12 traveled almost as far from the center of the
Selway/Bitterroot Wilderness to the southern end of
the FC/RNR just north of Stanley, ID.

B15 remains north of Highway 12 in the Fish and
Kelly Creek drainages. I don't know if she is
paired with wolf #9013 which dispersed from Glacier
National Park in Montana.

B2 was last observed near UL Lake in the Salmon
River Mtns. near Salmon, ID on Nov. 17.

B4 remains in Rock Creek, the famous fishing stream
SE of Missoula, MT.

B5 and B10 (paired) moved from the Blue Joint Meadows
area just inside Montana to the Chamberlain Basin in
Idaho, the deepest part of the FC/RNR.

B9 and B16 (paired) remained in the Chamberlain Basin.

Bll, which had been seen several times by many people
on the outskirts of Salmon, Idaho, was located deep
inside the FC/RNR in Chamberlain Basin. Bll had been
missing (not tracked) for some time, perhaps because
it had crossed over to Jackson, Montana; but was "re-
discovered" last October.

B7 was last observed just west of the FC/RNR in
mid-July. B3 was last tracked March 8 near Hamilton,
MT in the Bitterroot Mtns. B13 was shot on Gene
Hussey's ranch south of Salmon Jan. 29, 1995.

At worst, four are dead; not six. More likely, some
of the wolves' radio collars have malfunctioned. Some
may have been behind obstacles. Some may have moved
out of the tracking area like B11 and B14 did for a
while. Indeed, some may be dead.

I called US Fish and Wildlife Service today to see
if they had recorded any recent deaths. They said,
no. They were in the process of calling the Nez
Perce tribe to see if they had locations of any of
the 20 new wolves that were released in the head-
waters of the Middle Fork of the Salmon River at the
south end of the FC/RNR last week.

Wolf recovery in Idaho looks good to me so far,
especially with the addition of the new wolves.

Idaho wolves have wandered over more country than
the Yellowstone wolves, but they were not intro-
duced as packs. Also, in central Idaho there is
lots of room to wander.

Some mortality is to be expected. It certainly
happens naturally where they came from. I should
add that central Idaho is almost entirely steep
mountain slopes and v-shaped canyons. Winter
avalanches are always a danger.