Southwest Montana Wolf Update

Nov. 7, 2005

Folks may have read the following article in the news. "Wildlife officials kill 9 wolves in southwest Montana." By Becky Bohrer. Associated Press. Oct. 31, 2005.

This headline is somewhat misleading, but it has gone out on the wire, appearing in numerous newspapers.

As the article indicates, the 9 wolves were not killed in one control action, but several, stretching from Labor Day until mid-October.

They were of 2 wolf packs -- the Freezeout Pack, which had been one of the SW Montana success stories -- and the Black Canyon Pack which was an uncollared and little known pack of the Idaho-Montana border (Continental Divide) in the Beaverhead Range.

I talked with Carolyn Sime, wolf coordinator for Montana FWP about the various control actions. It began when the Freezeout Pack wounded two sheep dogs on Sept. 3. The details of story are too complicated for me to relate, but over the next month and a half the pack killed 2 or 3 cow calves (they are about 300 to 400 pounds this time of year). During this September period the uncollared alpha male of the pack was called in and killed by Wildlife Services. Then an uncollared male was shot the next day when seven members were found eating a calf they had killed.

After killing another cow calf, on October 14, Wildlife Services killed radio collared Freezeout's long time alpha female 115F and an uncollared female pup. According to Sime, this was a mistake due to equipment failure resulting in poor communication about which wolves to kill. On Oct. 15 GPS collared male SW37 was killed too by Wildlife Services. The expensive GPS collar was part of the Montana State University and MFWP elk/wolf study. A subadult male wolf was also killed. This left just a 2-yr-old female and 2 pups. The remaining adult female wolf was collared. So in total 6 members of the pack were killed, leaving three wolves.

The USFWS reports simply say that all this was on a public grazing allotment (the 2 dogs) and on private land (the cows calves, SE of Dillon). Sime told me the private land was near the Centennial Valley (that's way SE of Dillon). It would be in very sparsely settled country where most of the land is public and remote. Unfortunately, the public isn't told if these were the same ranchers or several. I have to wonder why rancher's names are kept secret. This is not Montana state policy, but Wildlife Services.

The AP story quoted Steve Pilcher, executive vice president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association. According to the AP he said, "How would you feel if every week I went up and took $500 to $600 from your billfold?"

Of course, none of us would like that, but most wouldn't feel so bad if someone like Defenders of Wildlife came around with a check covering the loss (and maybe a bit more). The AP story didn't mention that little detail. I wonder how the researchers felt about having their project disrupted that cost a lot more money?

I discussed the Black Canyon Pack matter earlier in a previous article. In that article, paraphrasing, I wrote

"The long irregular border of Idaho and Montana is on the Continental Divide until it gets to the Lost Trail Pass area (about 2/3 the way up the Idaho state line). There is one wolf pack confirmed on the Divide. It is the Black Canyon Pack east of Leadore, Idaho, mostly between Bannack Pass and Lemhi Pass, ranging into Montana. The mountain range that bears the Divide is named the Beaverhead Range. Over the Divide in Montana is the Big Hole and other mountain valleys. In recent years the number of wolves there has grown and the Black Canyon Pack, and the exclusively-Montana Battlefield Pack, use the area.

The Battlefield Pack has been controlled and controlled, time and time again for its sporadic killing of cattle in the Big Hole Valley, but more wolves keep appearing. It probably has not been one continuous pack. Likely new packs keep forming in this natural wolf country with very few people, but lots of livestock. About a week ago when another control of the Battlefield Pack was underway, a coyote trapper caught six wolves in one night in his coyote traps. They were number 3 coil-spring Victors, not suitable for wolves, according to USFWS. However 3 of the wolves were held by the traps and were then killed by the government. Two wolves broke the traps loose and took off with traps on their legs. A third got away clean. Since then, the coyote trappers have been warned to secure their traps better to a fixed object [according to Ed Bangs, the coyote trapper was very happy to learn how to set coyote traps in country where wolves were present]. It turned out the wolves were not Battlefield Pack wolves, but members of the uncollared Black Canyon Pack.

No one seems to know about the fate of the two wolves with traps on their legs.

In sum then 6 members of the Freezeout Pack were killed and 3 of the Black Canyon Pack. the distance between these actions was probably a hundred miles. Sime said all of the wolves were healthy, unlike the Battlefield Pack which has been beset by both mange and a new menace to wolves -- dog lice.

Nine dead wolves (maybe eleven if those with the traps on their feet died) would not be a huge number in Idaho with over 500 wolves, but Montana's count at the end of 2004 was only 153. To scale, the Montana action was equivalent to killing 30 wolves in Idaho.

Montana is currently running its own wolf program under the Montana Wolf Conservation and Management Plan. The plan says that if the state has only 10 to 15 breeding pairs, they are to be managed conservatively. With more than 15 pairs, management of wolves does not have to be as cautious. At the end of 2004, USFWS estimated that Montana had a minimum of 15 breeding pairs -- right on the borderline.

The mid-summer 2005 estimate was 9 breeding wolf pairs in NW Montana and just 6 breeding pairs in SW Montana. Groups of wolves were still being investigated, however, and perhaps there are undiscovered breeding pairs out there. Sime told me that at the end of 2005, the Department will determine whether low numbers mandate a more conservative approach to wolf control in 2006.

Sime also gave me a run-down of other wolves in SW Montana. The outlook was not as bleak as I feared, but the wolves are hard to find. It's obvious to me that despite heroic efforts by wolf biologists like Liz Bradley and Val Asher, it is very hard to determine if a group of wolves is a breeding pair or not.

Here are data on additional wolves in SW Montana, moving generally from near the Idaho border eastward.

Painted Rocks. There is a group of wolves near Painted Rocks Reservoir up against the Idaho border in extreme SW Montana. Efforts to trap them have not been successful.

Sula. There are 3 radio collared wolves near Sula (south of the Bitterroot Valley) in the general East Fork of the Bitterroot area. These are 2 grey wolves and one black, and there are probably more in the pack including pups.

Brooks Creek. There is a collared female wolf hanging out in the heights of the Bitterroot Range in Bear Creek, Fred Burr Creek and adjacent drainages. She could have an companion, but my impression was not because she was seen on rock slides, probably hunting for marmots (behavior expected of a lone wolf).

Big Hole Pack. This pack also uses Idaho. It lives south of Lolo Pass (US 12) in a very brushy area. Early this year Idaho biologists noted that wolves B7M and B11F (both collars expired) were still with the pack. They are pack's founders. They were introduced from Alberta in 1995! Their first litter was in 1997. Jim Holyan of the Nez Perce tribal wolf team reports that B151 is the only wolf in the pack with a transmitting radio collar. From field work, Isaac Babcock and Tyler Hollow reported that the estimated pack size is 8 wolves. They also saw one uncollared black subadult and 2 uncollared gray subadults. In addition, 2+ pups were recorded based on howling (1 black pup was seen).

Fish Creek Pack- This pack too is a long-standing pack, although not nearly as old as the Big Hole Pack. It lives near the Idaho border in Fish Creek and nearby areas of the Bitterroot Range north of US Highway 12. There are 5 adults and maybe 9 pups!

Sapphire Pack. This would seem to be the pride of the area with 13 wolves, including pups . . . 12 black and 1 grey. They live in the Sapphire Range on the east side of the Bitterroot Valley.

Willow Creek Pack- There are at least 2 wolves in the Willow Creek area west of Philipsburg, Montana on the John Long Mountains.

Black Canyon and Battlefield Packs- Discussed previously. There are 5 members of the Battlefield Pack left. The number in Black Canyon are not known.

--Moving to the Greater Yellowstone eco-system--

Freezeout. Three pack members left. No longer a breeding pair.

Wedge Pack. This is a new pack in the Madison Valley area. There are 8 wolves, and it is a breeding pair.

Beartrap Pack. This pack of eight is a breeding pair. It uses the Spanish Peaks Wilderness of the Madison Range and adjacent areas, including (I infer) Ted Turner's big wildlife friendly ranch.

Chief Joseph Pack? The status of this formerly Yellowstone Park pack (released in 1996) is not known. Just one wolf has a collar, and he was last spotted by himself in the usual location of the Pack just north of the Park. The pack had been beset by mange.

Mill Creek. This long-standing pack of the Absaroka Range and Paradise Valley is believed to still exist. There is one radio-collared wolf with indications it has companions.

Mission Creek and related wolves- The Mission Creek Pack at the north end of the Absaroka Range SE of Livingston is still around. Their relation to the nearby Moccasin Lake pack and dispersers out of Yellowstone Park's defunct Swan Lake Pack is not known, but some reconfiguration of wolf packs in the area seems to be going on.

Deadhorse Pack- The Deadhorse Pack inhabits the Gallatin range from near the Taylor Fork of the Gallatin River northward almost to Big Sky. Three wolves have been visually identified.

Donahue Pack- This is a likely new pack in Gallatin Range near the southern end of the Paradise Valley. One female is being tracked, but she probably has companions.

Rose Creek II. The expansion of the Druid Peak Pack pushed the formerly dominant pack of Yellowstone Park northward into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness along the north boundary of the Park. Wolves are still in this deep wilderness area, reported by hunters and a wolf biologist, but the number is not known. They could be the Rose Creek II pack or its successor if it dispersed.

So in sum, there are quite a few pair or groups of wolves, and several substantial packs.

My question is, how will the number of breeding pairs be determined?  It might be wise to modify the Montana wolf plan to say that instead of the state guaranteeing at least ten breeding pairs of wolves, that it guarantees, let's say 13 or maybe 15, groups of wolves with "group" being defined as at least 3 wolves observed traveling together for ten months of a year. 

In the near future, I hope to do an update on the wolves of NW Montana -- those where, due to a court decision, they are still classified as an endangered species.