olves
W
NORTHERN ROCKIES
©TOM AND PAT LEESON/ LEESONPHOTO.COM
IN THE
DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE is a recognized leader in wolf
conservation with a long history, an excellent track record and a
substantial investment in restoring these misunderstood predators
to their rightful place in the Rockies and elsewhere.
Defenders was the first wildlife organization to call for the
return of gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park. We were also
the first to develop a compensation program for reimbursing
ranchers for livestock lost to wolves in the region. And we were
there to help with the release of wild gray wolves in Yellowstone
and central Idaho in the mid-1990s, making wolf restoration in
the American West a reality.
Today, more than 1,650 wolves live in Idaho, Montana,
Wyoming, and parts of Washington and Oregon where dispersing
wolves have formed new packs. Defenders is still on the scene,
fighting for this population that the federal government—ignoring
science, our nation’s commitment to protecting imperiled wildlife
and pressure from conservationists—recently removed from the
endangered species list. Now that Northern Rockies wolves no
longer have federal protections (except in Wyoming), we are
working harder than ever to ensure that the states manage wolves
responsibly. Only with sound science guiding all decisions and
ongoing efforts to increase tolerance and reduce conflicts between
wolves and livestock will a healthy population of wolves continue
to thrive throughout the region.
“The return of the gray wolf
is a true American success
story. It shows that conserving
our native wildlife isn’t an
abstract idea. By working
together, we can actually
make it happen.”
—JAMIE RAPPAPORT CLARK
Executive Vice President
Defenders of Wildlife
Wolves Bring Benefits to Region
Researchers in Yellowstone National Park have
documented significant benefits they attribute
to the return of wolves:
RESTORED BIODIVERSITY. Elk, an
important prey species for wolves, now
seldom linger exclusively in open meadows
and wetlands where wolves hunt. As a result,
important native plants like willow and aspen
are recovering from years of over-browsing and
are once again providing habitat for resident
birds, fish, beaver and other creatures.
HEALTHIER ELK, DEER AND MOOSE
POPULATIONS. Wolves cull old, sick and
weak individuals from herds. Overall elk
populations in the region remain above state
management targets as the balance between
predator and prey is restored.
ECONOMIC BOOST FROM
INCREASED TOURISM. Wolves have
cultural, aesthetic and recreational value that
translates into $35 million annually in tourism
revenue in the greater Yellowstone region.
www.defenders.org
WOLVES IN THE NORTHERN ROCKIES
2
DECADES OF DEDICATION TO WOLF CONSERVATION
THE NORTHERN ROCKIES were once a stronghold for gray wolves, but control programs initiated in the 1880s essentially wiped
out the species there by the 1930s. Government agents killed Yellowstone National Park’s last wolves in 1926, just 12 years after the
launch of a federal campaign to rid the West’s public lands of wolves and other predators for the benefit of livestock owners. Forty years
later, Defenders became the first national conservation group to call for wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone, promoting the idea in a
1967 Defenders Magazine article.
When the Endangered Species Act became law in 1973, wolves were one of the first species listed, and the road to recovery opened at last.
In the decades since, Defenders has made the wolf a top priority and secured a reputation as a key leader in wolf conservation.
1980-1989: Education and Vision
1990-1999: Reintroduction and Reestablishment
• Began working for wolf reintroduction in earnest when the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service released a draft wolf recovery plan
for wolves in the Rocky Mountain region that did not include
reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park.
• S tarted working with Congress to garner support for the plan to
restore wolves to the Northern Rockies by releasing wild wolves
from Canada in Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho.
• Brought “Wolves and Humans,” an acclaimed Science Museum
of Minnesota exhibit, to Yellowstone National Park and Boise,
Idaho, to educate citizens and build support for wolf restoration.
©TOM AND PAT LEESON/ LEESONPHOTO.COM
• Sponsored an international wolf symposium in Washington,
D.C., and set up a summertime wolf education program in
Yellowstone National Park that collected 68,000 signatures in
favor of wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone.
• Expanded the wolf compensation program to the entire
Northern Rockies region to increase tolerance for the restoration of wolves.
• Assisted with the release of wild gray wolves in Yellowstone and
central Idaho in 1995 and contributed staff and funding for the
second release of wolves in 1996.
• Offered rewards for information leading to the conviction of
poachers illegally killing newly restored wolves.
• Introduced a program to compensate ranchers in northern
Montana for verified livestock losses to wolves in response to
the birth of a litter of wolf pups—the first documented in the
Rockies in half a century—near Glacier National Park.
• Developed and promoted nonlethal methods and tools to
reduce livestock losses to wolves and shared implementation
costs with ranchers.
Wolf population growth: from 0 to 12 wolves
Wolf population growth: from 12 to 337 wolves
www.defenders.org
WOLVES IN THE NORTHERN ROCKIES
2000-2010: Recovery and Uncertainty
• Won a lawsuit in federal district court reversing the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service’s decision to remove wolves from the endangered
species list.
• Won a federal appeals court decision overturning a lower court’s
1997 ruling in a lawsuit brought by the American Farm Bureau
that the reintroductions were illegal and all wolves and their
offspring should be removed from Yellowstone.
• Fought multiple congressional attacks on wolf protections,
defeating the most extreme proposals to exempt wolves across the
country from the Endangered Species Act.
• Created the Livestock Producer Advisory Council to involve
cattle and sheep growers in proactive carnivore conservation.
Wolf population growth: from 337 to more than 1,650 wolves,
including new packs in Oregon and Washington
• Co-founded the Western Wolf Coalition, a group of 20 local, state,
regional and national wildlife organizations working together to
increase public support for science-based wolf conservation.
2011: Delisting
• Turned the management of the livestock compensation program
in Montana over to state officials and contributed $100,000 in
supporting funds.
• Renewed our commitment and adjusted our strategy as Congress
stripped federal protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies,
except in Wyoming, as part of a must-pass budget bill, and the U.S.
The Northern
Rockies
Department of the Interior officially delisted
wolves in Idaho
and
Montana and parts of Washington, Oregon and Utah—despite
the best efforts of Defenders and many others.
•P
ublished Livestock and Wolves: A Guide to Nonlethal Tools and
Methods to Reduce Conflicts, a booklet now used by thousands of
ranchers and wolf managers in the United States and abroad.
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www.defenders.org
WOLVES IN THE NORTHERN ROCKIES
4
A STRATEGY FOR MOVING FORWARD
DEFENDERS’ OVERARCHING GOAL of ensuring healthy, sustainable wolf populations across the Northern Rockies is all the more
challenging now that Congress has stripped the region’s wolves of federal protections and the U.S. Department of the Interior has turned
wolf management over to the states (except Wyoming, which has yet to develop an approved management plan). Defenders’ strategy
moving forward focuses on five objectives.
When it comes to protecting America’s wildlife and natural heritage,
politics should never trump science as it did in the recent legislative
removal of Endangered Species Act protections for Northern Rockies
wolves. Thus, restoring science as the basis for all wolf management
decisions is a top Defenders priority. Toward that end, we are
working with the states and other stakeholders to make sure the best
available science guides all management decisions. This includes
relying on the latest research and scientific expertise to:
• Maintain a healthy, viable population and ensure sufficient
genetic exchange within the region.
© BRAD DEVRIES/ DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE
1. Ensure that sound science guides all decisions
about wolves.
Sheep file past fladry, rope strung with red or orange flags that
is used as a barrier to keep wolves out of an area. Defenders
helps ranchers purchase and install this inexpensive, portable,
nonlethal wolf deterrent.
• Implement robust wolf population monitoring from year to year.
• Determine the true impacts that wolves have on game species
such as deer and elk.
We are also pushing to convene a scientific panel of experts to
review state wolf management objectives.
2. Reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock.
Defenders is a pioneer in finding ways for people, livestock and
wildlife to coexist. Through our Wolf Coexistence Partnership we
have collaborated with Northern Rockies ranchers to develop and
implement nonlethal deterrents and other techniques for minimizing conflict between wolves and livestock, investing more than
$330,000 in nearly 100 projects to date.
We are continuing to promote coexistence throughout the region
and to work proactively with farmers and ranchers, especially
in areas where conflict is most likely to arise. We have already
increased our efforts in Idaho and Montana and expanded into
Oregon and Washington, where wolves are just starting to settle.
3. Build local support for wolves.
To counter anti-wolf rhetoric, undocumented claims and other
misinformation, Defenders is redoubling efforts to communicate
the benefits of wolf conservation to all residents of the region.
Assisted by our conservation allies in the Western Wolf Coalition,
we are cultivating and expanding our base of regional supporters,
including the ranching and hunting communities that see the real
value in restoring balance to the landscape and keeping wildness
in the West. We are also helping to amplify the voices of wildlife
enthusiasts, religious organizations, tribal groups, small businesses
and others who support wolf conservation.
4. H
old state agencies accountable for managing
wolves responsibly.
State wildlife managers have a responsibility to adhere to the
scientific principles of wildlife conservation and maintain healthy
wolf populations. Defenders is holding them to it by closely monitoring their actions and those of state wildlife commissions and
legislatures. We are promoting positive state efforts that support
continued wolf recovery and opposing management decisions that
would put wolves in jeopardy.
5. Advocate for the reform of Wildlife Services,
the federal agency that handles wolf control.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services has taken
a heavy-handed approach to wolf control in the Rockies, killing
wolves rather than promoting tolerance and nonlethal deterrents.
We are calling for the agency to learn effective deterrent techniques,
help livestock owners implement them where needed and make
killing wolves the last resort—not the default first choice.
To learn more about Defenders’ efforts to protect and restore wolves in the Northern Rockies, visit www.defenders.org.
MONTANA OFFICE
303 West Mendenhall, Suite 3
Bozeman, Montana 59715
406.586.3970
IDAHO OFFICE
P.O.Box 773
Boise, Idaho 83701
208.424.9385
HEADQUARTERS
1130 17th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
202.682.9400
6/14/2011