Sara C. Meicho, Ashley C. Kees, Julius P. Jacobsen,
Kami M. Koyamatsu and Arielle S. C. Fontaine
Professors Vince Gallucci, John Marzluff, and Mark Miller
ESRM 458 - Human Dimensions of Fish and Wildlife Conservation

• Introduction
• Clients
• History
– Wolves and YNP
– Political History
• Current population
• Stakeholders
– Governance Institutions
– Hunters
– Ranchers
– The Scientific Realm
– Non profits
• Recommendations
• Conclusions

• Yellowstone Controversy longlived, no end in sight
• Stakeholders analysis to inform people on the human dimensions side of controversy
• Used government web sites, organization blogs, news paper articles, organization web sites, signed letters, federal documents, federal register, etc.
• Only way to get past this issue and move on is to gain cultural acceptance and compromise from ALL sides

• Montana Farm Bureau Federation
• Idaho Farm Bureau Federation
• Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Idaho Fish and Game
• Wyoming Game and Fish
• Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
• National Rifle Association
• Defenders of Wildlife
• Senator Orrin Hatch
• Congressman Denny Rehberg
• C.L. “Butch” Otter (Governor of ID)
• Brian D. Schweitzer (Governor of MT)
• Matt Mead (Governor of WY)

The History of Gray Wolves and
Yellowstone Reintroduction
• The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is one of the most widespread species of any top carnivore, historically occupying the niche of top-down management across
North America, Russia, India, and all of Europe.
• Once the most widely distributed carnivores in the
United States, gray wolves have now disappeared from much of their historical territory following
Euro-American settlement
• Wolves affected by long-term control efforts in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, extirpated entirely from Yellowstone in the mid 1920’s

The History of Gray Wolves and
Yellowstone Reintroduction
• Removal of a key predator from the region resulted in imbalances of trophic cascades, most notably a dramatic increase in elk populations
– Greater vegetation impacts
– Long term program of elk culling in the park up until
1968—the end of which caused exponential growth until wolf reintroduction in 1995
• In 1995-1996, 31 wolves were reintroduced and able to increase under the ESA, since then recolonizing all 8991 km 2 the park and beyond

Political History
• 1978: listed as endangered at the species level throughout the conterminous 48 states and Mexico (exception of Minnesota)
• 1987: Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan
• Portions of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming designated as two nonessential experimental population areas
• Reintroduction of wolves to Central Idaho and Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
• Numerical, distributional and temporal recovery goals achieved for the NRM wolf population (2000 & 2002)
• Listing, Delisting, Relisting, Delisting and Relisting: a tumultuous and inconsistent history
 Two attempts to remove the species from under ESA protection (2008 & 2009)
 Lawsuits resulting in reinstatement of Federal protections
• 2011: Denny Rehberg’s 509 bill calls to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide that the act shall not apply to the gray wolf

http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=A00D
Idaho
Wyoming
Status
Endangered
Threatened
Experimental
Not
Protected
State
Colorado
Michigan
Nevada
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oregon
South Dakota
Utah
Washington
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Idaho
Montana
Wyoming
Alaska
Known
Population
604
690
2,922
835
524
240
7,700 - 11,200
Montana

Stakeholders: Governance and
Institutions
• Department of Fish and
Wildlife
– Protect listed species (ESA)
– Work to keep species from extinct.
• The National Park Service
– Yellowstone National Park
– Policy: restore native spp to areas they once inhabited but were extirpated

Stakeholders: Governance and
Institutions
• Idaho (IDFG)
– >15 breeding pairs
– Hunting pop. large enough
– Training successful hunting and trapping
– Public education programs
• Montana (MFWP)
– 15 packs = ‘trigger’ number
– < 15: non-lethal mgnt
– >15: lethal mgnt acceptable
– Large enough population
• Listed as furbearer/big game animal
• Hunting season

Stakeholders: Governance and
Institutions
• Wyoming (WGFD)
– Maintain 15 packs
• Wind River Indian
Reservation (Salish,
– 7 outside national parks
– Min. 10 total packs
– NW Wyoming: Trophy
• Regulated hunting
– Rest: Predatory
• Take w/out permit any time
Kootenai, Pend d’Oreille tribes)
– Non-lethal mgnt
– Not work > kill 1 or 2
– Not work > kill whole pack
• Permission USFWS and Tribal
Council
– Inform public ecology and mgnt wolf

Stakeholders: States – Economic
Benefits
• Tourism comprises a significant proportion of state economy
• 150,000 people visit Yellowstone National Park just to see wolves
• 35.5 million dollars of additional revenue
• Top species for 44% park visitors
• Ecotourism
• 30 outfitters in YNP rely on wolves to stay in business
• Supports other businesses year round
• Wildlife watching top activity for tourists
• Economic Benefits outweigh negative effects of wolves

• There is a long standing tradition of hunting in the
American Northwest, the people have a traditional and cultural investment in hunting
• Hunters would have wolves delisted to improve hunting conditions and reduce the hassles of cohabitation
• Arguments for delisting include:
– Wolf numbers exceed that prescribed by the recovery plan implemented by the USFWS in
1994
– Large declines of elk herds from wolf predation
– This is worrisome for a generation accustomed to very large herds

•
•

• Direct consumption of livestock
– 0.11% of cattle losses in all of U.S. (2005)
– Over $829,000 in sheep losses alone in WY, MT, ID (2009)
• Behavioral shifts of livestock
– Reduced fecundity, weight loss
• Domestic Dogs
– Predation
– Disease transmission
• Changing ranching culture
• Beneficial decrease in elk population
– Decreased foraging competition

• Permanent and portable fencing
• Fladry
• Human Presence
• Disposing of carcasses
• RAG boxes
• Non-lethal ammunition
• Compensation for losses

• Predators exert complex influences on the ecosystems to which they belong
• Removal of wolves:
• elk irruptions
• range deterioration
• reduced diversity of both flora and fauna
• Reintroduction of wolves:
• Trophic cascades with changes observed in
• woody browse species
• beaver numbers
• coyote population
• pronghorn antelope population
• and more

“The reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park surely ranks, symbolically and ecologically, among the most important acts of wildlife conservation in the 20 th century” (Smith et al. 2003)
• Wolves could play an important role in maintaining and preserving the stability and proper functioning of the ecosystem
Biologists:
• welcomed the reintroduction of wolves and their protection under the
ESA
• do not oppose delisting so long as proper management plans are in place in all three states to ensure that the benefits of previous restoration efforts are maintained

• The Greater Yellowstone Coalition and Defenders of Wildlife are at the forefront of the debate
• Successfully fought USFWS’s decision to delist in 2008 &
2010
• Promoting Coexistence between wolves and humans
• Defenders Wolf Compensation Trust (now state-run)
• Wolf Coexistence Program
– Proactive approach: non-lethal management
• 1998 Wildlife Proactive Carnivore Fund
• Livestock Producer Advisory Council

• Time to delist
• Compromise between all parties to achieve a balance that will ensure social, biological and economical sustainability
• Hunting season
– Support of sportsmen
– Increased revenue
• Ecosystem Balance
– Top predator control
– Trophic Cascades
• Money spent on other species

• In order for the gray wolf to be delisted from the
ESA these actions need to be taken
– Adequate management plan from WY
– Cohesion of state management plans
– Enforcement of management plans
– Continued funding of wolf population monitoring projects
– Encouragement of nonlethal methods
– Continued public education on management plans, wolf ecology and conflict avoidance

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Ashe, D.M. 2010. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Reinstatement of Protections for the Gray Wolf in the Northern Rocky Mountains in Compliance
With a Court Order. Federal Register, 75(206):65574-65579.
"Background and Recovery of Northern Rockies and Yellowstone Area Wolves - Defenders of Wildlife." Defenders of Wildlife(A) - Protection of Endangered Species,
Imperiled Species, Habitats. Web. 13 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.defenders.org/programs_and_policy/wildlife_conservation/imperiled_species/wolves/wolf_recovery_efforts/northern_rockies_wolves/background_a nd_recovery/>.
Beschta, R.L. and W.J. Ripple. 2009. Large predators and trophic cascades in terrestrial ecosystems of the western United States. Biological Conservation 11:2401-
2414.
Beschta, R.L. and W.J. Ripple. 2010. Recovering riparian plant communities with wolves in Northern Yellowstone, U.S.A. Restoration Ecology 18(3):380-389.
"Defenders of Wildlife Proactive Carnivore Conservation Fund - Defenders of Wildlife." Defenders of Wildlife(B) - Protection of Endangered Species, Imperiled Species,
Habitats. Web. 17 Feb. 2011. <http://www.defenders.org/programs_and_policy/wildlife_conservation/solutions/carnivore_conservation_fund/index.php>.
Defenders of Wildlife vs. Ken Salazar. 164 U.S. District Court for the District of Missoula. August 8 2010. http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/wildlife/wolves/newRuling/wolfOrder8_10.pdf
Duffield, John, Chris Neher, and David Patterson. "Wolves and People in Yellowstone: Impacts on the Regional Economy." Defenders of Wildlife (C). Sept. 2006. Web.
13 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.defenders.org/resources/publications/programs_and_policy/wildlife_conservation/imperiled_species/wolf/northern_rockies_wolf/wolves_and_peopl e_in_yellowstone.pdf>.
Earthjustice. 2010. Federal Court Reinstates Federal Wolf Protections. Earthjustice. Available from: <http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2010/federal-courtreinstates-federal-wolf-protections> [13 February 2011].
Estes, J.A., C.H. Peterson, and R.S. Steneck. 2010. Some effects of apex predators in higher-latitude coastal oceans. Chapter 3 in Trophic cascades: predators, prey, and
the changing dynamics of nature. Island Press, Washington, USA. pp. 37-53.
Farquhar, Brodie. "Gray Wolves Increase Tourism in Yellowstone National Park." Yellowstone Park. Web. 18 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.yellowstonepark.com/MoreToKnow/ShowNewsDetails.aspx?newsid=182>.
Farquhar, Brodie. "Wolves Bring Economic Benefit to Wyoming? | Wyoming Business Report." Wyoming Business Report -- Business and Industry News, Analysis and
Data and Statistics for All of Wyoming. 1 July 2008. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.wyomingbusinessreport.com/article.asp?id=94868>.
“Final Wyoming Gray Wolf Management Plan.” Wyoming Game and Fish Commission. 16
Nov. 2007. Web 16 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/WolfFinal2007WyomingGr ayWolfManagementPlan.pdf
>.
"Frequently Asked Questions: Transitioning Wolf Compensation." Defenders of Wildlife (D). Web. 14 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.defenders.org/resources/publications/programs_and_policy/wildlife_conservation/solutions/faq_transitioning_wolf_compensation.pdf>.
Google images

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http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=gray+wolf&bav=on.2,or.&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1366&bih=576