Frequently Asked Questions: Gray Wolf Delisting

Q. When will wolves be removed from the federal Endangered Species list? A. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced that it will delist wolves in the Northern Rockies. Wolves in Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and a small portion of northwest Utah will be delisted. The entire state of Wyoming, however, will retain federal Endangered Species Act protections for wolves. The decision is scheduled to take effect 30 days after it is 1 in the Federal Register. Q. Are wolves recovered in the northern Rocky Mountains? A. Yes. U.S. Fish and Wildlife concluded that the northern Rockies wolf population is recovered and can be delisted. The numeric recovery goal was set at a minimum of 30 breeding pairs and 300 wolves in the three-state region. At the end of 2008, there were about 1,500 wolves in the region. A second aspect of the recovery goal is that the three wolf populations in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming make up a larger regional population where wolves have the ability to disperse and travel throughout the region to join existing packs or start new packs. This assures genetic diversity, especially given that Idaho's and Montana's wolf populations connect with much larger wolf populations in Canada and Alaska. Successful dispersal and mixing of wolves from different parts of the region and with wolves north of the international border assures that loss of genetic diversity will not be a problem in the future. Q. Will this wolf recovery decision be challenged in federal court? A. Yes, state and federal officials expect a court challenge. Q. How many wolves are there in Idaho and the northern Rocky Mountains? A. Idaho is committed to maintaining a secure, recovered population and will manage for 500 or more wolves. At the end of 2008, tentative numbers estimate a minimum of about 824 wolves inhabited Idaho in 88 packs, 38 of which were classified as breeding a pair and had at least two pups survive until December 31. Preliminary estimates for 2008 suggest the population will be about 13 percent higher than 2007 levels. Q. Who will be responsible for managing Idaho's wolves in Idaho after delisting? A. Idaho Fish and Game is the lead agency for wolf conservation and management in Idaho. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services will be responsible for investigating injured or dead livestock to determine whether wolves were responsible. Wildlife Services will also continue to assist Idaho Fish and Game with resolving wolf-livestock conflicts through lethal and nonlethal methods. The Nez Perce Tribe has an agreement with Idaho to assist in monitoring wolves in a part of the state. Wolves on reservation lands will be managed under authority of the respective tribes. Q. What will this responsibility cost? A. Fish and Game estimates that wolf conservation and management will cost between $900,000 and $1.2 million per year. No single source of funding has been identified and Idaho expects to use a combination of sources, including wolf hunting tag sales. Fish and Game will continue working with the Idaho congressional delegation to maintain federal funding. National interest in conserving popular species like wolves and grizzly bears also brings with it a national responsibility to help fund their management. Q. Can Idaho change its plan and state laws after delisting? A. U.S. Fish and Wildlife would review any significant changes to Idaho's laws, administrative rules or wolf management plan to determine whether such changes would jeopardize maintenance of a recovered population and warrant relisting under the Endangered Species Act. Q. What is the role of the federal government after delisting? A. Each state is required to report the population status annually to U.S. Fish and Wildlife for at least five years. The federal agency will also examine how each state carries out its management plan and implements its respective state laws and regulations. Q. What is a Status Review, and what triggers it? A. A "status review" is when U.S. Fish and Wildlife evaluates the potential threats to a species' long-term survival. This is done periodically while there are ongoing efforts to recover a rare or imperiled species. A status review could be triggered if the number of wolves and breeding pairs drops below acceptable minimum levels. The status review also could determine what corrective actions are required to reverse the declines. Q. Under what circumstances could wolves be relisted under the ESA? A. In general, three scenarios would lead U.S. Fish and Wildlife to initiate a status review and analysis of threats to determine if relisting was warranted, including: 1) If the wolf population falls below wolf population recovery levels of 100 wolves and 10 breeding pairs in Idaho, Montana or Wyoming. 2) If the wolf population in Idaho, Montana or Wyoming falls below 150 wolves or 15 breeding pairs in any of the states for three consecutive years. 3) If a change in state law or management objectives would significantly increase the threat to the wolf population. A federal judge or US Fish and Wildlife could also relist the northern Rockies gray wolf population in response to legal challenges. See the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website for additional information: http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov Q. What's going to change in Idaho after delisting? A. Upon delisting, the line separating the endangered area north of Interstate 90 and the experimental area south of the interstate will no longer exist. Idaho would have one legal classification of wolves as big game animals statewide, which offers wildlife protections under state law. Under this state law, wolves could only be purposely killed legally under four conditions: ¥ Legal hunting or trapping during an official season authorized by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission. ¥ If seen killing or threatening to kill (biting, wounding, harassing, chasing, attacking or molesting) livestock. ¥ To protect human life. ¥ As authorized by Idaho Fish and Game to resolve wolf-livestock conflicts. Q. What will happen when the old federal classifications expire? A. Upon successful delisting, the federal regulations in both northern and southern Idaho will no longer apply. Federal regulations will automatically be replaced by state laws, Idaho administrative rules, and the federally approved state plan. Q. Can landowners protect their livestock from predation? A. Under Idaho Fish and Game administrative rules set to take effect immediately upon delisting, all Idaho landowners and livestock producers may haze, harass or kill a wolf that is molesting or attacking livestock or domestic animals on public or private land. Such incidents, however, must be reported to Fish and Game within 72 hours. The flexibility is provided in Idaho law that also pertains to mountain lions or black bears caught damaging private property. Q. How will decisions about problem wolves be made? A. When wolves are delisted state law and administrative rules will automatically replace federal regulations. Fish and Game decisions to resolve wolf-livestock conflicts would be based on the state's federally approved Wolf Population Management Plan and administrative rules adopted by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission in 2008. The plan and administrative rules outline an incremental management approach guided by wolf numbers, the location of conflicts, depredation history of the pack, potential for additional losses, and pack size. Fish and Game will continue to rely on USDA Wildlife Services' investigations of injured or dead livestock suspected to be wolf-related. Q. What about Idaho's wolf hunting or trapping season? A. Wolf hunting could occur in 2009, but only if delisting becomes effective and only if the Idaho Fish and Game Commission establishes a 2009 season according to the approved wolf population management plan. The timing of actual license sales is unknown but would depend on delisting and legal challenges. The commission would set limits on the total number of wolves that could be taken by hunters within each of the 12 wolf management units. Limits would be tracked by requiring successful hunters to report their harvest within 72 hours. When a management unit limit is met, the season would close on 24-hour notice. The season dates would follow Idaho's big game rifle hunting seasons. The wolf population would be carefully monitored before, during and after the hunting season to determine how it responds. Q. What population parameters will be monitored? A. Through the year, Idaho Fish and Game would verify new wolf activity, determine whether packs den, whether pups were born and whether at least two pups survived to the end of the calendar year. At the end of each calendar year, Fish and Game takes a snapshot of the minimum Idaho population. Fish and Game prepares an annual report that lists the minimum total number of wolves, the number of packs of four or more wolves and the number of breeding pairs, as required by U.S. Fish and Wildlife. To estimate the wolf population, Fish and Game confirms the minimum number of packs, using telemetry data and confirmed public and agency personnel reports. It then multiplies that by the average pack size, adds small groups of wolves and estimates a percentage of lone dispersing wolves - usually 12.5 percent. Fish and Game has been investigating alternative methods to monitor and estimate the population with equal reliability. In the future, Fish and Game hopes that through a variety of approaches, population monitoring will be more cost effective but equally reliable. In addition, Fish and Game monitors all wolves handled for routine health and disease, which yields information about overall health of the animal, old injuries or wounds, and parasites. Also, through collection of tissue samples and movement information using radio telemetry, Fish and Game is able to monitor wolf dispersal and genetic diversity. Q. What happens if delisting is delayed or postponed as a result of legal challenges? A. Gray wolves north of Interstate 90 would still be classified as endangered. Wolves south of the interstate would remain classified as an "experimental, nonessential population," with some management flexibility to protect livestock, dogs, and affected elk and deer herds. USDA Wildlife Services would still investigate to determine the cause of injured or dead livestock and would continue assisting Fish and Game with resolving wolf-livestock conflicts through lethal and nonlethal methods. As long as federal funding is available, Fish and Game and the Nez Perce Tribe will continue as the lead agencies for wolf conservation, monitoring and management in Idaho. To learn more about Idaho's wolf population, and to read Idaho's annual wolf program reports, visit the Fish and Game Website at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov. Click "Wolf Management." Web visitors also can report wolf sightings, which helps to verify the activity, distribution and pack sizes of Idaho's recovered wolf population.