Walkabout wolves and wolf update
by US Fish & Wildlife Service Wolf Report
January 29, 2009
WYOMING WOLF WEEKLY- Jan. 9, 2009 through Jan. 23, 2009
Web Address – USFWS reports (past weekly and annual reports) can be viewed at http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov. Weekly reports for Montana and Idaho are produced by those States and can be viewed on the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and Idaho Department of Fish and Game websites. All weekly and annual reports are government property and can be used for any purpose. Please distribute as you see fit.
Annual Reports
The Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery 2008 Annual Report will be completed by early March 2009 and will be available at: http://westerngraywolf.fws.gov.
Status of the NRM wolf delisting rule
As every new administration since Reagan has done, the Obama administration has put a hold on all new federal regulations that weren't finalized before Jan. 20. Therefore, both the final NRM and WGL wolf delisting rules were withdrawn from publication pending further review by the new administration. After further review three basic things could happen and could happen to either rule independently of the other. The DOI/USFWS could decide to; 1) Re-submit to be published as written; 2) Modify or conduct further action before publication; 3) Not publish them in order to take another course of action. At this time the DOI/USFWS is reviewing all its options. There is currently no timeframe predicted to make these decisions but they are a high priority within the USFWS.
Monitoring
Idaho wolf B-271 dispersed as a yearling from the Steel Mountain Pack in 2006. He spent time in YNP last summer but radio contact with the wolf was lost in the fall. B-271 was located last week near the Beartooth Pack, west of Cody, WY.
In late November, a radio collared female wolf dispersed from NW Montana, just north of YNP. Locations from the GPS satellite collar indicated the wolf dispersed south and was recently traveling through the SW corner of Wyoming near Rock Springs. The wolf spent time near Big Piney and Daniel, Wyoming. This week, the wolf traveled to the SE corner of Idaho. The wolf was originally collared for a University of Montana graduate project.
Control
Nothing to report at this time.
Research
On 1/9/08, 2 wolves in the Beartooth Pack, and 1 wolf in the Absaroka Pack were radio collared west of Cody, WY. One wolf was collared with a standard VHF collar and two wolves were collared with Argos GPS Satellite collars used to locate wolves for a University of Wyoming PhD student’s research (Absaroka Elk Project).
YNP collared 15 wolves last week during the routine winter capture/collaring efforts. Capture efforts will continue next week to put 10 more collars in 6 packs.
Law Enforcement and Related Activities
Nothing to report at this time.
Outreach and Education
Nothing to report at this time.
Further Information
To request an investigation of livestock injured or killed by wolves, please contact the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Wildlife Services at (307)261-5336.
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