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Wolf Monitor, Current News, Sightings, Legal Action, Wolf Pack Maps, Photos By News Reporter Cat Urbigkit • Pinedale Online!

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12/27/18: Wolf News Roundup 12/27/18
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) The hunting season for wolves in the trophy game area of northwestern Wyoming opened Sept. 1. According to the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, 43 wolves have been harvested as of December 26. The agency set a total quota of 58 wolves in the state’s 14 hunt areas for wolves. The hunting season remains open until Dec. 31 or until hunt-area quotas are reached. Currently, only three hunt areas have reached their quotas. There have also been 36 wolves killed in Wyoming’s predator zone so far in 2018. Yellowstone National Park has released its yearly wolf report, tallying 97 wolves in 11 packs (including three breeding pairs) at the end of December 2017. A collared wolf from Oregon crossed into California in early December and was found deceased a few days later. The death is under a criminal investigation.... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

12/16/18: Wolf News Roundup 12/16/18
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) The hunting season for wolves in the trophy game area of northwestern Wyoming opened Sept. 1. According to the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, 38 wolves have been harvested as of December 14. The agency set a total quota of 58 wolves in the state’s 14 hunt areas for wolves. The hunting season remains open until Dec. 31 or until hunt-area quotas are reached. Currently, only one hunt area has reached its quota. There have also been 36 wolves killed in Wyoming’s predator zone so far in 2018. Michigan Tech researchers report the discovery of high amounts of red wolf ancestry in canids living on Galveston Island in southeast Texas – an area where red wolves have been declared extinct in the wild. ... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

11/14/18: Transplanted wolf dead
(By National Park Service) The National Park Service has been monitoring four wolves that were captured in Minnesota earlier this fall and transported and released on Isle Royale as part of a multi-year project to restore predation in the remote park. Since the wolves arrived on the island, park biologists have been tracking and monitoring their daily movements using GPS technology. One of the wolves relocated to the park this fall has died. There is no information on cause of the animal’s death. The three remaining relocated wolves are doing well. They have occasionally been within 700 feet of each other while exploring the island. The park is continuing with this project and is planning relocation of additional wolves from Ontario in January..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

11/13/18: Wolf News Roundup 11/13/2018
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) As of November 11th, 27 wolves have been harvested in the trophy game area of northwestern Wyoming. The total quota is 58 wolves in Wyoming’s 14 hunt areas. The hunting season remains open until Dec. 31 or until hunt-area quotas are reached. Currently, only one hunt area has reached its quota. There have also been 34 wolves killed in Wyoming’s predator zone so far in 2018. Idaho allows both hunting and trapping seasons for wolves, and in 2017, harvested more than 280 wolves. Hunters and trappers may take up to five wolves per person, per year in Idaho. After 7 years of harvest, quotas have never been reached in Idaho, consequently, harvest quotas requirements were removed beginning 2017. In Montana, hunters and trappers harvested 254 wolves in Montana. There is no quota system in place for most of Montana’s wolf management units, and hunters may take up to five wolves per person maximum. There has been one wolf harvested from the three Montana hunt areas with quotas..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

10/28/18: Wolf News Roundup 10/28/2018
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) The hunting season for wolves in the trophy game area of northwestern Wyoming opened Sept. 1. According to the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, 22 wolves have been harvested as of Oct. 26. The agency set a total quota of 58 wolves in the state’s 14 hunt areas for wolves. The hunting season remains open until Dec. 31 or until hunt-area quotas are reached. There have also been 27 wolves killed in Wyoming’s predator zone so far in 2018. In Washington state on Friday, Oct. 26, WDFW Director Kelly Susewind reauthorized department staff to lethally remove the remaining two wolves from a pack that has repeatedly preyed on cattle while occupying the Old Profanity Territory (OPT) in the Kettle River Range of Ferry County. The producer is transporting a portion of his cattle to private grazing lands west of the Kettle Crest and another portion out of state. The private grazing lands west of the Kettle Crest are within the OPT pack territory, although they are at a lower elevations and on the periphery of the pack territory, which may reduce the likelihood of wolf depredations in these areas this winter.... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

10/15/18: Wolf News Roundup 10/15/2018
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) The hunting season for wolves in the trophy game area of northwestern Wyoming opened Sept. 1. According to the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, 16 wolves have been harvested as of Oct. 12. The agency set a total quota of 58 wolves in the state’s 14 hunt areas for wolves. There have also been 26 wolves killed in Wyoming’s predator zone so far in 2018. The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife is working with ranchers and wolf advocates to develop a new wolf plan that addresses both non-lethal and lethal control measures for wolves that prey on livestock. The National Park Service announced that the fall phase of the first year of its Isle Royale wolf translocation project has been brought to a successful close with four wolves translocated to the island from Minnesota..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

9/25/18: Wolves headed to Isle Royale
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) The National Park Service (NPS) announced Friday the beginning of implementation of the Record of Decision of the Plan to Address Wolf Presence on Isle Royale National Park that was signed in June. This fall, the NPS working with partners and other agencies, plans to translocate up to six wild wolves from the mainland to Isle Royale National Park during the first phase of a three to five year effort to relocate up to 20-30 wolves to the isolated island park. This many wolves are needed to establish adequate genetic variability to accomplish the overall goal of restoring predation as a key part of the ecosystem on the island.... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

9/22/18: Wolf News Roundup 9/22/2018
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) The hunting season for wolves in the trophy game area of northwestern Wyoming opened Sept. 1. According to the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, eight wolves have been harvested as of September 21. The agency set a total quota of 58 wolves in the state’s 14 hunt areas for wolves. There have also been 21 wolves killed in Wyoming’s predator zone so far in 2018.... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

9/11/18: Wolf News Roundup 9/12/2018
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) The hunting season for wolves in the trophy game area of northwestern Wyoming opened Sept. 1. According to the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, five wolves have been harvested as of September 10. The agency set a total quota of 58 wolves in the state’s 14 hunt areas for wolves. There have also been 19 wolves killed in Wyoming’s predator zone so far in 2018. A member of the Bow Valley wolf pack in Banff National Park approached campers in a developed campground, prompting public safety warnings by wildlife officials. The Bow Valley pack has a history of problem wolf behavior, with Canada wildlife officials killing two members of the pack in 2016 after the animals became aggressive towards humans. Between Sept. 5-7, the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife documented five confirmed wolf depredations on calves in the territory formerly occupied by the Profanity Peak pack. The depredations resulted in one dead and four injured calves.... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

9/5/18: Wolf News Roundup 9/5/2018
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) A male wolf from the Togo pack in Washington has been removed by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for repeated depredations on area livestock. The pack’s territory is just south of the US-Canada border east of Danville. The wolf was collared, which provided location data. The killing of the wolf was controversial and opposed by environmental groups who went to court to stop the removal. Wolf managers have confirmed the pack’s involvement in six separate depredation incidents since November 2017. In Oregon, increasing wolf populations causing depredations on livestock have concerned groups getting together to talk about wolf management...... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

9/4/18: Elk antlers as predator deterrants
(By University of Montana) University of Montana researchers and their partners recently published a study in Nature Ecology and Evolution chronicling an evolutionary tie between wolves and when bull elk shed their antlers. They discovered that wolves in Yellowstone National Park preferentially hunted bulls who already had shed their antlers over those who still had them during late winter. The finding suggests that antlers are used for more than just competing for cows – that they help deter predators, too – which could help explain why bulls shed their antlers long after the rut. But as a whole, elk shed their antlers months later compared to other North American deer species, and shedding is staggered over a two month period beginning in March, suggesting there might be other reasons to keep antlers around a little longer..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

9/4/18: Feds reject wolf depredation information request
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) There have been a record number of confirmed livestock depredations by wolves in Idaho this year, but Western Watersheds Project (WWP) alleges that's because federal animal damage control officials and ranchers are inflating the number of kills, according to the Associated Press. WWP has filed a lawsuit seeking details of the investigations of wolf kills on livestock, but federal officials have withheld the information, stating that it is exempt under the federal Freedom of Information Act..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

9/4/18: Togo pack update - Lethal control okayed
(By Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife) A Thurston County Superior Court judge issued an order permitting the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to initiate lethal action to remove the adult male wolf from a pack that has repeatedly preyed on livestock in northeast Washington. Judge Carol Murphy denied a request for a preliminary injunction by two environmental groups which would have prohibited the wolf’s removal. In rejecting the plaintiffs’ request, Murphy said they had not met the legal standard required for her to issue an injunction...... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

8/29/18: Wolf News Roundup 8/29/2018
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) An unnamed U.S. Forest Service worker in Washington state was put up a tree by a wolf and was eventually rescued by a helicopter crew. Also in Washington, a rancher will forego his National Forest grazing allotment next year due to wolf depredation on his cattle. The Arizona Game & Fish Department alleges that placing Mexican wolves outside the species historic range will threaten its recovery rather than help it claiming genetic mixing and hybridizing will threaten the uniqueness of the Mexican wolf. Farmers there have been protesting wolf protections in areas where wolves kill livestock, and where up at an estimated 300 wolf packs roam...... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

8/29/18: WA Togo Pack Saga
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) A Ferry County, Washington rancher claims he recently shot at a wolf in self-defense, and although state wildlife investigators were initially unable to find evidence that the wolf had been shot, it was recently confirmed that a wolf was indeed injured. The radio-collared male wolf is a member of the Togo pack that has been involved in repeated livestock depredations. State officials had issued a kill order on members of the pack, but wolf advocates won a temporary restraining order to stop the lethal-control action...... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

8/23/18: Livestock-killing wolves safe, for now
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) A Thurston County Superior Court (Washington) judge on Aug. 20, 2018, issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) from lethally removing one or more wolves from the Togo pack in northern Ferry County. Earlier in the day, WDFW Director Kelly Susewind had authorized the staff to take lethal action in response to multiple confirmed livestock depredations by the pack since last November, including three confirmed incidents in the last 30 days..... .(Click on the link above for the complete story.)

8/23/18: Wolf News Roundup 8/23/2018
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) Severe winter conditions proved to be difficult for a small population of wood bison in Alaska, and wolves took advantage, killing about one-quarter of a wintering herd of this large ungulate. In Oregon, the adult male wolf that made history by crossing into California in 2011 has now sired his fifth litter of pups in Oregon where he now roams. In Washington, the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife is backing off plans to withhold exact locations of radio-collared wolves from ranchers. The agency had planned to revise its wolf-data system to provide general information about wolf pack movements instead of specific location data. Ranchers and local officials provided that data must agree to keep the information confidential...... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

7/26/18: Idaho depredations reach record high
(By Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission) With 61 confirmed wolf-livestock kills already documented in the state of Idaho from January to June 2018, federal authorities are expecting a busy summer after wolves killed seven sheep in three separate attacks in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area between July 9th and July 13th, officials said. In fact, 23 years after wolves were reintroduced to Idaho beginning in 1995, federal authorities responded to a record 113 different sheep and cattle ranches in the 2018 state fiscal year to perform necropsies on wolf-livestock kills, where livestock kills were confirmed, and 217 ranch properties to investigate wolf kills overall, officials said. Both of those numbers set records..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

7/26/18: Oregon's depredation problem
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) Northeastern Oregon's livestock losses to wolves are causing budget problems, according to a new article in High Country News. Reports of missing cattle have skyrocketed, even though the number of confirmed cattle kills hasn't, according to HNC. Since compensation for depredations is supposed to increase acceptance of wolf presence, HNC questions whether there are better ways to "incentivize coexistence." ... .(Click on the link above for the complete story.)

7/17/18: Researcher safe after wolf encounter
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) In July, 2018, a seasonal U.S. Forest Service employee completing research surveys in the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest encountered two adult gray wolves. The individual observed wolf tracks and heard yipping and barking for a period of time before the wolves approached. After unsuccessful attempts to scare the wolves away (including yelling, waving and deploying a can of bear spray in the direction of the wolves) the individual climbed a tree and used a radio to call for assistance. A Department of Natural Resources fire crew extracted the researcher in a helicopter dispatched through a multi-agency fire center in Colville. Wildlife officials believe the researcher had come close to a denning site.... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

7/17/18: Wolf News Roundup 7/17/2018
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) Wyoming officials have approved a 58-wolf hunting quota for the 2018 hunt in the trophy game area of the northwest portion of the state, up from last year’s quota of 44. The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife is revising its wolf-data system in which it shares locations of radio-collared wolves with livestock producers and county officials in order to help livestock producers protect their herds, while also protecting the carnivores...... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

7/8/18: Wolf News Roundup 7/8/2018
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) Wolf advocates are urging the U.S. Forest Service to revoke a New Mexico rancher’s cattle grazing permit after the man pleaded guilty to killing a Mexican gray wolf, a criminal misdemeanor. A reporter in Oregon tackles the issue of living with wolves in his state. An Illinois man in stirring up media attention with his claim that he’s got a pack of wolves on his property. The wolf population in France is experiencing a high growth rate, and plans are in place to keep boosting the population. The Alps are home to a population of about 600 wolves, and a cross-border coalition of alpine regions now argue that wolves no longer need special protected status..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

6/19/18: Montana canine is a wolf
(By Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks) The canine creature shot in Montana a month ago is a gray wolf. DNA from the animal, which was shot legally by a rancher near Denton on May 16, was tested at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service forensic laboratory in Ashland, Oregon. The lab compared the animal’s DNA with thousands of other DNA samples from wolves, coyotes and dogs. The conclusion was clear – this animal is a gray wolf from the northern Rocky Mountains. Wolves are fairly common in Montana. According to the 2017 Montana Gray Wolf Program Annual Report, population estimates suggest there are approximately 900 wolves in Montana. This marks the 13th consecutive year that Montana has far exceeded wolf recovery goals..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

6/12/18: Wolf News Roundup 6/12/2018
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) The National Park Service has issued a decision to reintroduce wolves to Isle Royale. Over a three to five year period, the NPS will introduce between 20-30 wolves on the island. Hunters in Sweden will not be able to hunt wolves this year, since the wolf population has fallen to just over 300 animals. A Swedish court ruling requires that the country maintain a population of at least 300 wolves before wolf hunting can be authorized. Wisconsin’s wolf population has decreased slightly, but still has at least 238 wolf packs, with a minimum population of more than 900 animals, according to state wildlife officials. This leveling off has been anticipated and may suggest that wolves are beginning to occupy less-suitable habitat as their range has expanded in the state..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

5/29/18: Wolf News Roundup 5/29/2018
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) The Great Falls Tribune has posted photos and an article about a wolf-like animal shot and killed in northcentral Montana recently. Photos of the animal have gone viral, along with wild speculation about what the animal actually is. A man was sentenced to a one-year term of probation and was ordered to pay $2,300 in restitution to the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program for intentionally killing a Mexican Gray Wolf. .Alaska and federal officials continue to struggle with setting the proper deer and wolf harvest levels on Prince of Wales Island..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

5/21/18: Wolf News Roundup 5/21/2018
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) Researchers from Michigan Technological University have released the annual Winter Study report detailing updates on the ecology of Isle Royale National Park. For the third year in a row, the Isle Royale wolf population remains a mere two, while the moose population continues to stay above the historic average. Without the pressure of predation, the expanding moose population will have a greater impact on the island's forest ecology. ..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

4/22/18: WG&F proposes wolf harvest of 58
(By Wyoming Game & Fish) The population of gray wolves in Wyoming continues to be healthy and exceed all criteria established to show that the species is recovered. As part of the management of wolves Wyoming uses hunting as it does with many other species. The draft regulation for the 2018 wolf hunting regulation is now available for public comment. Public meetings are being held around the state during the month of May, 2018..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

4/20/18: Wolf hunt didn't decrease population much
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) In 2017, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department instituted a wolf hunting season with the biological objective to reduce the wolf population by approximately 24% within the trophy wolf hunt area, from 210 wolves to 160 wolves. According to the agency’s annual wolf report for 2017, "Evaluation of the 2017 wolf hunting season data demonstrated the hunting strategy in 2017 did not reduce the wolf population as intended from ≥210 wolves to approximately 160 wolves (6% decline vs. 24% predicted decline)."..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

4/19/18: Wolf News Roundup 4/19/2018
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) In northern Minnesota, cattle ranchers indicate that 118 cattle went missing from 40 cattle ranchers surveyed. Wolf numbers have increased in the state of Minnesota due to an increasing deer population, as much as 25% from the previous year. Oregon is also dealing with increasing wolf depredations. Oregon’s wolf population increased last year, with state officials estimating the state has a minimum population of 124 wolves...... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

3/19/18: WA: Addressing Wolf Conflicts
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) A new nonprofit organization has been awarded more than $185,000 to provide non-lethal wolf deterrence for livestock producers in northeastern Washington. The Northeast Washington Wolf-Cattle Collaborative intends to provide a collection of deterrence devices (flashing lights, electric fences and chargers, air horns) for use by livestock producers, as well as training and hiring range riders at an estimated cost of $20,000 for each rider for the June-October grazing season...... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

3/19/18: Washington wolf population increases
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) Washington's wolf population continued to grow in 2017 for the ninth straight year, according to the results of an annual survey conducted by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The state was home to at least 122 wolves, 22 packs, and 14 successful breeding pairs, based on field surveys conducted over the winter by state, tribal, and federal wildlife managers. Survey findings reflect information from aerial surveys, remote cameras, wolf tracks, and signals from radio-collared wolves. As the state's wolf population has continued to grow, WDFW has expanded its efforts to collaborate with livestock producers, conservation groups, and local residents to prevent conflict between wolves and domestic animals..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

3/19/18: Adding wolves to Isle Royale
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) The National Park Service has proposed to introduce 20-30 wolves to Isle Royale National Park. Over the past five years the wolf population has declined steeply and at this time, natural recovery of the population is unlikely. There appears to be two severely inbred wolves remaining on the island, and the proposal to augment the population has generated substantial controversy regarding human intervention in a wilderness environment. According to the National Park Service, wolves have not always been part of the Isle Royale ecosystem. They have been present for more than 65 years, and have played a role in the ecosystem affecting the moose population and other species during that time. After a waiting period of at least 30 days, the NPS will issue a Record of Decision that documents the final decision and sets out a course of action for the project.... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

2/26/18: Wolf news roundup - 2/26/18
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) In the Gros Ventre of Wyoming, wolves are killing each other in response to lack of elk. In Colorado, a former Yellowstone wolf biologist is telling the the state how they need wolves and 300-400 would pose no problem. Minnesota’s moose rise and decline is closely tied to wolf population numbers with the idea that decreasing the wolf population through hunting would allow the moose population to rebound. Idaho gets a reprieve from having to destroy wolf monitoring data. The French government approved a plan to allow the wolf population to expand 40 percent in the next five years to an estimated 500 animals.... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

1/28/18: Wolf news roundup - 1/28/18
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) About 2,500 hunting licenses were sold for Wyoming’s 2017 wolf hunting season, according to the Associated Press, and with 44 wolves taken in the trophy hunting region of the state, less than two percent of license-holders were successful in taking a wolf. The Idaho Wolf Depredation Control Board spent more than $460,000 on controlling problem wolves in the state in 2017, according to a report in The Spokesman-Review. Although the state allows both regulated hunting and trapping of wolves, the state is experiencing an increase in reports of wolf depredations on livestock.
Oregon livestock producers were compensated $395,000 for livestock losses due to wolves last year, while the state’s wolf population remains at an estimated 112 animals. According to a report in the Capital Press, producers are now spending an average of $10,000 per wolf on tools to protect their livestock..... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)

1/17/18: Wolf news roundup - 1/17/18
(By Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!) Wyoming Game & Fish Department reports that the total agency goal of 44 wolves was met for 2017. Although some hunt areas were under quota, and some were over. In addition, there were 32 wolves killed in the state’s predator zone in 2017. In Oregon, members of the Rogue wolf pack in southwestern Oregon have repeatedly killed cattle on a ranch since the start of the year. Tracking collars place members of the pack near the scene. For the first time in 100 years, a wolf has been detected in Belgium. The radio-collared wolf originated in Germany, but has also roamed in the Netherlands. The wolf has reportedly traveled 300 miles in 10 days.... (Click on the link above for the complete story.)