George Wuerthner forwarded to me Franz Camenzind;s excellent essay depicting how Wyoming's wolf hunting management plan is in fact a genocide plan in its scope and impact...................Thus far 45%(105) of the wolves(230) under state control have been killed in some way with one month remaining in the wolf killing season..............Camenzind estimates that when it is said and done, 62% of the state's wolves will have been shot, trapped, killed by cars, natural causes, etc, etc...................Camenzind further states: "Wildlife biologists estimate that a wolf population can suffer an annual mortality rate of 35 to 45 percent and still maintain itself, while a higher mortality rate will likely result in a long-term population decline"............. "Unfortunately, numbers alone do not recognize the nature and consequences associated with the death of a particular wolf:"......... "is it a pup, a yearling, an adult or an alpha pack leader?"....................."There is a growing amount of scientific evidence showing that the loss of an alpha wolf has far greater impact on the pack - its ability to hunt, the type of prey it seeks and even its very survival, than does the loss of a sub-adult".................. "Our management plans are written to manage wolves by the numbers, but in fact wolves survive in large part because of their social structure and behavioral interactions, neither of which are easily quantified"................. "Wolves may be scientifically identified as Canis lupus and physically described in detail, but as the most social wild mammal in North America, wolves survive as packs through order dictated by social stature and their subsequent interactions and with the efficiency manifested through this structure"............. "Killing one wolf may very well imperil many – but still be counted as one mortality"................. "Numbers count, but they do not describe life"............"Be careful Wyoming, we are pushing our wolves on to some pretty thin ice"

 

From: George Wuerthner [mailto:gwuerthner@gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, December 07, 2012 12:31 PM
To: Norman A. Bishop
Subject: Editorial: Wyoming may be hunting and killing wolves back on the ESA list

 

Note that Franz also makes the case as I have that wolf social organization is critical to pack success, yet not considered by state wildlife agencies which tend to use "population" as the guiding principle in management which is a crude method at best. If agencies want to really be responsible managers of predators, they have to start considering the impacts of human mortality on predator social ecology. Wyoming may be hunting, killing wolves back onto the endangered species list

By Franz Camenzind Ph.D. Center for the Rocky Mountain West Friday, Dec. 7, 2012

On September 30 Wyoming's gray wolves were de-listed and the state, through the Wyoming Game and Fish Department assumed management responsibility for the estimated 230 wolves outside Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, the National Elk Refuge and the Wind River Indian Reservation. At that same time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that during the first nine months of the year, 44 wolves had been killed in Wyoming - 36 because of livestock depredation and eight from various causes. The latest state Game and Fish Department report states that from October 1 to December 3, hunters killed 57 wolves - 38 in the Trophy Game Area and 19 in the Predator Zone. The 2012 Trophy Game quota is 52 while there is no limit to the number of wolves that can be killed in the Predator Zone – which covers nearly 90 percent of the state. The same report listed four more wolf mortalities in the Trophy Game Area not counted towards quotas - one hit by a vehicle and three deaths attributed to "natural causes." With one month remaining in this year's wolf-hunting season, we have verification that Wyoming has already lost at least 105 wolves, or 45 percent of the 230 wolves under state control.         As an aside, Hunt Area 8, which has a quota of seven had two wolves killed in separate incidences at nearly the same time. The first mortality met the quota and closed the HA while the second exceeded the quota. Since no law was broken, the "extra" mortality will not be counted toward filling the state's overall quota of 52. Therefore, because only 37 of the 38 wolves killed thus far in the Trophy Game Area will be counted toward the quota, it still leaves 15 wolves to be taken. If achieved, that would bring the known mortality to 120, or 52 percent of the state's wolf population. Game managers estimate that a minimum of 10 percent of a wolf population will be poached in any year - killed illegally and rarely found. That's an additional 23 dead wolves. If this happens, it will bring the estimated number of wolves killed in Wyoming to about 143, or 62 percent of the state's 230 wolves. Wildlife biologists estimate that a wolf population can suffer an annual mortality rate of 35 to 45 percent and still maintain itself, while a higher mortality rate will likely result in a long-term population decline. Unfortunately, numbers alone do not recognize the nature and consequences associated with the death of a particular wolf: is it a pup, a yearling, an adult or an alpha pack leader? There is a growing amount of scientific evidence showing that the loss of an alpha wolf has far greater impact on the pack - its ability to hunt, the type of prey it seeks and even its very survival, than does the loss of a sub-adult. Our management plans are written to manage wolves by the numbers, but in fact wolves survive in large part because of their social structure and behavioral interactions, neither of which are easily quantified. Wolves may be scientifically identified as Canis lupus and physically described in detail, but as the most social wild mammal in North America, wolves survive as packs through order dictated by social stature and their subsequent interactions and with the efficiency manifested through this structure. Killing one wolf may very well imperil many – but still be counted as one mortality. Numbers count, but they do not describe life. An argument can be made that the population estimate of 230 is a minimum number and that the hunting quota of 52 will not be met. Both are real possibilities. However, I contend that the 10 percent poaching estimate is also a minimum figure. And it is also very difficult to know how many wolves die of natural causes, but we know they do. And I would venture to say that additional wolves will be killed legally in the Predator Zone and reported while some will be killed and not reported. In addition, this year's mortalities may have eliminated an unknown number of breeding pairs. The 2011 year-end report counted 19 breeding pairs defined as at least one adult male and female accompanied by at least two pups-of-the year at the end of the year. The delisting agreement requires that a minimum of 10 breeding pairs be verified at years-end to avoid re-listing. This may appear to some as a worst-case scenario and a "sky is falling" alarm, but if the above scenarios play out, Wyoming could end the year with fewer than 90 adult wolves 230 minus 143 plus however many of this year's pups survive to year's end – perhaps 50. As such, the Cowboy State could begin 2013 with roughly 140 wolves or 40 percent fewer then what we had at the beginning of 2012. This figure is approaching the 100-threshold Wyoming must maintain in order to keep the re-listing process from starting up. And a population of 140 wolves leaves little buffer to absorb next year's natural mortalities, Predator Zone mortalities, another hunting season, poaching and the inevitable depredation controls. The decision to delist Wyoming's wolves was based on an agreement to maintain at minimum, a specific population number written into Wyoming's Wolf Management Plan. This plan is a contract between the State of Wyoming, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the public. It spells out hard numbers that at years-end will be scrutinized by the public and possibly the courts. Play with the numbers as you wish, but it's clear that Wyoming's first year of managing wolves will end with a very significant reduction in wolf numbers. A reduction so severe that if continued could put the population's long-term survival at risk, and a reduction so significant that it could generate calls to re-list the population under the Endangered Species Act. This situation comes as no surprise when considering that Wyoming's Wolf Management Plan - driven by the state legislature, is designed to manage for a minimum number of wolves instead of striving for higher population levels, levels capable of absorbing all sorts of mortality factors, and levels at which wolves – through their intact social structures can play their role in defining the ecological nature of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Be careful Wyoming, we are pushing our wolves on to some pretty thin ice. Franz Camenzind Ph.D.,  of Jackson, Wyo.,  served as executive director of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance for 13 years, and has worked on wolf issues in the region.  He holds degrees in wildlife biology, and completed his Ph.D. on coyote behavior and ecology on the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming.