George Wuerthner forwarded me this excellent ALLIANCE FOR THE WILD ROCKIES op-ed piece which refutes the claims of MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE AND PARKS assertion that trapping Wolverines is not harmful to their long term persistence.............. From 2002- 20005, the ROCKY MOUNTAIN RESEARCH STATION(USFS) documented 14 wolverine mortalities (10 males and four females) and reported losing contact with five additional males but were unable to determine if the loss was the result of dispersal, radio failure, or undocumented mortality.......... Nine of the documented 14 wolverine mortalities (six males and three females) were killed in traps............. That's a whopping 64 percent of the total wolverine mortalities in the study group...........The documented wolverine mortalities in the Pioneer Mountains - an isolated island range in south-western Montana with a high density of forest roads and snowmobile trails - were particularly harmful to the local population. Of the 14 wolverines being studied in the Pioneer Mountains, six were killed in traps, including four adult males and two pregnant adult females.......It is a well-established scientific fact that fewer animals in any limited population leads inexorably to an increased threat of inbreeding............. Once inbreeding hits a small population, they are finished............ You can't recover populations of species where the few individuals are all inbred........Accordingly,we implore FWP to reconsider their position on seeking trapping exemptions for Wolverines once the USFW Agency puts Gulo Gulo on the Endangered Species List

To recover wolverines, we must quit trapping them

By Mike Garrity Alliance for the Wild Rockies;helenair.com

The editorial in the Jan. 9 IR correctly noted that habitat and climate change are two of the main concerns in wolverine recovery. Only about 100-175 wolverines remain in Montana and the effective population (i.e., the number of wolverines able to reproduce and contribute successfully to the next generation) is dangerously low – estimated at less than 35 in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Facing extinction due to fragmentation and loss of habitat from climate change, Montana's wolverines face an additional and totally unnecessary challenge from trapping. Deplorably, and sure to be noticed in the national news, Montana is the only state in the Lower 48 to allow wolverine trapping, which has no economic or social justification.

The IR's editorial went astray when it stated that there is no evidence wolverine trapping has had any impact on the overall wolverine populations in Montana. In one Montana study, the Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Research Station instrumented and followed 36 wolverines in the Pioneer Mountains, Glacier National Park, and on the Idaho-Montana border.

From 2002-2005, the researchers documented 14 wolverine mortalities (10 males and four females) and reported losing contact with five additional males but were unable to determine if the loss was the result of dispersal, radio failure, or undocumented mortality. Nine of the documented 14 wolverine mortalities (six males and three females) were killed in traps. That's a whopping 64 percent of the total wolverine mortalities in the study groups.

The documented wolverine mortalities in the Pioneer Mountains - an isolated island range in south-western Montana with a high density of forest roads and snowmobile trails - were particularly harmful to the local population. Of the 14 wolverines being studied in the Pioneer Mountains, six were killed in traps, including four adult males and two pregnant adult females.

Wolverines are some of the slowest reproducing animals in the world with females often seven years old before they successfully replace themselves. Thus, the loss of two pregnant females to traps actually had a disproportionately large effect on wolverine demography in the Pioneers. The researchers report that while they were able to capture two sub-adults there during the first year of live trapping (2002), they failed to capture any sub-adults in the three subsequent years, suggesting that killing the repro-ductive-capable adults may have suppressed reproduction in the area. Female wolverines also have lower pregnancy rates due to the social disruption from trapping, leading to the conclusion that trap-ping was the "dominant factor" affecting wolverine survival across the study areas.

We agree with the IR that connectivity is another critical issue. But the best way to increase connec-tivity for wolverines is to increase the number of wolverines. More wolverines means increased connec-tivity. Trapping does just the opposite.

From 1988 to 2008 over 200 wolverines were killed by trappers in Montana. The current trapping quota has been reduced from ten to five wolverines annually, but due to the lack of selectivity by trap-ping, this would still lead to a significant number of dead wolverines over time, many from the tiny reproductive-capable pool that remains. It is a well-established scientific fact that fewer animals in any limited population leads inexorably to an increased threat of inbreeding. Once inbreeding hits a small population, they are finished. You can't recover populations of species where the few individuals are all inbred.

While we agree with the IR that climate change is a problem, it's puzzling how the IR thinks that working with Fish, Wildlife, and Parks can fix this. Is FWP going to start fighting the current policy of the state of Montana to mine more coal and ship it to China? No, they won't. FWP is going to say that is out of their area of concern and something over which they have no control.

What FWP does have control over is ways to increase the number of wolverines in Montana and the best way to do that is to stop trapping them. Wolverine trapping has no positive purpose other than recreation. Trapping small and isolated populations of wolverines isn't much different than the slaugh-ter of buffalo in the late 1800s. Trapping wolverines should end – as should the IR's promotion of killing wolverines for sport.