This information is provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Monitoring
Gray Wolves Move Toward Recovery; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Reclassifies Some Wolves from Endangered to Threatened
A steadily growing gray wolf population in the western Great Lakes states and a highly successful reintroduction program in the northern Rocky Mountains have prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to change the status of gray wolves in these areas from "endangered" to the less serious "threatened" designation under the Endangered Species Act.
The reclassification rule, which finalizes an action first proposed by the Service in 2000, also establishes three "Distinct Population Segments" (DPS) for gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act. The three DPSs encompass the entire historic range of the gray wolf in the lower 48 states and Mexico, and correspond to the three areas of the country where there are wolf populations and ongoing recovery activities.
"Wolves are coming back, and their new status highlights our progress toward recovering them across their range," said Service Director Steve Williams. "Our action today gives us greater management flexibility for most gray wolf populations as we work toward the next step - removing gray wolf populations from the list of endangered and threatened species."
Wolf populations in the Eastern and Western DPSs have achieved population goals for recovery, and Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking are being published concurrent with this reclassification rule to give the public notice that the Service will soon begin work to propose delisting these populations.
Under the Endangered Species Act, endangered species are those that are currently in danger of extinction. Threatened species, which receive many of the same protections under the Act, are species that are considered likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future. "Threatened" is a more appropriate classification than "endangered" for wolves outside the Southwest because recovery programs have succeeded in reducing threats to gray wolves and vastly increasing their numbers and range.
The threatened designation - which now applies to all gray wolves in the lower 48 states except for those in the Southwest - is accompanied by special rules to allow some take of wolves outside the experimental population areas in the northern Rocky Mountains. Under the Endangered Species Act, these rules provide options for removing wolves that cause problems for livestock owners and other people affected by wolf populations. Such rules are possible for threatened species but not for those designated as endangered. Wolves in experimental population areas in the northern Rocky Mountains are already covered by similar rules that remain in effect.
The Service will now begin the process of proposing to remove gray wolves in the western and eastern United States from the endangered and threatened species list, once the agency has determined that all recovery criteria for wolf populations in those areas have been met and sufficient protections remain in place to ensure sustainable populations.
Gray wolf numbers in the western Great Lakes -- estimated at more than 2,445 in Minnesota, 323 in Wisconsin and 278 in Michigan -- have climbed beyond recovery goals for wolves in the eastern United States. In the Rocky Mountains, there are an estimated 664 wolves in 44 packs in northwestern Montana, Idaho, and in and around Yellowstone National Park. This is the third year the population has been at or above 30 breeding pairs, meeting the recovery goals for number and distribution in the west.
"Only a few decades ago, wolves were well on their way to extinction in the lower 48 states," Williams said. "Today, Americans can hear wolves howl in Yellowstone National Park or see their tracks in the snow in Michigan and Wisconsin. These sights and sounds are ours to experience because wolf recovery is being achieved in tandem with measures that help people co-exist with wolves. Giving stakeholders a voice in how we recover wolves has been the key to the remarkable progress of this species."
To delist the wolf, various recovery criteria must be met, in addition to reaching population goals. Among those criteria are requirements to ensure continued survival of the gray wolf after delisting. This will be accomplished through management plans developed by the states and tribes. Once delisted, the species will no longer be protected by the Endangered Species Act. At that point, individual states and tribes will resume management of gray wolf populations, although the Service will conduct monitoring for five years after delisting to ensure that populations remain secure.
In addition to reclassifying gray wolves in most states from endangered to threatened, the final rule establishes three Distinct Population Segments for wolves. The Eastern Distinct Population Segment includes all Midwestern and Northeastern states, and the wolf populations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The new rule did not change the status of wolves in Minnesota, where they were already listed as threatened.
The Western Distinct Population Segment includes all of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, along with Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, northern Colorado, and northern Utah.
The Southwestern Distinct Population Segment includes all of Arizona and New Mexico, southern Colorado and southern Utah, portions of western Texas and western Oklahoma, and Mexico. This DPS will retain the status of endangered; the nonessential experimental population designation in Arizona, New Mexico, and a small portion of Texas remains unchanged. This new rule does not affect the status or management of gray wolves in the Southwest.
The rule finalizing the reclassification of most gray wolves differs in several ways from the original proposal. Rather than delisting the gray wolf in all or parts of 30 states, as proposed, the final rule delists the gray wolf in all or parts of 16 states in the Southeast because that area is outside the historical range of the species. Also, the final rule combines proposed Distinct Population Segments in the western Great Lakes and the Northeast into one Eastern Distinct Population Segment.
Gray wolves once ranged throughout much of the North American continent and occupied most of the lower 48 states, except for some southeastern and mid-Atlantic states. Wolf populations in the United States began to decline as European settlers moved west. Some wolves were killed for their fur, but government predator-control efforts helped wipe out wolves in much of their historical range. By the 1920s, they were virtually gone from the lower 48 states except for a small population in Minnesota.
Intensive efforts to recover wolf populations began once wolves received protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Once they were protected from killing, wolf populations in the western Great Lakes states began to rebound by the mid-1980s. In the northern Rocky Mountains, wolves naturally dispersing from Canada began recolonizing areas in Montana by the 1980s, and Canadian wolves were captured and released in central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park in the mid-1990s.
In the Southwest, 74 wolves have been released into the wild in New Mexico and Arizona since gray wolf reintroduction in the Southwest began in January 1998. Of these, at least 21 remain free-ranging. Second generation wild-born gray wolf pups were produced for the first time in the Southwest in 2002.
Wolves are numerous in Alaska, where they were never listed as endangered or threatened.
The final rule reclassifying the gray wolf will be published in the Federal Register.
The alpha female [and only radio-collared member] of the Buffalo Fork pack was found dead on the 14th. She had recently nursed pups but the remaining 4 pack members should be able to successfully rear them. She was apparently killed by other wolves and the Rose Creek pack only a mile or so away from her carcass.
The carcass and radio-collar of a pup from the Sentinel pack south of Bozeman that darted last winter was recovered. The carcass was intact but very decayed and the wolf had been dead for some time. Cause of death did not appear to be caused by illegally. Therese Hartman, assisted by volunteers Kassy Holzheimer and Elizabeth Morton, captured and radio-collared a yearling female wolf from the Spotted Bear Pack on June 19.
WE NEED HELP FROM COOPERATORS AND PUBLIC- We are currently into the trapping season, when we try to radio-collar wolves from previously unknown packs and beef up our collar coverage in known packs. Please report any sightings of wolf activity to the nearest U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state Fish and Game Agency, Forest Service, BLM, Tribal, or USDA Wildlife Services office.
Control Herders watched as a lone wolf killed a 200lb calf in central Idaho, just north of Arco. They couldn’t react fast enough other than to drive the wolf off the carcass. WS confirmed the loss and traps have been set near the calf’s carcass. If the wolf is captured it will be killed. The remains of a calf, found near Trego, MT about June 5, were thawed out and examined by Wildlife Services specialist Ted North. He determined that the calf had not died of predation. WS specialist McDougal also examined a dead calf near Big Hole, MT from last week, and it was also not killed by predators. There have been very few depredations by wolves so far this summer.
Research Yellowstone National Park was trying to examine summer wolf predation by monitoring members of the Druid pack using GPS locations [multiple locations are taken each day] were that are downloaded weekly. Unfortunately the GPS collars don’t seem to be functioning properly and were only transmitting a couple of locations per day. That isn’t frequent enough to determine of wolves route of travel and identify location clusters to look for summer kills. Capture and monitoring of elk calves to document the cause and rate of neonate mortality is continuing in Yellowstone Park as part of a PhD. Research project.
Education, Information and Law Enforcement Doug Smith gave several talks this past week. He spoke to abut 200 people at the GYC 20th anniversary annual meeting in West Yellowstone on the 13th. He talked to about 100 park visitors at the Tower Hotel and several dozen a teachers at their workshop in the Park. He also talked to several Yellowstone Foundation members on the 20th. Bangs talked with about 20 FWS R-6 Reality Specialists at their retreat and meeting at Big Sky, MT on the 17th. On the 18th Bangs spoke to about 30 Missoula Rotary members in Missoula, MT.
Asher met with several ranchers from the Taylor Fork area of Montana, south of Bozeman, MSU researchers, and MT FW&P. It appears there was some confusion among the local residents over who was ultimately responsible for wolf-related issues and who should be contacted. The rules are: for dead wolves you go to FWS law enforcement, livestock losses to Wildlife Services, and everyhthing else goes to the Service, although MT FW&P and the Univ. can certainly help out or pass information along. Val Asher is the representative for the USFWS in that area. The meeting went well and it was clarified that the USFWS is the only agency with direct wolf-management authorities while wolves are listed. After delisting MT FW&P would be the sole lead management agency. The University is simply conducting some cooperative research under a FWS and/or MT FW&P permits.
Asher is going down to assist the Mexican wolf program next week. She will be helping to relocate and release some wolves into their backcountry Wilderness using pack mules. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boise, Idaho filed a request for a clarification of the Judge’s order regarding its prohibition of "any" wolf control in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area on the 18th. The FWS asked that non-lethal measurers be allowed by the court should there be a depredation. The Service assisted in preparing that request and appreciates DOJ’s efforts.
On Friday, Bangs met with a USA Today reporter who is writing about the success of wolf and grizzly bear recovery in the western United States. This report is government public property and can be used for any purpose. Please distribute as you see fit.
January 2003
Information provided by the National Park Service Death of last Original Wolf Reintroduced in 1995 Information from the National Park Service indicates that male wolf #2 was probably killed by other wolves. His body was found on 31 December 2002.
Wolf #2 was the Alpha Male of the Leopold Pack that was established in spring of 1995. He was one of the original wolves captured in Canada and released in Yellowstone. This was the very beginning of the wolf restoration project in Yellowstone and Idaho. It is believed that wolf #2 was disposed as the Alpha Male and driven out of the pack. As a lone wolf he was vulnerable to other wolves if he strayed into their territory. Wolves are very territorial and have been known to kill or injure other wolves that enter their pack area. Wolf #2 was eight years old at the time of his death and may have sired at least eight litters of wolves.
Leopold Pack info from Wolf History - Established 1995 Pack History: The Leopold Pack has the distinction of being the first free forming pack in Yellowstone National Park and is named after Aldo Leopold a noted conservationist and a pioneer of wolf restoration. Striking out on their own as 1.5 year old wolves often do, female #7 from the original Rose Creek Pack and male #2 from the Crystal Creek Pack spent time as "lone wolves", wandering the park. We were excited to learn that they have joined together. They have staked out a territory and have been observed exhibiting courtship behavior. Pups are expected in the spring of 1996.
Gray Wolves Rebound; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes to Reclassify, Delist Wolves in Much of United States
Today about 2,200 wolves live in the wild in Minnesota, fewer than twenty on Lake Superior's Isle Royale, about 120 in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, 120 in Wisconsin, and about 240 in the northern Rocky Mountains of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Wolves currently are being reintroduced to Arizona and New Mexico. An occasional wolf is seen in Washington State, North Dakota, or South Dakota. Populations fluctuate with food availability and strife within packs, and, primarily, to killing by people.
Gray wolves are listed under the Endangered Species Act as threatened species in Minnesota and as endangered species elsewhere in the lower 48 states. Endangered means a species is considered in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, and threatened means a species may become endangered. In Alaska, wolf populations number 5,900 to 7,200 and are not considered endangered or threatened.
Wolf recovery under the Endangered Species Act has been so successful that in June 1998 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it would review the species' status and consider delisting or reclassifying specific wolf populations where appropriate. The wolf's comeback has been attributed to a combination of scientific research, conservation and management programs, and education efforts that helped to increase public understanding of wolves.
Successful reintroduction and management programs have greatly accelerated wolf recovery in the Rocky Mountains. Gray wolves have greatly expanded their numbers thanks to science-based wolf and wolf habitat management; restoration of wolf prey species such as deer, elk and moose; and habitat and legal protection..
In Minnesota, where the largest wolf population in the lower 48 states resides, a state program provides compensation for livestock confirmed to be killed by wolves, and a federal program provides for trapping of individual wolves guilty of depredation. In other areas a private compensation program run by an organization that supports wolf restoration, the Defenders of Wildlife, pays for livestock killed by wolves.
Wolf recovery and management are very polarized, controversial, and emotional issues often stemming from people's attitudes, fears and misunderstandings more than wolves themselves. Attitudes are often based on inaccurate information, making wolf management perhaps more difficult than any other wildlife management program.
For example, some people continue to carry the unfounded fear that wolves attack people or threaten outdoor activities. In fact, wolves generally avoid humans. While wolves certainly have the ability to kill people, there has never been a verified report of a healthy wild wolf deliberately attacking or seriously injuring a human in North America. Wolves can be very tolerant of human activity if they are not deliberately persecuted so there is rarely a reason to restrict human activity, including logging and mining, simply because wolves live in the area.
For the past twenty years, Yellowstone National Park has been at the center of debates over the wolf. By about 1930, wolves had been deliberately extirpated from the western United States, including Yellowstone. After years of comprehensive study and planning, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduced gray wolves into Yellowstone and U.S. Forest Service lands in central Idaho. In 1995 and 1996, 31 wolves from Canada were temporarily held in pens before being released in Yellowstone National Park. At the same time 35 wolves were released on remote Forest Service lands in Idaho. All of the reintroduced wolves were fitted with radio collars and monitored by biologists from the Fish and Wildlife Service and other cooperating agencies. The reintroduction has been very successful and by December 1997 about 80 wolves lived in each area.
The Yellowstone and Idaho wolves are designated as non-essential, experimental under the Endangered Species Act. This designation allows federal, state and tribal agencies and private citizens more flexibility in managing these populations. Wolves that prey on livestock will be removed and, if necessary, destroyed. Ranchers may kill wolves they catch in the act of preying on their livestock on private lands. They may be issued a permit to do the same on public lands after certain conditions are met. The experimental program has worked so well in the northwestern United States that a similar effort is being used to restore Mexican wolves to their historic range in the southwestern United States.
Mexican gray wolves are the southernmost occurring, rarest and most genetically distinct type of gray wolf in North America. They once lived in the mountainous regions of the Southwest from central Mexico throughout portions of southern Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Mexican wolves, or lobos as they were called by the Spanish-speaking people, were extirpated by aggressive predator control programs.
Until recently Mexican wolves only existed in captivity. In March 1998, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released three Mexican wolf packs into the Apache National Forest in eastern Arizona. These wolves are the first to exist in the wild in the United States since 1970, when the last Mexican wolf was killed. Reintroductions will continue for 3 to 5 years with the goal of establishing 100 wolves in eastern Arizona and western New Mexico. Like the Yellowstone and Idaho wolves, the reintroduced Mexican wolf population has been designated a non-essential, experimental population, providing for greater management flexibility to address the concerns of local residents.
Wolf recovery efforts represent an opportunity to redress past mistakes and enhance our understanding not only of wolves themselves, but also the complex interactions among species in their natural environments.
Robust wolf populations in the upper Great Lakes area and a successful wolf reintroduction program in the northern U.S. Rocky Mountains have prompted the Interior Department's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to formally propose to reclassify the gray wolf from endangered to threatened in some parts of the country and remove the species from the Endangered Species list in other areas. The move by the Service would affect the status of gray wolves throughout most of the conterminous 48 states; however, Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest would remain endangered, as would red wolves (a separate wolf species) in the Southeast.
"Wolves are a living symbol of the regard Americans have for things wild," said Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. "We as a people have made the choice to do the right thing and bring these animals back from the brink of extinction. We have weighed the cost of saving an irreplaceable part of our world and found it to be worth our effort."
"The Endangered Species Act gave us the tools we needed to achieve this milestone," said Service Director Jamie Rappaport Clark. "We used the law's protections and its flexibility to structure wolf recovery to meet the needs of the species and those of the people. This is truly an endangered species success story."
Gray wolves throughout the conterminous United States are currently listed as endangered, except in Minnesota where they are considered threatened. Wolves in Alaska are not protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Under the Service's proposal, gray wolves in the conterminous 48 states would be divided into four distinct population segments (DPSs), each to be addressed individually:
Western Great Lakes population (includes states of Minnesota, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin): Because of continued wolf population increases, wolves in these states would be reclassified from endangered to threatened, joining Minnesota wolves in this classification. As a result, all wolves in the Western Great Lakes DPS would receive the same level of protection under the ESA. In addition, increased management flexibility would be permitted through the use of a special rule for control of wolves preying on domestic animals, as is currently the case for wolves in Minnesota
!APPEALS COURT RULES YELLOWSTONE WOLVES CAN STAY IN PARK!
Report compiled from the Associated Press and reports forwarded to Yellowstone Wolf Tracker by Defenders of Wildlife (1-13-2000)
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver today overturned a lower court's 1997 ruling that the 1995 and 1996 Yellowstone wolf reintroductions were illegal.
"Discerning no conflict between the challenged experimental population rules and the Endangered Species Act, we reverse the district court's order and judgment," the 10th Circuit said (97-8127et al.). The long-awaited decision had taken about 5 months to reach. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 39-page opinion that reversed the lower court ruling which had given a temporary victory to wolf opponents who feared wolves would prey on their livestock and infringe upon hunting opportunities.
District court Judge Downes in Wyoming ruled in 1997 that the wolves must go, but also postponed the removal by staying his order, saying the wolves could remain until a higher court decided the matter. Wolf opponents and advocates argued before a three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in July, 1999, focusing on what constituted a wolf population.
The district court's ruling had called for removal of all the wolves and their offspring, an action that pleased the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), which was behind the lawsuit, but that Defenders of Wildlife called a virtual death sentence. Today AFBF President Dean Kleckner, who called for removing the wolves, lost his job in an election.
"It's a new day for wolves in more ways than one. The Yellowstone wolves have been given a new lease on life and so has the principle that science -- not politics -- should guide wildlife restoration efforts in America," said Rodger Schlickeisen, President of Defenders of Wildlife. "It's been two long years since the district court's ruling because of the obstinacy of the AFBF and Kleckner, but ironically he lost his job on the same day the Farm Bureau lost the suit." Schlickeisen concluded, "We are very pleased that reason won in this case and that the wolves will be allowed to remain in the park so that future generations may enjoy them. We've known all along that the Farm Bureau's lawsuit was wrong legally and morally."
Using the experimental designation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 66 wolves were released into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in 1995 and 1996. Experimental designation undersection 10(j) of the ESA allows ranchers to shoot wolves ifcaught in the act of killing livestock on private lands. The 1997 ruling, spurred by an American Farm Bureau Federation lawsuit, claimed that such designation was illegal and put any naturally occurring wolf populations at undue risk, since a naturally occurring wolf would be fully protected under the ESA. No naturally occurring wolves are in Yellowstone, and any pre-existing wolves in Idaho are flourishing now only because of the tremendous success of the reintroduction program.
Defenders President Schlickeisen noted that "The wolves are doing better than ever expected. They are reproducing, hunting natural prey, and doing their part to return one of America's greatest treasures to its healthy, natural state. Except for some rare instances in which Defenders of Wildlife has reimbursed the rancher, the wolves are mostly staying away from livestock. It is incomprehensible that the Farm Bureau has been so determined to kill these wolves and their offspring." Defenders maintains its $200,000 Wolf Compensation Trust to compensate ranchers, at fair market value, for any losses due to wolves.
December 1999
This information is provided by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on 22 Dec 99. As of this date, 116 wolves, comprised of about 11 packs inhabit the greater Yellowstone area. This estimate is down from the mid-summer count of 160 individual wolves due to natural mortality and control measures. About 9 packs have established territory within Yellowstone National Park as well as Grant Teton National Park. Two packs currently inhabit wilderness areas in the Yellowstone ecosystem. There are currently eight breeding pairs in the Yellowstone ecosystem.
Court Ruling
On 29 Jul 99, the appeal of the ruling by Judge Downes to remove the wolves from Yellowstone and central Idaho was heard. Oral arugments were heard by a three judge panel at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado. A decision on the case was not made at that time. A ruling on the appeal is expected within three to nine months. The 1997 court ruling by Judge Downes has not altered operations by the wolf project staff. Monitoring, management and study of Yellowstone wolves is proceeding as planned.
General Pack Locations
The Chief Joseph Pack is inhabiting the northwest area of Yellowstone. The Crystal Creek Pack has been located in the Pelican Valley area just north of Yellowstone Lake. The Druid Peak Pack is located in the Lamar Valley area in the northeast section of Yellowstone. The Leopold Pack is on the Blacktail Deer Plateau area in the northern portion of the park. The Nez Perce Pack has been located in the west central area of Yellowstone. The Rose Creek Pack has been located west of Lamar Valley in the northern range of Yellowstone. The Sheep Mountain Pack (Formerly the Chief Joseph II Pack), has been located just north of Yellowstone. The Soda Butte Pack, has been located in the Thorofare wilderness area. A female from this pack, number 24F has dispersed from the pack. She has been located with a male from the Washakie pack. These two wolves are currently inhabiting the Teton Wilderness. They have been named the Teton Pack. The Sunlight Pack, number 41F and number 52M, were last located just east of Yellowstone in the Sunlight Basin. The Washakie II Pack, (a newly formed and named pack) has been inhabiting the area known as the Washakie Wilderness. It is possible that two to three wolves are members of the old Washakie and/or old Thorofare Packs.
1999 Denning Information
Twelve females in ten packs have produced pups in the Yellowstone ecosystem. They are: Chief Joseph Pack Crystal Creek Pack Druid Peak Pack Gros Ventre Pack Leopold Pack Nez Perce Pack Rose Creek Pack (three dens) Sheep Mountain Pack Sunlight Basin Pack Teton Pack Sixty-four (64) pups in ten packs have been observed by wildlife biologists. It is estimated that 38 of these pups are still alive as of this date. Visitors are reminded that denning areas are closed to help protect the pups and the packs. Please check at any visitor center in Yellowstone or Grand Teton for closure areas.
Wolf Losses
Because of two confirmed livestock depredations just north of Yellowstone, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and Wildlife Services removed 6 wolves from the Sheep Mountain Pack. The alpha male was put down as it is believed that he was the leader of the depredation. Two wolves of the Chief Joseph pack were removed due to depredation of six sheep.
2000 Collaring Operations
A collaring operation is scheduled for January 2000. The goal is to collar approximately 20 wolves in the ecosystem. Currently 46 wolves or 32% of the total wolf population, are collared in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.
Nov 99
This information is provided by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on 05 Nov 99. As of this date, 160 wolves, comprised of about 12 packs inhabit the greater Yellowstone area. About 9 packs have established territory within Yellowstone National Park as well as Grant Teton National Park. Three packs currently inhabit wilderness areas in the Yellowstone ecosystem. There are currently nine breeding pairs in the Yellowstone ecosystem.
Court Ruling
On 29 Jul 99, the appeal of the ruling by Judge Downes to remove the wolves from Yellowstone and central Idaho was heard. Oral arugments were heard by a three judge panel at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado. A decision on the case was not made at that time. A ruling on the appeal is expected within three to nine months. The 1997 court ruling by Judge Downes has not altered operations by the wolf project staff. Monitoring, management and study of Yellowstone wolves is proceeding as planned.
May 8 1999
This information is provided by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on 06 May 99. As of this date, 110 wolves, comprised of eleven packs inhabit the greater Yellowstone area. About 8 packs have established territory within Yellowstone National Park as well as Grant Teton National Park. Three packs currently inhabit areas near the border of Yellowstone.
Pack Locations
The Chief Joseph I Pack is inhabiting the northwest area of Yellowstone.
The Crystal Creek Pack has been located in the Pelican Valley area just north of Yellowstone Lake.
The Druid Peak Pack has recently been located in Lamar Valley in the northeast area of Yellowstone. Wolf 104M a dispersing male from the Druid Peak Pack has been located with the Crystal Creek Pack and is their new Alpha Male
The Leopold Pack is on the Blacktail Deer Plateau area in the northern portion of the park.
The Nez Perce Pack has been located in the west central area of Yellowstone. The alpha male of this pack has dispersed for unknown reasons. Since he has left the pack, he has been located with a female yearling from the Thorofare Pack in Grand Teton National Park, south of Yellowstone. The alpha male's radio collar has been chewed off, but since he has ear tags, biologist were able to identify him with this female wolf. A third wolf has also been sighted with these two wolves. These wolves have been temporarily been named the Jackson Trio.
The Rose Creek Pack has been located west of Lamar Valley in the northern range of Yellowstone.
The Sheep Mountain Pack (Formerly the Chief Joseph II Pack), has been located just north of Yellowstone.
The Soda Butte Pack, has been located along the southern border of Yellowstone. A female from this pack, number 24F has dispersed from the pack. She has been located with a male from the Washakie pack. These two wolves are currently inhabiting the Teton Wilderness. They have been temporarily name the Teton Pair.
The Sunlight Pack, number 41F and number 52M, were last located just east of Yellowstone in the Sunlight Basin.
Grand Teton National Park
The Jackson Trio Pack, has been located in the Grand Teton National Park area.
The Teton Duo Pack, has been located in the Teton Wilderness. Feb 1999
Pack Locations
The Chief Joseph I Pack is inhabiting the northwest area of Yellowstone. Two pups from this pack have been hit by vehicles along US Highway 191 in the past three months.
The Chief Joseph II Pack has been located just north of Yellowstone. Biologists have been puzzled by who bred the alpha female of this pack in 1998. A large male estimated to be 1.5 to 2.5 years old was captured and collared with this pack during this years collaring efforts. It is almost certain that he is the mate to the alpha female of this pack. Because of the uncertainty of his age, it had not clear if he was breeding male last February.
The Crystal Creek Pack has been located in the Pelican Valley area just north of Yellowstone Lake.
The Druid Peak Pack has recently been located in Lamar Valley in the northeast area of Yellowstone. Wolf 104M a dispersing male from the Druid Peak Pack has been located with the Crystal Creek Pack and is their new Alpha Male
The Leopold Pack is on the Blacktail Deer Plateau area in the northern portion of the park.
The Nez Perce Pack has been located in the west central area of Yellowstone. The alpha male of this pack has dispersed for unknown reasons. Since he has left the pack, he has been located with a female yearling from the Thorofare Pack in Grand Teton National Park, south of Yellowstone. The alpha male's radio collar has been chewed off, but since he has ear tags, biologist were able to identify him with this female wolf. A third wolf has also been sighted with these two wolves. These wolves have been temporarily been named the Jackson Trio.
The Rose Creek Pack has been located west of Lamar Valley in the northern range of Yellowstone.
The Soda Butte Pack, has moved north of Grand Teton National Park, near Yellowstone. A female from this pack, number 24F has dispersed from the pack. She has been located with a male from the Washakie pack. These two wolves are currently inhabiting the Teton Wilderness. They have been temporarily name the Teton Pair.
The Sunlight Pack, number 41F and number 52M, were last located just east of Yellowstone in the Sunlight Basin. Court Ruling The court ruling by Judge Downes has not altered operations by the wolf project staff. Monitoring, management and study of Yellowstone wolves is proceeding as planned.
1999 Collaring Efforts
As of this time, 51 wolves are currently radio collared in the Yellowstone area. Collaring efforts are currently in progress. So far, 11 pups, 5 yearlings and one adult in six packs in Yellowstone's northern range have been collared since operations began on 12 Jan 99. The goal is to collar 25 to 30 wolves in the great Yellowstone area.
August 1998
This information is provided by the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as of 24 Aug 98. As of this date, 120 wolves (this includes wolves and this years pups) comprised of ten packs inhabit the greater Yellowstone area.
All ten packs have established territories in Yellowstone or close to the park border.
The Chief Joseph Pack is inhabiting the northwest corner of Yellowstone.
The Crystal Creek Pack is inhabiting the Pelican Valley region of Yellowstone (just north of Yellowstone Lake).
The Druid Peak Pack has moved into Lamar Valley.
The Leopold Pack is south of the Blacktail Deer Plateau area in the northern portion of the park.
The Nez Perce Pack has been located south of Hayden Valley in the east central area of Yellowstone. Wolf number 67F of the Nez Perce Pack had been involved in two depredations in the past and was recently located pursuing cattle again in Kenya Valley west of Yellowstone, she was killed by Wildlife Services on Saturday, 22 Aug 98.
The Rose Creek Pack has been located on the Buffalo Plateau area in northern Yellowstone.
The Soda Butte Pack, has also been located in the Thorofare region a few miles away from the Thorofare Pack.This pack has not produced pups this year.
The Sunlight Pack, number 41F and number 52M, have been located just east of Yellowstone in the Sunlight Basin.
The Thorofare Pack is located the Thorofare region of Yellowstone.
The Washakie Pack, has moved into the Thorofare Region.
After completing the necropsy of lone female wolf 111F, the cause of death of this yearling has been determined to be unknown.
A total of 27 wolves have been radio collared this year in an effort to better monitor, manage and study the animals. In all 39 wolves are currently collared in the Yellowstone area.
Yellowstone Wolf Pups Wolf project field crews have observed seven packs or females with pups of the year.
Chief Joseph Pack It has been confirmed the alpha female of the Chief Joseph Pack has at least seven pups.
Crystal Creek Pack The Crystal Creek Pack has been observed by air crews in the Pelican Valley region of Yellowstone (just north of Yellowstone Lake), with eight pups.
Druid Peak Pack The Druid Peak Pack has been observed with two pups (one black and one gray) in Lamar Valley.
Leopold Pack Biologists have observed the Leopold Pack with five pups.
Lone Wolf In addition number 16F, a lone female, has also been observed with six pups. Biologists have not determined which wolf has bred her.
Nez Perce Pack It is very probably the Nez Perce pair have produced pups although wolf project crews have not observed them with offspring. Female wolf number 67F of the Nez Perce Pack has whelped and is caring for four pups.
Rose Creek Pack The famous female wolf number 9F (alpha female of the Rose Creek Pack) and her daughter number 18F have been observed by wolf project field crews with ten pups. They were probably both bred by the alpha male, wolf number 8M. These two wolves shared the same den, which is very uncommon in the wild. The Rose Creek Pack has now moved away from their den to a rendezvous site far into the Yellowstone backcountry. This will be number 9's forth litter of pups since first being reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995. Last year both female wolves (number 9F and 18F of the Rose Creek Pack) had pups, but they denned in two different areas. In all 42 pups in seven packs have been observed by field and air crews.
May 1998
This information is provided by the National Park Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service as of 15 May 98. Wolf number 029M, having escaped the Nez Perce enclosure, has been seen with wolf number 48F a lone female wolf. It has been confirmed that 48F has denned and therefore has likely produced pups.
With the 1998 denning season in full swing, wolf project field crews have observed six of the ten packs showing signs of producing pups. It is expected that as many as 40 to 50 pups will be born into the Yellowstone ecosystem this year. The famous female wolf number 9F (alpha female of the Rose Creek Pack) and her daughter number 18F have been observed by wolf project field crews with eleven new pups. They were probably both bred by the alpha male, wolf number 8M. These two wolves are sharing the same den, which is very uncommon in the wild. This will be number 9's forth litter of pups since first being reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995. Last year both female wolves (number 9F and 18F of the Rose Creek Pack) had pups, but they denned in two different areas.
April 1998
This information is provided by the National Park Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service as of 27 Apr 97. As of this date, about 82 wolves grouped in 10 packs inhabit the greater Yellowstone area. Seven of the ten packs have established territory within Yellowstone National Park. The eight pack, the Washakie pack continues to inhabit national forest land in and around the Du Noir Valley south of Yellowstone. The ninth pair, number 41F a female and 52M a male, have been located just east of Yellowstone. The tenth pack, the Nez Perce Pack, is currently in an acclimation pen awaiting release some time before June of this year.
Wolf number 029M, having escaped the Nez Perce enclosure, has been located with wolf number 48F a lone female wolf. The hope is that these two will produce pups during this years breeding season. These two wolves have been located near the Nez Perce pen area in Yellowstone.
Five pups from the Thorofare Pack were orphaned this past February. The Alpha male from this pack has apparently been killed in an inter-pack struggle with the neighboring Soda Butte Pack. The Alpha female has also apparently died, her radio collar is emitting a mortality signal from under an avalanche site. However, biologists do not know if the two deaths are connected until they are able to retrieve the carcass.
Two members of the Druid Peak Pack were illegally shot last December east of Yellowstone. This incident is still under investigation.
Wolf number 39F a lone female wolf who had found the company of a dispersing male wolf, was also illegally shot east of the park. Special agents working on this case have a suspect, although the case is still pending.
A total of 27 wolves in Yellowstone have been radio collared this year in an effort to better study the animals, and monitor and manage the wolves. Contrary to a recent media reports, the decision to collar Yellowstone wolves was made prior to Judge Downes decision and therefore was not connected to the ruling.
The court ruling by Judge Downes has not altered operations by the wolf project staff. Monitoring, management and study of Yellowstone wolves is proceeding as planned. As of this time, 43 wolves are currently radio collared in the Yellowstone ecosystem. With the 1998 denning season in full swing, wolf project field crews have observed five of the ten packs showing signs of producing pups. It is expected that as many as 30 pups will be born into the Yellowstone ecosystem this year. The famous female wolf number 9 (alpha female of the Rose Creek Pack), has restricted her movements, indicating that she has very possibly produced pups again this year. This will be her forth litter of pups since first being reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995.
For more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, visit http://www.fws.gov