The wolves posed a threat to ranch animals, so the predators were often killed, he said. Most gray wolves disappeared in the early 1900s because ranchers moved into the wolves’ habitats with their livestock, said coauthor Robert Lee Beschta, professor emeritus in the department of forest ecosystems and society at Oregon State University. Why do gray wolves and beavers need to repopulate? Gray wolves and beaver populations are currently stable, but are still much diminished from historic mass killings, Wolf said. The government has received pushback from some people who want to prioritize predator management programs to reduce predation.Īs of February 2022, gray wolves are generally protected in the continental US under the act, except for wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains, Ripple said. Wildlife conservationists have credited this act with saving species like the bald eagle from extinction, he added. The 11 states are Arizona, California, Oregon, New Mexico, Washington, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah.įederal law has protected gray wolves on and off since the 1970s with the creation of the Endangered Species Act, which protects species that are at risk of extinction, Ripple said. Wolves require a vast amount of territory to live, so a large quantity of land is key to their survival, Wolf added. Read TWS’ Position Statements on The U.S.The federal government owns about 47% of the Western region of the US, so the area would take up roughly 34% of federal land in the West, he said. It also encourages state-led management that recognizes stakeholder values and advances conservation of the species. The Wildlife Society previously issued a statement that highlighted the role wildlife professionals have had in restoring wolf populations over the past several decades. should be relisted under the Endangered Species Act. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently reviewing whether wolves in the western U.S. The legislation calls for bringing that number down to 500. According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the state wolf population in 2020 was 1,556 wolves. Idaho has held wolf hunts for several years, as wolves in the Rocky Mountains were first proposed for delisting in 2009 and then legislatively removed from the federal endangered species list in 2011.Įarlier this year, state legislation was passed making a number of changes to wolf management within Idaho, including expanding the allowable methods of take, increasing funding for the Wolf Depredation Control Board, and mandating year-round wolf trapping seasons on private lands. The northern end of the state will see $1,000 payments, and wolf kills throughout the rest of the state will garner $500 payments. In areas where predators are preventing the agency from meeting elk management objectives, $2,000 payments will be available.
Those are areas where at least one confirmed or probable livestock depredation has occurred each year for five years.
Payments of $2,500 per wolf will be available in areas where the agency has determined that wolves are chronically preying on livestock. The payments to hunters and trappers will vary by area.
The funding will come from the licenses and fees paid to Fish and Game, and will be distributed by the state’s Wolf Depredation Control Board in cooperation with the nonprofit Foundation for Wildlife Management. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has developed a plan, in response to recent legislation, in which the agency will offer payments to hunters and trappers who harvest gray wolves ( Canis lupus) as a means to keep wolf numbers down where the predators have conflicts with livestock.Ī total of up to $200,000 will be available for these payments through next summer.
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