- April 2014
- President’s Notes
- Market Report
- ASI Takes Lead in Supporting Funding for Wildlife Services
- Larger LPD Breeds Being Considered
- Ranchers and Producers Affected by Drought Looking for Options
- States Release Wolf Reports, as Required by Feds
- Helping the Outdoor Industry ‘Rethink the Way it Sees Wool’
- Sheep Producer and Artist
- From Sheep Farm to Farm Bill
- Black Hills Stock Show Sheep Shearing Contest
States Release Wolf Reports, as Required by Feds
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has documented a minimum of 64 wolves in eight packs, including four breeding pairs for 2013, compared with 46 wolves in six packs with six breeding pairs in 2012.
The survey results are in the just-released final 2013 Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Annual Report, which includes the 2013 update for Oregon’s Wolf Population.
Washington State’s 2013 wolf status report was also released in March, citing a minimum of 52 wolves in 13 wolf packs with five successful breeding pairs. Along with the 13 packs, biologists confirmed five successful breeding pairs at the end of 2013.
The actual number of wolves is likely higher, said Donny Martorello, WDFW carnivore specialist.
Nine of the packs are in northeastern Washington with four along the east slopes of the North Cascades. Also, Oregon reports a new pack along the Washington border, bringing the number of Blue Mountains packs to at least two.
However, the gray wolf remains protected under state endangered species laws throughout Washington. Federal law still protects wolves in the western two-thirds of Washington.
Idaho had not yet released its annual report as this issue of Sheep Industry News went to press. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requires the state reports to be filed on the recovery of the endangered species by the first week of April.
Montana Hunters, Trappers Take 230
Hunters and trappers in Montana killed 230 wolves during the recently concluded wolf season, according to the Billing Gazette.
That’s only five more wolves than the prior year’s wolf harvest despite the lifting of quotas on the animals across most of the state and a higher bag limit for individual hunters.
Hunters took 144 wolves during a season that started in September and ended in March. Trappers took 86 wolves.
The harvest totals from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks do not include 70 wolves taken by federal wildlife agents and private landowners in response to attacks on domestic livestock.
There were 625 wolves counted in Montana at the end of 2012, the most recent figure available.