By Lindy Browning, Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice
While Colorado wildlife managers have been trying to figure out where to get the next crop of 10 to 15 wolves to import into Colorado, British Columbia, Canada, has been trying to cull their population of wolves because of the predation of caribou that led to the endangerment of the herds.
After the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington rescinded their offer to send gray wolves to Colorado in late 2024, state wildlife officials were left scrambling to figure out where to procure the voter-mandated wolves for the repopulation efforts in Colorado.
As a result of the Colville Tribe withdrawal, Colorado has, ironically, reached out to secure a deal with British Columbia to take some of their unwanted wolf population and bring them to Colorado.
The British Columbia grey wolf is the largest subspecies of the wolf family. A large male can weigh more than 150 pounds and the females weigh in at more than 80 pounds. For comparison, a two-month-old calf will still weigh less than an adult wolf, and depending on the breed, a wolf will outweigh an adult sheep.
British Columbia wildlife officials began a program to cull wolves from the landscape when the caribou herds along with other ungulate prey species declined at such a rapid rate that officials began to fear the endangerment of the eradication of the caribou species.
According to available data from British Columbia wildlife officials, the caribou population there has significantly declined from around 40,000 animals to approximately 15,500 currently, with wolf predation being cited as a contributing factor.
“Unfortunately, if caribou are to be conserved, the best scientific evidence suggests that predator reductions will have to take place until habitat restoration and protection overcome the legacy of habitat loss. The report titled ‘South Peace Caribou Recovery following Five Years of Experimental Wolf Reduction’ does an excellent job of documenting increased caribou survival and population growth rates as a result of predator reductions. The experimental design is sound and the data support the conclusion that the South Peace caribou herds responded positively to wolf reductions,” read the report put out by British Columbia wildlife managers.
According to information on the NRA Hunting Leadership Forum, which cited a University of Montana study on the Montana wolf relocations, findings “concluded that more relocated wolves died and survivors often killed livestock in their new locations. Of the 88 trans-located wolves in the 2005 study, 58 died after the trapping and moving.”
Once these wolves began killing livestock, officials trapped and moved the adult pack members. In some cases, this meant the younger wolves, that were not caught, eventually died as they didn’t yet know how to effectively hunt.
Oddly enough, this is the same reasoning that caused voters to ultimately reject Colorado Prop. 127 concerning the banning of mountain lion hunting. Wildlife managers across Colorado have been credited for doing a much better job than they did when the reintroduction of wolves was on the ballot in 2020, speaking out about the impacts not only to livestock, but also the importance of protecting the other prey species that would face devastating number declines in deer, elk and ungulate populations.
As noted on the NRA Hunters’ Leadership Forum website, the Prop. 114 vote “was the first time in history that a state’s authority to decide whether to introduce a species was taken from the state wildlife agency, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, and given to voters who know nothing about science-based wildlife management.”
Idaho is also facing ungulate herd declines and livestock predation in numbers that have them having to cull wolves in certain areas of the state. In a draft plan that was approved by Idaho wildlife managers in May of 2023, they decided that they would continue controlling the numbers of wolves on the Idaho landscape through their assertive wolf hunting and trapping program.
“The current wolf population in Idaho continues to cause chronic conflicts with livestock and other domestic animals in many parts of the state. These detrimental impacts are consistent with what the 2009 delisting rule predicted would occur as the Northern Rocky Mountain wolf population grew to exceed carrying capacity,” the report reads.
Continuing with the data that supports the decision making of the plan, the reports says, “Since 2014, at least 299 livestock producers have experienced more than 1,291 verified losses to wolves, and we know these verified losses represent only the minimum of total wolf depredations. Wolf impacts on Idaho’s ungulate populations are complex. Elk are the primary prey of wolves in Idaho. The Idaho Fish and Game has identified wolf predation as a primary factor preventing recovery of several elk zones that are below sustainable numbers.”
In Montana, wildlife officials are also actively reducing the number of wolves in their jurisdiction through the issuance of hunting licenses that correlate with the number of wolves that the state deems sustainable, yet also stay in balance with healthy populations of ungulate herds and mitigation of livestock predation.
The state of Wyoming has also seen unintended consequences of the overpopulation of wolves on its livestock producers and deer and elk herds and is taking active, assertive steps to manage wolves in numbers large enough to sustain the balance between the wolf species and other wildlife species and livestock.
Grey wolves in Wyoming are currently managed under two legal classifications, a trophy game animal, or a predatory animal. There are three wolf management areas and each is managed according to the needs of the unit. The trophy unit is in the northwest part of the state and manages that unit using seasonal hunting licenses.
“Wolves outside the more strictly managed units are not actively managed by Wyoming Game and Fish. Wolves that are classified as predatory animals and can be harvested year around without a license. Any wolf harvested in the predatory animal area must be reported to Fish and Game within 10 days of the harvest,” according to the information on the Fish and Game website.