Update - Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

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Gray Wolf Program Accomplishments and Update

June 2000 – September 2003

Montana Wolf Advisory Council, with technical support from FWP, develops the Montana Wolf Conservation and Management Planning Document
FWP involves the public more broadly and completes a final environmental impact statement (EIS); recommends a final Montana Gray Wolf Conservation and Management Plan (Updated Council Alternative).

April 2003

USFWS downlists wolves from endangered to threatened in the Northwest Montana Recovery Area and adopts new, more flexible rules for threatened wolves (the 4d rule)

September 2003

FWP Director Hagener signs Record of Decision adopting the Updated Council Alternative (#2) as Montana’s final plan; the FWP Commission concurs. The Record of Decision identifies the possibility that Director Hagener may reconsider the decision if delisting is delayed.

October 2003

FWP submits the Montana Gray Wolf Conservation and Management Plan Final Environmental Impact Statement and the Record of Decision identifying the Updated Council Alternative as Montana’s final wolf plan to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for review.
FWP, along with Idaho and Wyoming, submits a Congressional budget request for federal funding for statewide wolf management activities leading up to and upon delisting. Budget request identified line item requests and provided narrative descriptions for wildlife management, conflict prevention and response (includes compensation), research and lab investigations, law enforcement, public outreach, collaboration and administrative support, and legal review and defense.

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January 2004

Montana’s wolf plan and state laws approved by USFWS without changes. USFWS approved Idaho’s plan with some additional program development. USFWS did not accept the Wyoming state plan and state laws.
USFWS delays northern Rockies wolf delisting.

February – March 2004

FWP identifies a range of options, given the delisting delay.
FWP consults with FWP Commissioners, USFWS, the Montana Wolf Advisory Council, the Montana Congressional Delegation, the Montana Governor’s Office, and others. Informal consultation ongoing through May 2004 and beyond.
Montana secures a special Congressional appropriation of $309,000 in federal FY04 for wolf monitoring.
FWP comments favorably on a USFWS proposal to increase management flexibility in the experimental area.

April – June 2004

FWP and FWP Commission amend the Gray Wolf EIS Record of Decision to select the Contingency Alternative.
FWP secures additional federal funding directly from USFWS.
FWP obtains intervener status in litigation on USFWS decision to downlist wolves from endangered to threatened in the northern Rockies; FWP affirms the USFWS decision and represents Montana’s interests.

July – October 2004

FWP completes the necessary budget amendment and obtains spending authority to hire statewide wolf coordinator and 3 field-level wolf management specialists using federal funds.
FWP coordinates with Montana Congressional delegation for continued federal funding in FY05.

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November – December 2004

Wolf team getting underway and begin monitoring work, meeting area landowners, and doing public outreach.
Transition to state management underway.
FWP begins preparing a variety of printed outreach materials to explain the interim management framework and the federal regulations.
FWP begins close coordination with USDA Wildlife Services to decrease the risk of livestock losses and to resolve wolf-livestock conflicts.
At the end of 2004, Montana had an estimated minimum of 153 wolves. Tri-state minimum population was an estimated 835.

January 2005

Court ruling reclassifies wolves in northwest Montana back to endangered and eliminates additional flexibility for agencies and landowners.
USFWS releases final 10j experimental rule for states with approved management plans – Montana and Idaho only. Rule provides additional flexibility to agencies and landowners to non-injuriously harass wolves or take wolves actively chasing, molesting, or attacking livestock or herding/guarding animals on private property and/or public allotments when permits are active.

February 2005

10j rule takes effect in the experimental areas within Montana and Idaho.
Judge rules against Wyoming in its lawsuit challenging USFWS’s decision not to approve the Wyoming state plan. Wyoming considers an appeal.

March – September 2005

FWP formally requests authority and appropriate permits to lead wolf management statewide, despite the court ruling.
FWP and USFWS finalize cooperative agreement under Section 6 of the Endangered Species Act, a permit to “take” wolves under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act, and clarification of the federal regulations guiding all wolf take (1999 Interim Control Plan for northwest Montana and the final 10j rule published January 2005).
A working group of 30 citizens and state and federal agency representatives begins work on a livestock loss reduction and reimbursement program. The proposed program was included in the state plan. The effort is ongoing.
FWP, having assumed all wolf monitoring responsibilities from USFWS, finish first full field season of wolf capture work.

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