BILLINGS, Mont. -- Gray wolves killed livestock in Montana at the rate of an animal per day in 2009, stirring a backlash against the predators in rural areas and depleting a program that compensates ranchers for their losses.

The sharp increase over 2008 livestock losses, reported Thursday by state officials, was fueled largely by a wolf pack ravaging 148 sheep in southwestern Montana near Dillon in August.

Such attacks -- plus elk herd declines blamed on wolves in parts of Montana and neighboring Idaho -- have renewed calls by many ranchers and hunters to reduce the predator's population.

"They are beautiful creatures, but they're also very deadly. They'll go out and hamstring a bunch of animals just for fun," said Barb Svenson of Reed Point, Mont., whose family ranch lost more than 30 sheep in attacks over the last two years.

"They're killing our income," she added.

Wolf attacks account for only a small fraction of sheep and cattle losses in the Northern Rockies. Disease, weather and coyotes each take more.

But wolves attract particular disdain because of their viciousness -- many killed animals are left uneaten -- and because of historic prohibitions against hunting the predators.

About 1,650 wolves roam the Northern Rockies, most of them descended from just 66 animals introduced to the region in the mid-1990s by the federal government.

Montana and Idaho launched inaugural wolf hunts in September, in part to put the fast-expanding population in check. The hunts came just six months after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took wolves off the federal endangered species list.

It's uncertain if the hunts will be repeated in 2010. A pending lawsuit from environmentalists could put wolves back on the list by late spring or early summer, said attorney Bob Lane with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The suit is before U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy, who overturned the federal government's first attempt to strip protections for wolves in 2008. Legal arguments in the case are due by the end of the month.

If the environmentalists lose, Lane said his agency would likely increase Montana's wolf hunting quota. It was 75 wolves in 2009, although only 72 were taken.

Hunters in Idaho, where the season continues through March, so far have taken 142 wolves out of a 220-animal quota.

About 300 more wolves were killed by ranchers and wildlife agents in the Northern Rockies in response to livestock attacks and by other causes.

Wyoming's 300 wolves remain on the endangered list.

Meanwhile, 365 sheep, cattle, horses and dogs killed by wolves have been tallied in Montana for 2009, said George Edwards, coordinator of a Montana program to compensate ranchers who suffer losses.

That's up more than 50 percent from 2008.

The animals' owners have been paid $139,000 for their losses, leaving only about $25,000 remaining in the state's compensation fund. Legislation sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, could soon boost the fund with federal money.

State and federal officials estimate that only one in eight wolf kills are confirmed. For many of the rest, proof needed to justify compensation is never found. Many sheep and cattle grazing on public lands in wolf country simply go missing.

"We don't assume this is going to go down or get less expensive," said Elaine Allestad, who chairs Montana's Livestock Loss Reduction and Mitigation board. "We assume we are going to have more losses."

Thanks for the posting.
The situation will get worse, unfortuntely..

Don

Well, I have more good news if you already don't know, but Judge Donald Molloy just put the Grizzlies back on the threathed species list because of potential climate change.

300 Wolves in Wyoming..

Steve

quote:

Well, I have more good news if you already don't know, but Judge Donald Molloy just put the Grizzlies back on the threathed species list because of potential climate change.

That about makes me puke!


Yeah maybe 300 wolves in Park county.

The situation sucks:
-Elk permit limits just outside the park and some idiot wolf supporter answers "The elk population in Montana is healthy"
-More predation on livestock

Now, go back to when Slick Willy legalized the release of wolves in the park and the tree huggers wanted 900 (I CANNOT prove that number, but it was close) wolves in YellowStone park area. Now there are many, many more and the greenies want even more.

The greenies will never, ever stop trying to screw up hunting, ranching and land access. Ever.

There's a reason settlers killed off the wolves and we're experiencing it first hand.

I hope we get to keep killing wolves during the hunting season and the number of permits goes way up. At least its a start.

Bottom line, feds lied, and continue to do so.

We need to really curtail the number of wolves in the northern rockies. And yes sir the feds did lie.

Although i didn't see it written on my WY elk tag, all the locals assured me that my elk tag was valid for one elk and one wolf. Seemed logical to me.

quote:

Originally posted by GrayDuck:
Although i didn't see it written on my WY elk tag, all the locals assured me that my elk tag was valid for one elk and one wolf. Seemed logical to me.

I am reading posts from Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. (all God's country to this Eastern tenderfoot!) So why in the heck can't you guys arouse the rest of the country to your problems with wolves? (I was astonished to read how many cattle that wolves are taking down on a daily basis - and I happen to be an old defender of wolves -and have been battle scarred by you guys when I spoke up for wolves earlier on other threads -I did live to learn that you guys are on the ground and dealing with wolves firsthand. (My experience was in Canada) I guess what I am suggesting is that the western wolf -and grizzly states should pool their resources and hire some real high powered lobbyists and public relations outfits in Washington (Why not? Everyone else does) People need to be educated about wolves and grizzlies -starting with our beloved Congress of the United States. Fact.