Two wolves have been ordered killed, even though Montana Wildlife Officials admit they may not be responsible for killing a yearling calf! Please read and contact Dir. Joe Maurier, Ken McDonald and Liz Bradley.
jmaurier@MT.gov , kmcdonald@MT.gov …, LBradley@mt.gov Tell them NO!
Perry Backus of the Ravalli Republic reported the following information:
“Wolves killed a yearling calf in the Lake Como area earlier this month and wildlife officials have ordered that the pair of wolves responsible be killed.
So far this year, livestock depredations by wolves are at the lowest point wildlife officials have recorded in the last 10 years.
From Jan. 1, wolves have killed four cows and one dog statewide.
Over the same time period in 2009, wolves killed 17 cattle, three llamas, one dog and injured a calf.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wolf management specialist Liz Bradley said there is no way to know for certain why wolves mostly steered clear of livestock this winter.
It’s not because wolf numbers have decreased.
In 2010, wolf numbers grew by 8 percent in Montana. Biologists reported 566 wolves in 108 packs in the state, with at least 35 breeding pairs.
The long winter and heavy snow could be partially responsible.
“After a hard winter and heavy snow, game is typically in worse shape and they may be easier to kill,” Bradley said.
Control actions may have also thinned wolf numbers in areas most susceptible to livestock depredation.
A large number of wolves were removed from the Big Hole area over the past two years due to conflicts with livestock.
“We’ve had two depredations in the Big Hole this winter,” Bradley said. “That’s generally one of those areas where there are depredations in the winter because most of the wildlife migrates out of there.”
Overall, the largest amount of conflict between wolves and livestock occurs in the spring during calving season. The fewest happen over the winter months because most cattle and sheep are off open ranges.
Bradley said it’s not clear whether or not members of the Lake Como pack were responsible for the recent depredation.
Officials found two sets of tracks near the calves’ carcass.
“We don’t know whether those two are a newly formed pair or part of the Lake Como pack,” she said.
There is no radio collar on a wolf in the Lake Como pack, which included six wolves last year.
There are currently 12 known packs that use the Bitterroot area at least part of the year.
There could be more.
Bradley encourages the public to report any sightings of wolves or their tracks to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The reports can be made to local FWP offices or via the Internet on the FWP’s website: http://fwp.mt.gov/wildthings/management/wolf/wolfObservationForm.html.
“We are continuing to track new pack formations,” Bradley said. “That’s why it’s important to get information from the public, especially this time of year.”
Wolves den and have pups in April. They are much more localized during the pup rearing season.
“We track all of the public reports, especially activity in new areas,” she said. “We’re looking for a cluster in reports. Maybe someone saw some tracks or someone else heard some howling.”
“All of that kind of stuff adds up,” Bradley said.
Wolves have been in Montana for a while now and are more commonplace.
“People tell me that they don’t know if we care about this kind of information anymore,” she said. “I really do.”
The Wolf Preservation Blog 
“Wolf Warriors,” (http://howlingforjustice.wordpress.com/) adds,
“”Bradley said it’s not clear whether or not members of the Lake Como pack were responsible for the recent depredation”. Wolf Warriors. These wolves are targeted for execution for a depredation that they may not have done. Please read and contact Dir. Joe Maurier, Ken McDonald and Liz Bradley.
jmaurier@MT.gov , kmcdonald@MT.gov …, LBradley@mt.gov Tell them NO! This is wrong. No proof …No Executions!”
Please review the article, write Montana Directors (provided above), and share your comments on Wolf Preservation!
So, after all the political nonsense about management of wolves, Montana and Idaho get to do what they want, (as usual).
The Gov’t expects these two states to and others to manage wildlife properly, and immediately they want to kill the first wolves they stumble upon, who they admit may not be the wolves that took the yearling.
Ever think it could be feral dogs, which have been reported to be the biggest killers of ranchers livestock.
Maybe a Bear or cat, and wolves merely stumble across it.
You people out there continue to exhibit poor wildlife management and falsehoods as to predation.
And again, the wolves pay the price as special interest rules the day!
Shame!
Ha! I trust these folks so much that if I did see any wolves or tracks anywhere, they’d be the last people I’d tell, if I told anyone about it. they showed how much they are interested in foiling the truth when they eliminated Carolyn Sime’s position and reassigned her to cover fish. As a MT resident who moved here to get away from crackpot gov’t in Idaho, I’m truly disenchanted with the way the state officials are behaving and caving to the bully faction for political gain. Shame on all of them.