FEB 22, 2015

Yellowstone Wolf in the winter

WRITTEN BY: Greg Cruikshank

Gray wolves throughout the eastern and western United States were downlisted from endangered to threatened status effective April 1, 2003. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it established three Distinct Population Segments (DPS) for the gray wolf. Wolves in the Western DPS and Eastern DPS were listed as threatened but in the Southwestern DPS wolves remain listed as endangered. The experimental population areas in central Idaho, Yellowstone, and the southwest remain unaffected by this listing action. The new threatened status in N. Montana and N. Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and the northern portions of Colorado and Utah [N. Of I-70] is accompanied by a special 4d rule that allows wolf management very similar but slightly more flexible than that already allowed in the experimental population areas.

Thanks to a controversial but very successful reintroduction program, wolves are now back in Yellowstone after an absence of almost 70 years. Several dozen wolves were captured in Canada and turned loose in Yellowstone In March 1995. Those animals have done remarkably well, reproducing at a rapid rate. Packs are now located in various parts of the park. Wolves prey on a variety of species, notably elk in the Yellowstone area, but will also pursue moose, deer, sheep and other animals.

Although wolf packs have wandered outside Yellowstone, the best place to see them Is in the Lamar Valley between Mammoth and Cooke City. Get there very early in the morning when it's still dark, park your RV In a pullout and listen very quietly. Chances are good you'll hear them howl, and you may see them in this vast open sagebrush area as they hunt for breakfast. At this time, it will be tough to see them outside the park, although there are often consistent sightings around Nye and Fishtail, Montana. Inquire locally for updated information