Ed Bangs
Wolf Recovery Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 100 N. Park, #320, Helena, MT 59601; (406) 449-5225 x204;
(fax) (406) 449-5339; ed_bangs@fws.gov; http://midwest.fws.gov/wolf; http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/wolf/annualrpt00/
Joe Fontaine
Assistant Wolf Recovery Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 100 N. Park, #320, Helena, MT 59601; (406) 449-
5225 x206; joe_fontaine@fws.gov
Mike Jimenez
Project Leader Wyoming Wolf Recovery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 190 N. 1st St., Lander, WY 82520; (307) 332-
7789; mike_jimenez@fws.gov
Tom Meier
Wolf Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, c/o MT Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 490 N. Meridian Rd., Kalispell, MT 59901;
(406) 751-4581; tom_meier@fws.gov
Carter Niemeyer
Project leader for Idaho Wolf Recovery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1387 S. Vinnel Way, Rm 368, Boise, ID 83709;
(208) 378-5639; carter_niemeyer@fws.gov
Doug Smith
Project Leader, Yellowstone Wolf Recovery, Yellowstone Center for Resources, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park,
WY 82190; (307) 344-2242; doug_smith@nps.gov
Kerry Murphy
Biologist, Yellowstone Wolf Recovery, Yellowstone Center for Resources, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY
82190; (307) 344-2242; kerry_murphy@nps.gov
Deb Guernsey
Program Assistant, Yellowstone Wolf Recovery, Yellowstone Center for Resources, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National
Park, WY 82190; (307) 344-2242; deb_guernsey@nps.gov
Larry Handegard
Montana State Director, Wildlife Services, USDA/APHIS, P.O. Box 1938, Billings, MT 59103; (406) 657-6464;
larry.l.handegard@aphis.usda.gov
Mark Collinge
Idaho State Director, Wildlife Services, 9134 W. Blackeagle Dr., Boise, ID 83709; (208) 378-5077,
mark.d.collinge@aphis.usda.gov
Rod Krischke
Wyoming State Director, Wildlife Services, P.O. Box 59, Casper, WY 82602; (307) 261-5336;
John Shivik
Leader Predation Management Project, WS National Wildlife Research Center, 4101 LaPorte Ave, Fort Collins, CO
80521; (970) 266-6088; john.shivik@aphis.usda.gov
Curt Mack
Project Leader Nez Perce Tribe Wolf Recovery, 1000 Mission, McCall, ID 83638; (208) 634-1061; cmack@nezperce.org
Issac Babcock
Nez Perce Wolf Biologist, 1000 Mission, McCall, ID 83638; (208) 634-1061; ibabcock.hotbot.com
Val Asher
Wolf Biologist, Turner Endangered Species Fund, 1123 Research Dr., Bozeman, MT 59718; (406) 556-8514;
Dominic Domenici
Wyoming Senior Resident Agent, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 100 East B St., Federal Bldg Rm 4130, Casper, WY
82602; (307) 261-6365; dominic_domenici@fws.gov
Abstract
Gray wolf
(Canis lupus) populations were eliminated from Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, as wellas adjacent southwestern Canada by the 1930s. After human-caused mortality of wolves in
southwestern Canada began to be regulated in the 1960s, populations began expanding southward.
Dispersing individuals occasionally reached the northern Rocky Mountains of the United
States, but lacked legal protection there until 1974, after passage of the Endangered Species Act
of 1973. In 1986, wolves from Canada successfully raised a litter of pups in Glacier National
Park, Montana, and a small population was soon established. In 1995 and 1996, wolves from
western Canada were reintroduced to remote public lands in central Idaho and Yellowstone
National Park. These wolves were designated as nonessential experimental populations to
increase management flexibility and address local and state concerns. Wolf restoration is rapidly
occurring in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, and there were at least 28 breeding pairs in December
2000. There are now about 63 adult wolves in northwestern Montana, 192 in central Idaho,
and 177 in the Greater Yellowstone area. Dispersal of wolves between Canada, Montana, Idaho,
and Wyoming has been documented. Occasional lone wolves may disperse into adjacent states,
but population establishment outside of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming is probably not imminent.
The gray wolf population in the northwestern U.S. should be recovered and, depending on the
completion of state and tribal wolf conservation plans, could be proposed to be removed from Act
protection within three years. Wolf restoration has proceeded more quickly and with more
benefits, such as public viewing than predicted. Problems, including confirmed livestock depredations,
have been lower than estimated. The Service led interagency recovery program focuses
its efforts on achieving wolf recovery while addressing the concerns of people who live near
wolves. Wolves have restored an important ecological process to several large wild areas in the
northern Rocky Mountains of the U.S. The program has been widely publicized and is generally
viewed as highly successful.