USFWS Begins Scoping Process For Bringing Wolves Into Gila
	From the January, 2000

By Lisa Parker
Sun-News

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now asking for public input into its proposed translocation of Mexican gray wolves into the Gila Wilderness.

The wolves, previously released in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest of Arizona, would be re-released into the Gila for "management purposes," according to a letter to interested parties from Nancy Kaufman, Southwest Region director of the Service.

Likely "management purposes" that would cause wolf relocation include "conflicts with livestock or other domestic animals; dispersal of wolves into inappropriate areas; replacement of a lost mate; or genetic management of the wild population," according to Kaufman's letter.

In the letter, Kaufman listed the proposed relocation sites: McKenna Park, Chicken Coop/Creel Canyons, Miller Springs and Halfmoon Park. Kaufman's letter stated that all the locations are within Catron County; however, the Miller Springs location is actually five miles into Grant County.

Ron Henderson of Silver City, a retired Forest Service employee who keeps the Grant County Commission abreast of the wolf relocation issue, said the slip-up "just shows the hasty preparation of this effort."

In a controversial move last week, the Grant County Commission passed a resolution banning wolves from Grant County that have previously killed livestock. The resolution has no enforcement provision and was passed as a "statement" of county government's stand on the wolf translocation project.

The Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area (BRWRA) includes 7,000 square miles of national forest lands, according to Kaufman. The Apache-Sitgreaves and Gila national forests fall into this area. Kaufman wrote that "direct release of wolves from captivity was authorized (in March 1997) for the primary wolf recovery zone, entirely within Arizona, allowing for wolf dispersal into the remainder of the BRWRA or the secondary recovery zone."

Wolves were first released into the Recovery Area in early 1998, Kaufman wrote, and by mid-1999 five family groups had succeeded in forming inside the area. "However," she wrote, "several acts of livestock depredation have occurred. The Pipestem Pack, which produced six wild-born pups in 1999, was involved in two confirmed livestock depredations. This pack was recaptured for future translocation into an area where interactions with livestock would be greatly reduced."

Recently, the Gavilan Pack ranged from the Maple Peak, Ariz., area into the Citizen grazing allotment in New Mexico west of Glenwood. The pack, which is being tracked by radar, killed a cow in late December and a bull around Jan. 10. The interagency Wolf Recovery Team is now working to trap the Gavilan Pack and return them to captivity. The alpha male of the pack will never be returned to the wild, officials have said.

The decision to authorize the wolf recovery program followed completion of an Environmental Impact Statement "which addressed the presence of wolves throughout the BRWRA and all potential associated effects."

Translocation of previously released wolves was included in the recovery program as an option to "quickly minimize conflict and maximize the recovery value of released wolves," Kaufman wrote.

Now that it is necessary to translocate wolves such as the Pipestem Pack, the Service is preparing an Environmental Assessment. "The purpose of this Environmental Assessment is to determine if there any significant changes in the project which would warrant the preparation of a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement," Kaufman wrote.

To help the Service develop the Environmental Assessment, the public is invited to send comments to: Mexican Wolf Recovery Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 1306, Albuquerque, NM 87103. Deadline for comments is Feb. 4.

Following development of the assessment, the Service will accept comment on it for 30 days. During that time, the Service will hold two public hearings. The first is scheduled from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 1 at the Reserve Community Center. The second meeting will be held in Silver City from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 2 at Light Hall on the Western New Mexico University campus.

Officials Give Answers On Wolf Recovery Effort

By Lisa Parker
Sun-News

Wendy Brown attempted to dispel some fears and rumors Tuesday night at a meeting on Mexican gray wolf reintroduction. Brown, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, is the coordinator of the wolf reintroduction effort. She and other people involved in wolf reintroduction attended the meeting in Silver City organized by the Gila Fish and Gun Club, Grant County Cattle Growers and People for the U.S.A.

Most people at the meeting were members of those groups.

Four areas in the Gila Wilderness have been designated by the USFWS as possible wolf translocation sites: McKenna Park, Chicken Coop/Creel Canyons, Miller Springs and Halfmoon Park. Miller Springs is in Grant County; the other sites are in Catron County. A scoping process is currently under way to evaluate the appropriateness of the sites for wolf release.

According to a scoping letter sent out last week by Nancy Kaufman, Southwest Region director of the USFWS, translocation would involve wolves previously released in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest of Arizona in the last two years. Re-release would take place for "management purposes," which the USFWS said includes "conflicts with livestock or other domestic animals; dispersal of wolves into inappropriate areas; replacement of a lost mate; or genetic management of the wild population."

At the present time, the only wolves eligible for release in the Gila are wolves that have been previously released into Arizona, and have been recaptured. Currently, the Pipestem Pack is in captivity after attacking livestock in Arizona and the Gavilan Pack is being trapped following the killing of five adult cattle during the fall and winter. Their two most recent depredations took place within the last month on Smoothing Iron Mesa in New Mexico, a few miles west of Glenwood.

The meeting followed a question-and-answer format. To present the information covered as closely and comprehensively as possible, questions and their answers are given below.

What is the time period to be able to prove wolf depredation?

According to Alan Armistead of Wildlife Services, a carcass should be examined as quickly as possible. "If you can get in touch with us we'll get there as quick as we can." He advised that any suspected wolf-killed animal should be "stabilized" by covering it with a tarp to protect it from further destruction by carrion feeders.

How many wolf depredations have been confirmed in Arizona since the wolves were released in 1998?

Brown said the only confirmed case of wolf depredation in 1998 involved a lone female wolf which bit a miniature horse colt. The wolf did not kill the colt, she said. She added that in 1998 11 wolves were initially released; when two of those wolves were shot, two more were released.

In 1999, the Pipestem Pack killed a calf and injured another before being returned to captivity. The Gavilan pack killed three adult cattle in Arizona in 1999. They had recently been moved north into the Maple Peak, Ariz., and were being fed roadkilled elk when they ranged onto the Smoothing Iron Mesa area where the two most recent confirmed depredations of cattle took place.

An audience member said a poll of Arizona ranchers showed that more than 50 cattle may have been killed by wolves there in 1999. The poll was conducted by Laura Schneberger of the Gila Forest Permittees association, according to an e-mailed letter from Schneberger. The audience member said one Arizona rancher reported 20 calves killed by wolves, and she asked why the USFWS tally of confirmed kills is so much lower than what ranchers believe they have lost.

According to Schneberger's letter, which was sent to Gov. Gary Johnson and New Mexico's legislative representatives, "the problem is that the USFWS will not confirm a cattle death if the rancher has not found it fresh enough to do a necropsy on the carcass. ... Most of the time if a rancher calls the agency to report a dead calf, even one that has been dead for only a day, the calf has been eaten up and is therefore unconfirmable."

Brown said that the wolf recovery team members "always respond" to reports of wolf depredation, but Armistead agreed that wolves can leave little evidence behind when preying on a calf: "A wolf can kill a calf and eat that sucker up if there's four or five wolves." But he added, if wolves are preying on calves, "they won't eat just one." He said ranchers are often riding through their cattle every day, especially during calving season, and the wolves are monitored by members of the wolf recovery team, so if wolves were routinely preying on calves they would be detected.

Val Asher, a biologist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, said, "We've even camped on carcasses to protect evidence. We've got a great field team and there's quite a few of them" who track the wolves and respond to reports of possible depredations.

Nick Smith, New Mexico Game and Fish biologist, said that there were "three or four others (livestock deaths) that were possible/probable" but still unconfirmed depredations by the Pipestem Pack in 1999. He said two of those cattle belonged to the Arizona rancher who reported the loss of 20 calves. Smith added that the rancher "was riding every day" and found evidence of lion kills and some animal deaths due to an 18-inch snowfall.

Smith said the rancher's cattle were new to the area. "I know he thinks the wolves killed 20 head, but there were no bones to go with them. ... The thing that was different to him was the wolves; also, though, the cattle were new to the area.

"Whether the wolves ate them -- I can't tell you and he can't."

Armistead said about half the confirmed wolf depredations have been found by the wolf recovery field team.

What does the USFWS plan to do with the Gavilan Pack?

Following the killing of a bull by the pack in January, Brown said the alpha male of the Gavilan Pack would never be returned to the wild, since evidence shows the alpha male often is responsible for choosing the pack's prey.

At Tuesday's meeting she said, "After the cow was killed" in December the USFWS planned "to trap the alpha male and a couple of the male pups to reduce the pack size." She said bigger packs have an easier time killing cattle, and tend to be hungrier.

Members of the Gavilan Pack are candidates for translocation to an area of the Gila Wilderness.

How many packs are in the wild now and are they being fed?

According to Asher, besides the Gavilan Pack, there are three small packs of wolves in the wild. These include the Hawk's Nest Pack, Campbell Blue Pack and Mule Pack, which comprise a total of three breeding pairs and four pups.

Asher said two of the packs are "model packs." One, she said, has not been fed for a year; another has not been fed since the end of the summer. She said these wolves are in good shape and have made confirmed kills of wild game.

Are the wolves capable of killing adult elk? Are elk native to the Gila National Forest? Is there enough prey to support wolves in the Gila and the larger Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area?

Smith said that, although the current Gila-area elk population is not native to this area, elk were native to the area until commercial hunting to feed area miners wiped out the population.

Brown said there is documentation of wolves killing adult elk, and that the primary prey base for wolves is elk. Smith agreed, saying "The elk are here. Where we have put wolves where deer is the main prey base is where we've had trouble. Where we've had them up in the elk they seem to kick off on the elk for some reason."

Brown said the long-term objective of the wolf recovery program is to have 100 wolves in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area, which includes all of the Apache National Forest and Gila National Forest. "What we think by our best estimates is this area can support 100 wolves. ... If the elk population is good, it could be 150 wolves."

Do the wolves have interactions with people when they are being fed?

Smith said when wolves are being fed, the roadkill or "zoo log" is left for them during the day, while wolves are less active. "We try not to see them," he said. He said that when the wolves do see people near their food, they will "bark" at the person.

This comment led to a question of how much fear the wolves have for people.

Asher said that wild-born wolves in Canada and Montana also "bark" at people who come near a kill. "If you come up on a kill of theirs and they are in the vicinity ... they will let you know that they're there and that they don't like you there." She added that the wolves howl instead of barking like a dog, and said if people remain near a kill, the wolves will leave the area.

Are there documented attacks by wolves on people?

"I know the Service has said there are no documented cases of a wolf attacking a person," Brown said. She set the record straight by saying, "There have been two cases of wolves attacking people" in North America. Neither of those attacks was fatal.

"Wolves are wild animals and they have big teeth. I think all wild animals should be treated with respect," she said.

"Are wolves capable of it (attacking people)? Absolutely," Brown said, adding that wolves "should be treated with caution and respect, but not fear."

If a person is in the forest and is charged by a wolf, at what point can that person determine he is in danger and kill the wolf?

Smith said, "That's your decision."

Asher added that, in her experience, "If you stand up and let that animal know that you're you they're not going to keep coming in." But she added, "It's stupid to say they'd never attack a person. It's stupid to say they'd never kill a child."

Armistead said that each person -- depending on his or her experience with animals -- will have a different "threat" threshold if encountering a wolf.

Brown said that "anyone, anytime, anywhere may take the life of a wolf in defense of a human life. ... You would have to report that within 24 hours ... and would have to justify why you killed that wolf."

Can a person legally kill a wolf that is attacking a pet?

"If they attack your dogs on your private property you do not have the right to kill them," Brown said, adding that, "Legally, at this time you can't do anything" if wolves attack a family pet.

If a pack of hunting dogs kills a wolf, she said, as long as the wolf was not intentionally baited or trapped "nothing happens."

After telling her audience that they could not protect their pets from wolves, Brown added, "We are looking at revising the rule."

What is the definition of livestock (animals that can be protected from wolves on private property)?

Brown said, that under the experimental management rule for wolves, livestock includes horses, burros, sheep, cattle and mules. She said that, since Mexican gray wolves are an endangered species, if the experimental management rule were not appended to the endangered species act, even these animals could not legally be protected from wolves.

Brown said that, in order for a person to legally kill a wolf for attacking livestock: "You have to see the wolf" attacking the animal. A wolf walking through a herd of cattle, even chasing a cow, is not fair game.

What happens if a licensed trapper catches a wolf?

Armistead said a trapper in that situation should call Wildlife Services and "we'll come release it."

Will the wolves always be monitored? How many people are involved in monitoring them now? How many would be involved in monitoring 100?

The projected timeline for the wolf recovery program, Brown said, is 15 years. However, she added, "I could not foresee a time when there won't be radio collared wolves. ... Every wolf released will be radio collared," and the USFWS "would at least attempt to have two or three wolves in a pack collared" indefinitely.

Asher said eight to 10 government employees currently make up the core of the wolf recovery team. Brown did not know how large the team might become, but said, "A lot of the people working on the staff are volunteers. That's one of the good things about this wolf project -- people want to work on it: interns, students, young biologists."

She said the volunteers will work "basically for beans and a place to sleep" in order to get the experience of working with wolves.

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