CHAPTFiR 4: ENVIRONMENTAl. CONSE<J|tJEN<.:E,S 



Biological Environment 



Wolf Management . Wolf nianagement is oriented toward achieving recovery goals and resolving 

 conllicts when and where they occur. Wolves in northwestern Montana would still be managed as 

 "endangered." Wolves in the rest of the state would be managed as "experimental, non-essential" which 

 allows greater management flexibility. Thus, differing agency regulations would be implemented in 

 different parts of the state. Management policies do not allow USFWS to proaclively adjust wolf 

 numbers or distribution except where there are human safety concerns or conflicts with livestock. 

 Instead, conllicts are usually addressed and resolved after the fad. More conflicts may occur in the future 

 because of higher wolf numbers and wider distribution in Montana. Wolves can be harassed or killed 

 through agency control actions and by private landowners through a special permit in the experimental 

 area. Wolves can be harassed or killed only through agency control actions in northwestern Montana. 



Wolf Numbers and Distribution. Approximately 854 wolves (or about 70 breeding pairs according to the 

 federal recovery definition) would be present in Montana in 2015. The population will fluctuate becau.se 

 of management actions, changes in prey density and prey distribution, disease, and intraspecific 

 competition. It is possible that Montanans' social tolerance for wolves could lead to USFWS control 

 actions that stabilize the population at a lower level or that the population will grow more slowly than 

 predicted. The number of wolves in the tri-state area would also increase. 



Wolf distribution will probably increase as individual wolves disperse from core areas and colonize new 

 habitats with sufficient prey. In the absence of significant conflict, gray wolves could become established 

 in island mountain ranges, such as the Big and Little Snowies or even in eastern Montana. Wolves would 

 be allowed on FWP WMAs. This is consistent with existing FWP policies that these lands were 

 purchased to benefit all wildlife but that they are managed with particular attention to wintering big game. 

 These areas will probably always attract wolves because of the .seasonally high densities of prey. In the 

 absence of a state wolf plan, concerns about localized impacts could not be addressed. 



Wolf Habitat, Connectivity, and luind Management. Connectivity requirements are met because the 

 wolf population should provide an adequate number of dispersers that emigrate to Idaho, Canada, or 

 Wyoming. Furthermore, wolves coming to Montana from these other areas should have a greater chance 

 to join an exi.sting pack or locate other dispensers to start a new pack. Public land management activities, 

 whether logging, grazing, or travel management are not affected by this alternative. Exceptions could be 

 made for localized area closures around dens, particularly within national parks. Land managers would 

 change practices of their own accord at any time to meet other management objectives. 



Monitoring. USFWS' s monitoring efforts tabulate breeding pairs that contribute to the recovery goal, 

 locate new packs, document the reproductive status of packs, and document the home range of packs 

 through telemetry. If the gray wolf stays listed once recovery goals are achieved, monitoring effort may 

 decline after documenting the minimum number of breeding pairs and demonstrating that the population 

 still meets the recovery goals. USFWS may also have less knowledge about pack location, home ranges, 

 or numbers of individuals because more monitoring effort will be required over a greater geographic area. 

 It will also be more difficult to maintain telemetry contact with every pack. 



Prey Populations. FWP expects that both species of deer, elk, and moose will constitute the primary prey 

 species for wolves in Montana, but in differing proportions in different parts of the state. Although there 

 may be significant impacts to some populations or herd segments sporadically over time, most big horn 

 sheep and mountain goat populations arc not particularly vulnerable to predalion by wolves bccau.se 

 wolves cha.se rather than stalk their prey like mountain lions do. The rugged and steep terrain favored by 

 big horn sheep or mountain goats is not conducive to chasing prey over moderate to long distances. 



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