DRAIT KIS APPKNDIX I 



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 



Tlie State of Montana recognizes the gray wolf as a native species and will integrate wolves as a valuable part of our 

 wildlife heritage. Since 1973, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has managed wolves as an endangered 

 species in Montana, under the authority of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Wolves are likely to be removed 

 from the endangered species list within 3-5 years. Upon delisting, management authority for wolves will return to 

 Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (MFWP). MFWP recognizes and accepts the challenges, responsibilities, and 

 benefits of a restored wolf population. Managing gray wolves will not be easy, but wolf restoration is 

 fundamentally consistent with Montana's history of wildlife conservation. Long-term persistence of wolves in 

 Montana depends on carefully balancing the complex biological, social, economic, and political aspects of wolf 

 management. 



State laws and administrative rules become the primary regulatory and legal mechanisms guiding management. 

 Upon delisting, the gray wolf will automatically be classified as a species "in need of management." MFWP and the 

 MFWP Commission will establish the regulatory framework to manage the species thereafter. This Plan provides 

 the foundation for wolf conservation and management upon delisting and describes a spectrum of management 

 activities that maintain viable populations of wolves and their prey, resolve wolf-human and wolf-livestock 

 confiicts, and gain the support of people with diverse interests. Much of it is ba.sed on the comments and 

 recommendations of a diverse 12-member citizens group, the Montana Wolf Management Advisory Council, and an 

 Interagency Technical Committee. MFWP intends to honor the diverse perspectives and interests of our citizens and 

 the national public. The State will consider a spectrum of interests in designing and implementing a balanced, 

 responsive program that recognizes the opportunities and addresses the challenges faced by people directly affected 

 by wolves. 



Wolves will be integrated and sustained in suitable habitats within complex management settings. TTie wolf 

 program will be based on principles of adaptive management. Management strategies and conflict resolution tools 

 will be more conservative as the number of packs decreases, approaching the legal minimum. In contrast, 

 management strategies become more liberal as the number of packs increases. Ultimately, the status of the wolf 

 jMjpulation itself identifies the appropriate management strategies. Fifteen packs will be used as the trigger to 

 change management, not as a minimum or maximum number of wolves "allowed" in Montana. MFWP does not 

 administratively declare an upper limit or maximum number of individuals of any wildlife species in the state in the 

 sense of a "cap." Instead, MrWP identifies population objectives that are based on landowner tolerance, habitat 

 conditions, social factors, and biological considerations. Wildlife populations are then managed according to the 

 objectives and current population status, using an array management tools. 



Wolf distribution in Montana, as for other species, will ultimately be defined by the interaction of the species 

 ecological requirements and human tolerance, not through ;ulificial delineations that are administratively 

 determined. Social acceptance of wolves transcends the boundaries of geography, land ownership, or land use 

 designations just like a wolf pack territory boundary physically transcends them, too. An adaptive approach will 

 help MFAVP implement its wolf program over the range of social acceptance values now and in the future. 

 Sensitivity towards and prompt resolution of confiict where and when it develops is an important condition of not 

 administratively capping wolf numbers or defining distribution. 



Ultimately, wolf distribution will probably encompass western Montana because of the predominance of public 

 lands as compared to eastern Montana. Wolves will be encouraged on large contiguous blocks of public land, 

 managed primarily as backcountry areas or national parks where there is the least potential for conflict, particularly 

 with livestock. Wolf packs in areas of interspersed public and private lands will be managed in ways similar to 

 other free-ranging wildlife in Montana and within the constraints of the biological and social characteristics, the 

 physical attributes of the environment, land ownership, and land uses. Some agency discretion and flexibility will 

 be exerci.sed by necessity to accommodate the unique attributes of each pack, its history, the site-specific 

 characteristics of its home range, landowner preferences, or other factors that cannot be reasonably predicted at this 

 time. Management flexibility will be crucial in addressing all of the public interests that surround wolves. 



On a broad scale, ungulate distribution and human settlement patterns largely define wolf habitat. MFWP ungulate 

 programs link habitat and population management through sustained public hunting to achieve ungulate population 

 objectives. In this way, MFWP takes an important habitat need ol wolves into consideration. Our work, along with 



