More than 200,000 gray wolves (Canis lupus) once lived throughout the United States. But by the mid-1930s, aggressive wildlife killing campaigns had led to the complete eradication of wolves from the Western states.
Starting in the 1970s, wolves from Canada recolonized northwestern Montana, and in 1995-1996, 66 wolves were reintroduced to central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park . Since then, the population has grown to about 1,400 wolves across the Northern Rockies region.
Idaho hosts the core of the regional wolf population with nearly 750 wolves in the state. However, even Idaho ’s wolf population is still small in comparison with other species like cougar (3,000 – 5,000), black bear (20,000), coyotes (50,000), elk (100,000) and deer (more than 300,000).
Despite their recent resurgence and relatively small number, wolves are already making an impact in our region. Scientists are documenting the many biodiversity benefits of restoring wolves, which cull weak and diseased elk, deer and other prey.
Wolves also help disperse elk herds away from sensitive, overbrowsed wetlands and meadows encouraging the restoration of native plants and animals. Many naturalists refer to wolves as the natural “bioengineer” of our ecosystems.
More wolves are killed every year as a result of livestock conflicts than any other cause of wolf mortality in our region. Less than 1 percent of livestock losses are due to wolves but that still means dozens of ranchers lose livestock to wolves each year.
Exclusive use of traditional lethal control measures only perpetuates an endless cycle of livestock and wolf losses, escalates conflicts, and costs taxpayers thousands of dollars every year. Compensation programs help pay for the market value of confirmed livestock losses, but avoiding losses to wolves is far more preferable to most livestock managers.
Over the past decade, Defenders of Wildlife has collaborated with ranchers and wolf managers to pioneer many projects designed to promote wolf conservation by proactively reducing livestock losses to wolves and other native carnivores.
These projects utilize a range of methods and strategies that include livestock-guarding dogs, range riders, livestock night penning, and more. Each project has reduced or prevented livestock and wolf losses and increased tolerance for wolves on the landscape.
Both wolf and livestock mortalities have been reduced as a direct result of these measures, and more ranching operations and agency managers are utilizing these techniques as word of their effectiveness spreads.
These projects utilize a range of methods and strategies that include livestock-guarding dogs, range riders, livestock night penning and more. Each project has reduced or prevented livestock and wolf losses and increased tolerance for wolves on the landscape. Wolf mortalities have been reduced as a direct result of these measures, and more ranching operations and agency managers are utilizing these techniques as word of their effectiveness spreads.
Mike Stevens, president of Lava Lake Land and Livestock in Idaho – home to over 5,000 head of sheep – was one of four livestock producers to jointly implement these methods on the basin wide project covering more than one million acres of public land during the 2008 summer grazing season.
At the project’s conclusion, Stevens reported “We all just pulled off what I think is a remarkable accomplishment, which was grazing a band of 1,000 sheep for a month in the immediate daily presence of a wolf pack with no losses of sheep or wolves.”
It is success stories like this that inspired the development of the proactive guide for livestock producers. “Livestock and Wolves; A Guide to Nonlethal Tools and Methods to Reduce Conflicts,” was developed on the heels of regional workshops that included participation from ranchers, wildlife managers, conservationists and scientists.
The guide details the key nonlethal tactics and tools designed to limit conflicts, while keeping in mind that every livestock operation is unique and there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution.
Livestock producers and resource managers operating in wolf inhabited areas are keen to find ways to keep livestock safe from predation in an economically viable way. In some areas, wolves are protected under federal, state or provincial law, so it’s important to know what conflict prevention strategies can legally be used.
Sometimes wolves are killed to prevent additional livestock losses. This lethal control may relieve conflicts temporarily. However, research has shown that new wolves will often move into the vacated territory, and the cycle of loss will continue—unless the root cause is addressed. The guide helps producers address the root cause in economical ways that protect both livestock and wolves. It covers nonlethal tools and strategies that work and offers real-life examples of successful solutions devised by livestock producers, agency managers and researchers working together.
Chapter 1 of the report describes key factors to consider when evaluating livestock operations.
Chapters 2 through 8 provide examples of the different approaches and their benefits and limitations. This guide covers the basics but it is not intended as a substitute for expert advice. Deciding which tools, methods and strategies are suitable for protecting livestock depends on many different factors. The guide includes a state-by-state list of wolf management agencies that can help livestock owners evaluate and tailor nonlethal deterrents for their individual situation.
For example, the type of livestock is an important consideration when assessing risks. Research indicates that when wolves attack livestock, they focus on the animals that are easiest to kill. For instance, wolves rarely attack adult cattle and horses. They tend to prey more on sheep, goats and calves, and, in some areas, yearlings.
Another key consideration is location. Livestock on large grazing allotments—publicly owned lands where grazing is allowed by permits issued by the federal government— can be one of the most difficult wolf-livestock conflict situations to resolve. Many allotments are in remote and rugged terrain with very dense trees and brush, making it harder for sheepherders, range riders or wranglers and livestock managers to spot a potential conflict.
Overall, the important factors to consider include:
• Number, age and type of livestock needing protection;
• Season;
• Location and accessibility of site;
• Size of grazing area;
• How often people directly supervise the livestock.
Thinking like a wolf
When developing a strategy for reducing risk to livestock, it helps to understand things from a wolf’s perspective. Wolves are natural hunters but are also avid scavengers that feed on dead animals so the smell of a rotting carcass will attract them.
Their hunting patterns are designed to detect the most vulnerable prey and to avoid injury by their prey, other predators or humans. Wolves are adept at detecting injured or diseased animals or those that are disadvantaged — hindered from escape by deep snow, for example.
They are quick learners and can overcome their fear of certain scare devices such as sounds or lights, especially if exposed to the same device repeatedly for long periods, so it’s important to vary deterrents if wolves are being exposed to them for more than short durations.
The goal is to keep wolves from getting used to deterrents and losing their natural wariness. Increasing the wolf’s perception of risk can help reduce the chances of predation, but working proactively to prevent carnivores from being attracted to a livestock operation in the first place is often the best strategy of all.
Livestock stress and permit considerations
When practical, small night corrals offer good protection for small livestock operations. However, penning livestock every night can present challenges. Penning can stress animals not accustomed to it. The permits that allow grazing on national forest land may not allow the erection of pens. Moreover, penning can harm native plants if livestock are not moved frequently enough to prevent overgrazing. Some livestock producers who are now successfully using electric night pens are using them on private pastures where the livestock can more easily adapt to these night-time enclosures.
One band of sheep in Montana is now so well-adapted to their night pen that, like chickens coming home to roost, they often seek it out at the end of the day. In New Mexico, a rancher using a two-strand electric fence system to create small, easy-to-monitor pastures reports that his cattle are so accustomed to their routine that he can move his entire herd in less than half an hour using only a whistle, two dogs and a load of fresh feed.
Seasonal and location-based considerations
Some projects require different strategies depending on the season or location. For example, using guard dogs to protect livestock is normally effective but not in the springtime near wolf den sites because wolves will instinctually defend their young from other canines (dogs, coyotes or other wolves that are not members of their pack). Livestock-guarding dogs in these areas at this time of year would actually increase the likelihood of conflicts with wolves. However, using multiple livestock guard dogs at other times of the year with sheepherders or range riders present to assist the dogs often helps reduce livestock losses to wolves and other native carnivores.
Communication, agreement and evaluation
Working with agency staff, fellow livestock producers and others to figure out a strategy as a team and to share the costs of a project is highly recommended. A written agreement that clearly defines expected roles and responsibilities and fosters good communication is essential whenever collaborating with others. A mechanism for evaluating the project should also be included as each project, whether successful or not, helps provide valuable information about the effectiveness of methods in varying situations.
To receive a copy of “Livestock and Wolves; A Guide to Nonlethal Tools and Methods to Reduce Conflicts” contact Suzanne Asha Stone at: (208)424-9385. For an electronic version, visit www.defenders.org/reducingconflict.
Suzanne Asha Stone is the Northern Rockies Representative for Defenders of Wildlife. You can learn more at: www.defenders.org |
