Idaho wolf numbers above endangered species requirements

The 2015 Idaho Wolf Monitoring Progress Report shows wolf numbers remain well above the 150 wolves and 15 breeding pairs required to keep gray wolves off the endangered species list.

Wolves ranged from the Canadian border south to the Snake River Plain and from the Washington and Oregon borders east to the Montana and Wyoming borders.

According to the report, 108 wolf packs were documented in Idaho at the end of 2015. 20 packs were counted by Montana, Wyoming and Washington that had established territories that overlapped the Idaho boundary.

The Idaho Fish and Game Department said an estimated 786 wolves were associated with documented Idaho packs at the end of the 2015. That is similar to 2014, but below that of the the peak years of 2008 and 2009.

Biologists documented that 33 packs met breeding pair criteria at the end of 2015. Because the number of packs meeting breeding pair criteria was already well above the federal recovery requirement, Idaho did not undertake the considerable expense and personnel time necessary to confirm whether the remaining packs met federal breeding pair criteria.

Wolf harvest by hunters and trappers was unchanged from 2014 to 2015. Hunters and trappers harvested 256 wolves in 2015. Fifty four wolves were killed in response to depredations on livestock and 21 were taken to reduce predation on big game populations in 2015.

Average pack size was 6.4 wolves at the end of 2015, similar to the 6.5 average wolf pack size in 2014 and smaller than the 8.1 wolves per pack average during the 3 years prior to the establishment of harvest seasons in 2009.

Wolf depredations on livestock have trended downward since wolf harvest began in 2011. USDA Wildlife Services agents classified 35 cattle, 125 sheep, 3 dogs, and 1 horse as confirmed wolf depredations in 2015. Nine cattle and 9 sheep were classified as probable wolf depredations.

The Idaho progress report is here: