October 6, 2006

Three wolves, members of the Freezeout pack in the Centennial Valley, were killed between Sept. 29 and Oct. 3 following wolf-related livestock depredation on the north end of the Centennial Valley beginning Sept. 29.

"Monitoring efforts by FWP confirmed that the Freezeout pack was in the area near the depredation sites at the time the losses occurred," said Carolyn Sime, FWP Wolf Program Coordinator. "This latest incident is unrelated to earlier reported depredations by a suspected border pack traveling through Alaska Basin at the east end of the Centennial Valley in early August."

Sime said USDA Wildlife Services investigated and confirmed that wolves killed one calf on private land on Sept. 29. On Sept. 30, the livestock owner identified three additional dead calves while moving cattle away from the site of the first depredation. USDA Wildlife Services said the three calves were probable wolf-related losses.

FWP authorized USDA Wildlife Services to lethally remove up to three wolves from the Freezeout pack, and issued a shoot on sight permit to the livestock producer. The control effort ended when the USDA Wildlife Services removed the three wolves and the livestock producer’s permit was voided, Sime said.

"The livestock owners will increase their vigilance in hazing wolves away from this area to help prevent future losses and to negatively reinforce wolves when they get too close to livestock," Sime said.

FWP’s federally approved wolf management program aims to conserve and actively manage a recovered wolf population in a manner similar to the way Montana manages lions and black bears.

FWP is the lead agency for wolf conservation and management in Montana. USDA Wildlife Services is a cooperating federal agency that investigates injured and dead livestock to determine the cause and carries out the field response at the direction of FWP. Both agencies work to help reduce depredation risks and address wolf-related conflicts.