v o l u m e 1 3 • n u m b e r 1 • w i n t e r 2 0 0 5 Ten Years of 1995–2005 Yellowstone Wolves © BOB LANDIS What Big Teeth You Have S ROGER ANDERSON assumes his new duties as night. That was back when everyone thought the elusive wolves branch chief of cultural resources, I am happy to would rarely be seen. Now, 20,000 people each year see a wolf A serve as guest editor of Yellowstone Science. I believe in the park: they are highly visible, and intensely studied. this journal is a unique and important medium for commu- The Cooke City–Silver Gate area is just one that has ben- nicating the wide variety of research projects that take place efited economically from the return of the wolf to Yellowstone, in Yellowstone National Park. The results of these studies are as wildlife watchers have found it to be a convenient place from often educational, sometimes unexpected or groundbreak- which to base their Lamar Valley excursions. It is also a place ing—and occasionally controversial. where some blame wolves because they believe they are seeing We decided to devote this entire issue to the story of the less wildlife, and where you can read “Die Wolf” on the back wolves, 10 years after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Con- of a truck. gressionally mandated restoration program that placed Cana- Although one might expect that sentiment to quiet down dian wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Area and central Idaho. as time passes and people readjust to living with wolves, feel- For some, the return of the wolf indicates progress, a change ings about wolves remain passionate. As wolves repopulate the in attitudes toward predators and increased understanding of area and leave the park, as research continues and conclusions ecosystems. For others, the wolves’ return is a backward step are debated, as delisting looms—tensions continue to roil. to a time when they felt less able to defend their livelihoods Love them or hate them, few people feel indifferent about and families. wolves. As Yellowstone National Park wolf biologist Douglas I live in the gateway community of Cooke City, Montana, Smith states in his article, it was a change in human attitudes and I remember the thrill of seeing the recently released Rose that brought wolves back; their future will depend on us too. Creek pack as they crossed the road in my headlights late one © BOB LANDIS a quarterly devoted to natural and cultural resources volume 13 • number 1 • winter 2005 ROGER J. ANDERSON Editor TAMI BLACKFORD Guest Editor and Graphic Designer ALICE WONDRAK BIEL Associate Editor Druid Peak wolf pups on an early outing. MARY ANN FRANKE PAUL SCHULLERY VIRGINIA WARNER Assistant Editors ARTCRAFT PRINTERS, INC. FEATURES Bozeman, Montana Printer 4 Perspectives on Wolf Restoration • Ed Bangs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wolf recovery coordinator • Bob Barbee, Yellowstone superintendent from 1983 to 1994 • Rolf O. Peterson, professor of wildlife ecology Yellowstone Science is published quarterly. 7 Ten Years of Yellowstone Wolves, 1995–2005 Support for Yellowstone Science is provided by the Yellowstone Association, a non-profit The first 10 years of wolf restoration in Yellowstone National Park: educational organization dedicated to serving the park and its visitors. For more information the wolves’ stories, and what we’re learning. about the association, including membership, or to donate to the production of Yellowstone Science, visit www.yellowstoneassociation.org Douglas W. Smith or write: Yellowstone Association, P.O. Box 117, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190. The opinions expressed in Yellowstone Science 34 Wolf EIS Predictions and Ten-Year Appraisals are the authors’ and may not reflect either National Park Service policy or the views of the A comparison of Environmental Impact Statement predictions Yellowstone Center for Resources. to what is going on today. Copyright © 2005, the Yellowstone Association for Natural Science, History & Education. For back issues of Yellowstone Science, please see P.J. White, Douglas W. Smith, John W. Duffield, Michael Jimenez, www.nps.gov/yell/publications. Terry McEneaney, and Glenn Plumb Submissions are welcome from all investigators conducting formal research in the Yellowstone area. To submit proposals for articles, 42 Technical Publications on Wolves, 1995–2004 to subscribe, or to send a letter to the editor, please write to the following address: A list of Yellowstone wolf-related technical publications that have Editor, Yellowstone Science, P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190. been produced since reintroduction. You may also email: [email protected]. Yellowstone Science is printed on recycled paper with a soy-based ink. DEPARTMENTS 2 News & Notes on the cover: 2004–05 Winter Elk Count • Wayne Brewster Retires • Bob Wolf howl. Landis’s Footage Wins Emmy • New Herbarium Specimens Photo © Bob Landis. Received • Update on the Spires in Yellowstone Lake 45 From the Archives NEWS & NOTES © BOB LANDIS 2004–05 Winter Count of that have contributed to decreased elk YCR Deputy Director Wayne Northern Yellowstone Elk numbers include a substantial winter- Brewster Retires kill caused by severe snow pack during The Northern Yellowstone Cooperative 1997 and, possibly, drought-related On January 3, 2005, Wayne Brewster, Wildlife Working Group conducted its effects on pregnancy and calf survival. Deputy Director of the Yellowstone annual winter survey of the northern The Gardiner late elk hunt was Center for Resources, retired after Yellowstone elk population on Janu- designed to reduce elk numbers outside 35 years of federal service in the U.S. ary 5, 2005. A total of 9,545 elk were YNP so that they do not cause long- Army, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service counted during good survey condi- term changes in plant communities (USFWS), and National Park Service tions. Approximately two-thirds of or decrease the quality of their winter (NPS). He and his wife, Lil, moved the observed elk were located within range. Tom Lemke, biologist for Mon- to Helena, Montana. Brewster came Yellowstone National Park (YNP), tana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) to work for Yellowstone in 1991 from while one-third was located north of said, “as elk numbers and calf recruit- Glacier National Park, where he had the park. Biologists used four fixed- ment have declined in recent years, worked on wolf and grizzly recovery wing aircraft to count elk on the entire FWP has reduced the hunter harvest since 1988. northern range during the one-day by significantly reducing the number Prior to working for the NPS, Brew- survey. The northern Yellowstone elk of elk permits issued. At this point, ster had a long career in the USFWS. herd winters between YNP’s northeast hunter-related elk mortality is the only After receiving a Master’s degree in entrance and Dome Mountain/Dailey mortality factor we have some control Wildlife Biology from South Dakota Lake in Montana’s Paradise Valley. over.” FWP has tentatively proposed State University, he began his career This year’s total of 9,545 elk was reducing the number of elk permits as a GS-7 in 1975. In 1979, Brewster 15% higher than the 8,335 elk counted further next year, due largely to the was selected by the USFWS as the last winter, and slightly higher than substantial decrease in elk numbers and Endangered Species Team Leader for the 9,215 elk counted in winter 2003. poor calf recruitment. Montana and Wyoming. His boss According to YNP wildlife biologist The working group will continue to during this period, the USFWS Area P.J. White, the increase in counted elk monitor trends of the northern Yellow- Manager, paid him a high compliment, from last year most likely is a result of stone elk population and evaluate the “[Brewster] has never had a[n] [Endan- better survey conditions and detection relative contribution of various compo- gered Species Act] Section 7 Biological of elk this winter, rather than an actual nents of mortality, including predation, Opinion overruled.” In 1982, Brewster increase in elk numbers. Survey condi- environmental factors, and hunting. moved to Helena to become Field tions were good, owing to a significant The group was formed in 1974 to Supervisor for all Endangered Species snowstorm on December 31, 2004, cooperatively preserve and protect the Act (ESA) activities in Montana and that covered the landscape and caused long-term integrity of the northern Wyoming. elk to concentrate in relatively open Yellowstone winter range for wildlife In these two crucial states, Brewster areas at lower elevations where detec- species by increasing scientific knowl- had primary responsibilities for ESA tion was likely higher compared to edge of the species and their habitats, species including grizzly bears, black- count days during the last several mild promoting prudent land management footed ferrets, bald eagles, peregrine winters. activities, and encouraging an inter- falcons, Kendall Warm Spring Dace, The overall trend in counts still sug- agency approach to answering ques- NPS gests that elk numbers have decreased tions and solving problems. The group substantially over the past decade. Pre- is comprised of resource managers and dation by wolves and other large carni- biologists from Montana Fish, Wildlife vores and human harvests during the and Parks, the National Park Service Gardiner late elk hunt have been the (YNP), U.S. Forest Service (Gallatin primary factors contributing to decreas- National Forest), and U.S. Geological ing numbers of northern Yellowstone Survey-Northern Rocky Mountain Sci- elk since the mid 1990s. Other factors ence Center, Bozeman. 2 Yellowstone Science 13(1) • Winter 2005 gray wolves, whooping cranes, piping and talents have made an extraordinary and the MONTU herbarium checked plovers, and least terns. Most of the difference on some of North America’s with the MONT herbarium to see if species on that list have either been de- most popular, but needy wildlife.