The monitoring methods used are influenced by a number of factors: The methods used to count wolf populations also vary by state. Counting wolves annually allows Montana to monitor population trends more accurately. Wolf populations in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana are still changing and adapting to the natural and cultural landscape since reintroduction in the mid-1990s. Montana conducts an annual count of wolves in areas where the population is relatively new in terms of years on the landscape. If a significant drop below 1,600 wolves were to occur, Minnesota would take action to both determine the cause and address the issue per the state’s management plan as well as the ESA delisting agreement. A minimum of 1,600 wolves was established as a maintenance goal in Minnesota’s wolf management plan, but the wolf population in the state has remained roughly stable at around 3,000 for more than a decade. Within a decade, the population almost doubled, and in the 1990s it reached 2,000. At the time of ESA listing, there was a stable population of 500 to 1,000 wolves in Minnesota. Minnesota is the only state in the lower 48 where wild wolf populations maintained a foothold on the landscape throughout European settlement of the United States. Minnesota conducts a wolf census approximately every five years. Individual states have different management objectives and can adjust their census style to fit those goals. However, not every state conducts an annual census. Generally speaking, wolves managed under the ESA are counted annually. Wolves in Minnesota and Montana are state managed, and each state’s respective department of natural resources monitors and manages the wolf population within its state. Wolf populations are generally counted by the states or by the recovery areas, depending on which agency is responsible for wolf management.įor example, wolves in Arizona and New Mexico are a managed recovery population protected by the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) and monitored primarily by the U.S. Many wolf managers and biologists around the country finish their annual count of wild wolves to determine whether populations are meeting management objectives in the spring of the year. WolfLink Virtual Learning for adults & groups.
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