Guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton

In its latest issue, Time magazine has solid report by Pat Dawson on the current status of wolves in and around Yellowstone. Focusing on what the future holds for wolves should their protective status be lifted, the key paragraph is pasted below, though the whole article is well worth reading:“Still, the wolf’s triumphant return to Yellowstone may be its undoing. The 66 wolves brought to Yellowstone and the Central Idaho wilderness in 1995 and 1996 have grown to about 1,300. At the request of the state legislatures in Wyoming and Idaho — lobbied heavily by organized shooting-sports interests — the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USF&WS) is about to remove the Yellowstone-area wolf from the federal Endangered Species list and allow the states to manage them. Known as the 10(j) rule, a special exemption to the Endangered Species Act allows government agencies extra leeway in controlling “experimental populations” like the gray wolf; in short, the government is allowed to kill them. Both Wyoming and Idaho expect USF&WS to lift wolf protection early next year. Then it will be open season for many eager shooters, including Idaho’s governor, C.L. “Butch” Otter, who told a rally of petitioning sportsmen in Boise earlier this year, “I’m prepared to bid for that first ticket to shoot a wolf myself.” Idaho’s official stance is to allow the killing of all wolves over and above the statutory minimum number of breeding pairs: 100 of the approximately 673 wolves in the state.”We’ll continue posting the latest news on the possibility of wolf delisting here.

Score a victory for the proponents of trophic cascade, one of many heavily debated ideas swirling around the still controversial re-introduction of wolves into Yellowstone. In short, the theory argues that as a key species in the overall ecosystem, the addition of wolves dramatically affects the entire bionetwork, creating a domino effect running from the largest megafauna to the smallest plants. Bear researchers, for example, are wrestling with the thought that with fresh elk carcasses now readily available throughout winter, grizzlies may curtail or even stop their hibernating entirely. But it’s the effect of wolves on elk behavior that holds the most possibility for change; as wary elk no longer graze as much in open riverbeds, this could allow willows to flourish instead of being grazed down. Increased willows would in turn attract birds, along with moose whose diet relies on the plant. Late last week, a study in the journal Biological Conservation claims that the return of wolves has allowed aspen trees to grow in places where they haven’t been seen in decades. With wolves on the prowl in the park’s northern reaches, wary elk no longer have the luxury of sitting out in the open, munching on young aspen shoots.

As quoted in a recent UPI story on the subject:

“This is really exciting, and it’s great news for Yellowstone,” said William Ripple, a professor in the Oregon State University College of Forestry. “We’ve seen some recovery of willows and cottonwood but this is the first time we can document significant aspen growth, a tree species in decline all over the West. We’ve waited a long time to see this but now we’re optimistic that things may be on the right track.”