Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf
Encyclopedia
The Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf (Canis lupus irremotus), also known as the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf, is a subspecies
of the gray wolf
, Canis lupus, that is primarily found in the northern portion of the Rocky Mountains
and the states and provinces surrounding the region. The subspecies was initially listed as Endangered on March 9, 1978, but had the classification removed in the year 2000 due to the effects of the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan. On August 6, 2010, the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf was ordered
to be returned under Endangered Species Act
protections by U.S. District Judge
Donald Molloy in a decision overturning a previous ruling by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
in existence. It is a lighter colored animal than its southern brethren, the Southern Rocky Mountains Wolf
, with a coat that includes far more white and less black. In general, the subspecies favors lighter colors, with black mixing in among them.
, the Rocky Mountain mule deer
, and the North American Beaver, though it is an opportunistic animal and will prey upon other species if the chance arises. But, for the most part, small prey animals do not make up a large part of its diet.
When an individual or a pack is able to take down numerous amounts of prey, the amount a Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf eats daily will generally make up about 10-21% of its body mass
, though there have been recorded instances of an individual eating up to 37% of its body mass. However, when prey is not as plentiful, Northern Rocky Mountains wolves are able to survive for considerably long periods of time while eating only small amounts. Cannibalism
, in times of severe food shortage, occurs, as a pack will kill and eat an injured or weak member of the group.
. They resided nearby Native Americans
of the Tukudika tribe, who considered the wolf to be a sacred animal.
As the American population began spreading west in the late 19th century, ranchers, farmer
s, and cattle drivers
began to settle in the area. In due time, the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf began preying on the livestock
brought by the settlers. A practice of eradication was enacted in 1915, through the use of gun
s, traps, and poison
. This policy was made even more all encompassing by the creation of the National Park Service
in 1916, which regulated control over the land in Yellowstone and authorized through the National Park Service Organic Act the "destruction of such animals and such plant life that may be detrimental". By 1924, the last known wolves in the bounds of Yellowstone were killed, though small numbers of the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf survived in outlying areas.
s, and for the population to remain stable
for at least three consecutive years. However, the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf was not, at the time of the initial drafting, recognized as a legitimate subspecies, so the wolves involved in the plan were instead the Great Plains Wolf
and the Mackenzie Valley Wolf
. The overall reason for this was because the stated two subspecies of wolf roamed in the same general area as the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf and because the plan covered the reintroduction of wolves into the area in general. For this reason, the more plentiful subspecies' were chosen to be trans-located, so as to not upset the balance in the areas they would be taken from.
In response to concerns about wolves being allowed to run free in the area, killing livestock without any allowed repercussions, the final draft of the plan, completed on November 22, 1994, outlined that ranchers were allowed to kill wolves if they were "caught in the act of killing livestock on private property."
In three lawsuits combined as Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation v. Babbitt, opponents of re-introduction argued that the re-introduced wolves threatened wolves that might already inhabit the area, while supporters argued against the experimental desigination and for fully protected status. District Court Judge William F. Downes
ruled that the re-introduction violated section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act, however, this ruling was overturned by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
was drafted by the solicitor
for the United States Department of the Interior
, which looked at the wording of the Endangered Species Act
. Specifically, the paper considered the meaning of the phrase "significant portion of its range". The memorandum detailed that the previous range
of a species under the ESA was unimportant and that the current range of such a species was what was important, not what it "historically occupied". A number of environmental groups
were outraged over the memorandum, as the density of species under their current range would end up with many taken off the Endangered Species List, even if the population was far lower than what would be considered stable.
Jeremy Bruskotter, who is an environmental scientist
, authored two papers in early 2009 stating that, if the memorandum is taken seriously, it could result in "an increased risk of extinction for some species." On the other hand, Robin Waples, a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
Northwest Fisheries Science Center, stated that "the memorandum by itself does not reduce protections".
Since the memorandum was drafted, five rulings that relied heavily upon it were passed regarding endangered species, one of which was about the population of the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf. The ruling decided that protection for the species was to be "sharply limited". However, in 2009, wildlife
groups challenged the ruling.
On January 21, 2009, President Barack Obama
made a presidential ruling for all federal agencies
to "halt all pending regulations until his administration can review them." This, in turn, has halted the delisting of many species under the ESA, though the Northern Rocky Mountains wolf had already been removed prior to this regulation.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy ruled in an appeal
ed decision on August 6, 2010, that the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf must either be "listed as an endangered species or removed from the list, but the protections for the same population can't be different for each state." This ruling came about from the challenged decision in 2009 by wildlife groups and would end many of the special regulations that individual states had held over the species. The Fish and Wildlife Service made a statement that endangered protections would remain for the entire species until Wyoming
is able to bring the population of wolves within its borders into required standards. The populations for Idaho
and Montana
have already exceeded the requirements and, thus, previously had had no protections for the wolves in the states.
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of the gray wolf
Gray Wolf
The gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...
, Canis lupus, that is primarily found in the northern portion of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
and the states and provinces surrounding the region. The subspecies was initially listed as Endangered on March 9, 1978, but had the classification removed in the year 2000 due to the effects of the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan. On August 6, 2010, the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf was ordered
Court order
A court order is an official proclamation by a judge that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out of certain steps by one or more parties to a case...
to be returned under Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
protections by U.S. District Judge
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
Donald Molloy in a decision overturning a previous ruling by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Description
This subspecies generally weighs 70–135 lb (31.8–61.2 ), making it one of the largest subspecies of the gray wolfSubspecies of Canis lupus
Canis lupus has 39 subspecies currently described, including two subspecies of domestic dog, Canis lupus dingo and Canis lupus familiaris, and many subspecies of wolf throughout the Northern hemisphere...
in existence. It is a lighter colored animal than its southern brethren, the Southern Rocky Mountains Wolf
Southern Rocky Mountains Wolf
The Southern Rocky Mountains Wolf , also known as the Southern Rockies Wolf, the Southern Rocky Mountains Grey Wolf, the Southern Rocky Mountains Common Wolf, and the Great Basin Gray Wolf, was a subspecies of the gray wolf, Canis lupus, that used to roam in the regions in and around Nevada,...
, with a coat that includes far more white and less black. In general, the subspecies favors lighter colors, with black mixing in among them.
Dietary habits
The Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf preys primarily on the Rocky Mountain ElkRocky Mountain Elk
The Rocky Mountain Elk is a subspecies of elk found in the Rocky Mountains and adjacent ranges of Western North America. The winter ranges are most common in open forests and floodplain marshes in the lower elevations. In the summer it migrates to the subalpine forests and alpine basins...
, the Rocky Mountain mule deer
Mule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
, and the North American Beaver, though it is an opportunistic animal and will prey upon other species if the chance arises. But, for the most part, small prey animals do not make up a large part of its diet.
When an individual or a pack is able to take down numerous amounts of prey, the amount a Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf eats daily will generally make up about 10-21% of its body mass
Body weight
The term body weight is used in daily English speech as well as in the contexts of biological and medical sciences to describe the mass of an organism's body. Body weight is measured in kilograms throughout the world, although in some countries it is still measured in pounds or stones and pounds...
, though there have been recorded instances of an individual eating up to 37% of its body mass. However, when prey is not as plentiful, Northern Rocky Mountains wolves are able to survive for considerably long periods of time while eating only small amounts. Cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
, in times of severe food shortage, occurs, as a pack will kill and eat an injured or weak member of the group.
History
Early recorded history of the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf found it roaming primarily in the forests that would later become known as Yellowstone National ParkYellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
. They resided nearby Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
of the Tukudika tribe, who considered the wolf to be a sacred animal.
As the American population began spreading west in the late 19th century, ranchers, farmer
Farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s, and cattle drivers
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
began to settle in the area. In due time, the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf began preying on the livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
brought by the settlers. A practice of eradication was enacted in 1915, through the use of gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
s, traps, and poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
. This policy was made even more all encompassing by the creation of the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
in 1916, which regulated control over the land in Yellowstone and authorized through the National Park Service Organic Act the "destruction of such animals and such plant life that may be detrimental". By 1924, the last known wolves in the bounds of Yellowstone were killed, though small numbers of the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf survived in outlying areas.
The Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan
The Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan was first approved in 1980, though it was then revised later on in 1987. The plan required a certain population of Northern Rocky Mountains wolves to reside in the area inside and around Yellowstone, which included at least ten breeding pairBreeding pair
Breeding pair is a pair of animals which cooperate over time to produce offspring with some form of a bond between the individuals. For example, many birds mate for a breeding season or sometimes for life. They may share some or all of the tasks involved: building a nest, incubating the eggs and...
s, and for the population to remain stable
Ecological stability
Ecological stability can refer to types of stability in a continuum ranging from resilience to constancy to persistence. The precise definition depends on the ecosystem in question, the variable or variables of interest, and the overall context...
for at least three consecutive years. However, the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf was not, at the time of the initial drafting, recognized as a legitimate subspecies, so the wolves involved in the plan were instead the Great Plains Wolf
Great Plains Wolf
The Great Plains wolf , also known as the Buffalo wolf, is the most common subspecies of the gray wolf in the continental United States. It currently inhabits the western Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada...
and the Mackenzie Valley Wolf
Mackenzie Valley Wolf
The Mackenzie Valley Wolf also known as the Canadian Timber Wolf is perhaps the largest subspecies of Gray Wolf in North America. Its range includes parts of the western United States, much of western Canada, and Alaska, including Unimak Island in the Aleutians, and was introduced into Yellowstone...
. The overall reason for this was because the stated two subspecies of wolf roamed in the same general area as the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf and because the plan covered the reintroduction of wolves into the area in general. For this reason, the more plentiful subspecies' were chosen to be trans-located, so as to not upset the balance in the areas they would be taken from.
In response to concerns about wolves being allowed to run free in the area, killing livestock without any allowed repercussions, the final draft of the plan, completed on November 22, 1994, outlined that ranchers were allowed to kill wolves if they were "caught in the act of killing livestock on private property."
In three lawsuits combined as Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation v. Babbitt, opponents of re-introduction argued that the re-introduced wolves threatened wolves that might already inhabit the area, while supporters argued against the experimental desigination and for fully protected status. District Court Judge William F. Downes
William F. Downes
William F. Downes is a retired United States federal judge.Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Downes received a B.A. from the University of North Texas in 1968 and served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1968 to 1971. He received a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1974...
ruled that the re-introduction violated section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act, however, this ruling was overturned by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Policy Changes for the ESA
In 2007, a memorandumMemorandum
A memorandum is from the Latin verbal phrase memorandum est, the gerundive form of the verb memoro, "to mention, call to mind, recount, relate", which means "It must be remembered ..."...
was drafted by the solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
for the United States Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
, which looked at the wording of the Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
. Specifically, the paper considered the meaning of the phrase "significant portion of its range". The memorandum detailed that the previous range
Range (biology)
In biology, the range or distribution of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, dispersion is variation in local density.The term is often qualified:...
of a species under the ESA was unimportant and that the current range of such a species was what was important, not what it "historically occupied". A number of environmental groups
Environmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
were outraged over the memorandum, as the density of species under their current range would end up with many taken off the Endangered Species List, even if the population was far lower than what would be considered stable.
Jeremy Bruskotter, who is an environmental scientist
Environmental science
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical and biological sciences, to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems...
, authored two papers in early 2009 stating that, if the memorandum is taken seriously, it could result in "an increased risk of extinction for some species." On the other hand, Robin Waples, a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...
Northwest Fisheries Science Center, stated that "the memorandum by itself does not reduce protections".
Since the memorandum was drafted, five rulings that relied heavily upon it were passed regarding endangered species, one of which was about the population of the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf. The ruling decided that protection for the species was to be "sharply limited". However, in 2009, wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
groups challenged the ruling.
On January 21, 2009, President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
made a presidential ruling for all federal agencies
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
to "halt all pending regulations until his administration can review them." This, in turn, has halted the delisting of many species under the ESA, though the Northern Rocky Mountains wolf had already been removed prior to this regulation.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy ruled in an appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
ed decision on August 6, 2010, that the Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf must either be "listed as an endangered species or removed from the list, but the protections for the same population can't be different for each state." This ruling came about from the challenged decision in 2009 by wildlife groups and would end many of the special regulations that individual states had held over the species. The Fish and Wildlife Service made a statement that endangered protections would remain for the entire species until Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
is able to bring the population of wolves within its borders into required standards. The populations for Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
and Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
have already exceeded the requirements and, thus, previously had had no protections for the wolves in the states.