Wolf hunter / hound truck

Just left four wolf hound hunters talking to the local sheriff, after they spoke to us. Hound hunters filed a harassment complaint after we refused to leave their trail, despite their best efforts to lose us. They continued to run their hounds through the Polk County Forest. We informed the sheriff that we have no intention to break any laws, and that the DNR has been informed of our monitoring project, and that we were within our rights.

I then contacted my DNR law enforcement contact and informed him that we would be continuing with our monitoring of the wolf hunt and would be reporting any illegal activity that we document. DNR Warden thanked me for keeping him informed. We will remain in Zone 3 until the hunt officially closes.

Another wolf was reported killed, bringing the statewide quota up to 147, three shy of being filled. We also documented a possible illegal deer kill that we are first going to confer with DNR before publicizing.

On November 20th, a delegation from Great Lakes Wolf Patrol met with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials to discuss the state’s upcoming hound hunt for wolves which begins December 1st.

The meeting with DNR Chief Warden, Todd Schaller, Dave Zebro, (the warden from Zone 2 where WP operated in October) and other enforcement officers began with an update to the investigation launched into a documented wolf trapping violation WP obtained in October. The DNR assured us that they took the complaint very seriously, and sent a warden out to talk to the trapper in question. The trapper acknowledged that he illegally left his wolf trap in the ground after the season had officially closed on October 19th and was given a verbal warning.

WP believes this was an appropriate response by DNR to investigate illegal wolf hunting/trapping activities brought forward to them by the citizen members of our group. DNR staff informed us that the Wisconsin trapping community is very tight-knit, and the fact that a warden did a “stop & knock” visit to a trapper following our complaint, will inform the trapping community that they are being monitored not just by DNR, but Wolf Patrol as well.

DNR staff in attendance also commended Wolf Patrol members for their level of professionalism in their interactions with hunters & trappers, and said they received no complaints about our presence in the wolf hunt area in October. DNR reiterated that the success of their enforcement department depends on the eyes and ears of the public.

The rest of the meeting was spent addressing the legality of the upcoming hound hunt for wolves. WP was able to clarify what is illegal hound hunting and will use the information obtained from this meeting while observing the hunt in December.

Wolf Patrol stated to DNR officials that while we are opposed to the hunting and trapping of wolves in Wisconsin, our mission is documentation. WP is committed to exposing public policies on public lands that reveal the mis-management of wolves since their loss of endangered species protection. Both the DNR and WP recognize that it is the state legislature, not the DNR that legalized the hunting of wolves, and if we are to change that policy, we need to encite greater citizen participation.

“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”—Aldo Leopold

Sunset over Gardiner Basin

Since the state of Montana took over management of gray wolves from the US Fish & Wildlife Service in 2011, wolves in the state have been classified as a game species. In recent years, wolves from prominent packs have been shot leaving Yellowstone National Park. Most wolves killed in WMU (Wolf Management Unit) 313 are animals following migrating elk out of the park. But in some documented cases, Yellowstone wolves have been intentionally lured towards a specific location with bait. The purpose of Yellowstone Wolf Patrol’s monitoring project is to document Montana’s wolf management policies in the field, where they have resulted in the death of over a dozen wolves from family units that spend the majority of their time within Yellowstone National Park. It is also to investigate hunting practices that while legal, are questionably unethical and against the principles of fair chase.

Image from hellsaroarinoutfiteers.com

In September 2014, Yellowstone Wolf Patrol began monitoring of Montana’s sport hunting season for wolves outside of Yellowstone National Park. The area along the park’s northern boundary is broken into two wolf hunting units, WMU 313 & WMU 316, each with a quota of three wolves. Our first excursions into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area were to monitor the September 15th opening of wolf hunting season which coincides with the early elk hunting season in WMU 313 & 316. Research revealed that there are two primary commercial guides offering wolf hunts in WMU 313 & 316, Hell’s A-Roarin’ Outfitters and Absaroka-Beartooth Outfitters, the latter also offered a wolf hunt as a prize in a September online lottery. Our patrols located both guides base camps, and monitored some of their hunting activities. This annual early season hunt takes place in high country where primarily, resident elk on wilderness lands are targeted. While we recorded five separate hunting parties and fresh wolf sign in the area, one bull elk and no wolves were reported killed in WMU 313 on the opening week of the hunt in the wilderness area. One wolf was later reported harvested in WMU 313, leaving two more in the quota of three for that unit. November Wolf Patrol monitoring was planned for the annual winter elk migration that takes place through a narrow corridor that parallels the Yellowstone River, just north of the community of Gardiner, Montana. The Northern Elk Herd that resides in Yellowstone National Park does not leave until colder weather conditions trigger their annual migration to winter ranges outside the park, where they are then subject to hunting.

Elk Hunting Guides in Yellowstone National Park

Based on Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks wolf kill data from past years, this is also the area where wolves are becoming more commonly killed while following migrating wildlife out of the park. This portion of Wolf & Elk Management Unit 313 is easily accessible by paved and unpaved roads in the Gallatin National Forest. Beginning in the late afternoon, during elk season, slow moving trucks spotting for elk drive up and down the road to Jardine. A local told WP that sometimes they want to lean on their car horn as they drive down the Jardine Road that parallels the park boundary, because of the elk hunters hunting from their vehicles. On November 4th, wolves were heard howling from Eagle Creek Campground. With temperatures dropping, and with so many elk leaving the national park at the time, and so many elk hunters congregating in the Gardiner area, it was only a matter of when, not if, wolves leaving Yellowstone would be killed.

One of the Yellowstone wolves killed this November

On November 5th, three wolves were reported killed within a 24 hour period, all within three miles from the park boundary. One was killed near the Jardine Road, and another was killed in Cinnabar Canyon, three miles from the boundary. The third wolf was the Alpha Male from the Cougar Creek pack, who was killed near Beattie Gulch, just a few hundred yards from the park boundary. Continue reading →

“The polar vortex hasn’t kept the hunters away, so we can’t let it stop us.”

Sunday evening, an arctic storm blew in, dropping temperatures below 0 with wind chills down to a frigid -45 degrees. Despite this, we’re committed to patrolling areas of high hunting activity in the Gardiner area.

(Warning: Graphic photos)

On the morning of the 10th, after spotting a herd of elk roaming the top of a ridge, we heard the unmistakable sound of gunshots. After a half dozen rounds were discharged into the crowd, one elk had been fatally hit, and a figure in blaze orange emerged from the nearby forest to claim his kill. We monitored the area for hours afterward, watching the hunter gut and process his trophy. After the guts were removed from the body cavity, the hunter made the convenient decision to kick the remaining carcass down the ridge, tumbling and falling hundreds of feet, to provide a more comfortable weight for his descent down the mountain. The gut pile left intact to rot, we believed it imperative to have eyes on the top of that ridge as long as needed, to be sure no wolves or other predators would be baited into an early death at the hands of a hunter seeing an advantage.

Hunter gutting elk

As night grew closer, team members attempted to ascend the mountain, only to prematurely abort due to falling darkness, extreme temperatures, and the prospect of predators. The following morning, however, we successfully completed our trek, and reached the gut pile with plenty of daylight for better observation. Upon reaching the peak and coming in contact with the remains of the elk left behind by the hunter, we noticed the tell-tale footprints of predators and scavenging birds; we suspect magpies or grey jays. The view from the top was nothing less than surreal, and we remained invigorated to defend this homeland of the wild & majestic grizzlies, wolves, and others to which we feel innately connected.

Despite the frigid temperatures, we’ve remained committed to monitoring numerous areas of high hunting activity, and to continue seeking out areas we’ve recognized as suitable for locals to dump carcasses in their attempts to bait predators. We are actively watching regions where Yellowstone wolves have been killed in the past two weeks, including just over the boundary, where elk continue to migrate in search of suitable winter habitat. While Wolf Management Unit (WMU) 313 has been closed due to a filled quota, we remain vigilant & on the ground in WMU 316, where one wolf stands in the way of yet another filled quota, and other WMUs in the surrounding area, where quotas remain non-existent.

The top of this ridge is where we found the gut pile.

Weather in the Yellowstone area is still allowing hunters to pursue elk migrating from the park, so our patrols have remained in effect. No new wolves have been reported killed in patrolled areas, but we are watching areas we strongly believe wolves and hunters might collide.

This morning it was five below zero, with a wind chill of twenty below. We’re not leaving. Elk season is allowing for a larger number of hunters in the migratory corridor for this northern elk herd, and any of them could have a wolf tag in their pocket as well. There is only a “five wolves a day” limit in the area where this hunter shot his elk yesterday.

We just checked the illegal wolf trap that was left in the ground last night, after the hunt closed at 630pm, and it had been sprung by an unknown source. Our trail camera did not capture the source. As we were checking the SD card an 1/8 mile away, wolves began howling! Also, as we walked to the trap site, a mature bald eagle landed just 20 ft from us. Look for video soon documenting the placement and checking of the trap by our monitored wolf trapper. We are headed to another area we know where wolf traps were in the ground to determine with a metal detector whether they are still illegally in the ground.