Montana FWP study finds multiple factors in wolf-elk relations

Multiyear Montana study shows the relationships between elk and wolves are not simple-

FWP study finds multiple factors in wolf-elk relations. By Rob Chaney. Missoulian

Nowhere are data adequate to ‘scientifically’ assign cause(s) for any declines that may occur,” author-biologists Kenneth Hamlin and Julie Cunningham wrote in their conclusion.”

However, this conclusion certainly does not mean that wolves do not affect elk in many ways, as do wolves and bear together, and each other as well.

The effect of wolves also varies in different parts of Montana despite there being similar densities of wolves, e.g., NW Montana versus SW Montana and Yellowstone.

This is an important study and you can read the 95 page report and/or save as a pdf file.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Shoots Wild Bull Bison in Idaho

BFC‘s Press Release :

Buffalo Bull © Ken Cole

ISLAND PARK, IDAHO: Federal agents with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture shot and killed a bull bison this afternoon. The bull had migrated to the area from Yellowstone National Park and was grazing to the south of Twin Creek, near the Nature Conservancy’s Flat Ranch property.

According to Buffalo Field Campaign Habitat Coordinator Darrell Geist, who witnessed the shooting, “This is part of the bison’s historic migration. For the past several years we’ve seen bison attempt to access their native habitat in Idaho only to be met with a bullet. As today’s shooting makes perfectly clear, Idaho shares Montana’s intolerance for native bison.”