Bonners Ferry Local Guide including all of Boundary County Idaho

Wolf population continues to grow in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho

Tuesday, March 20, 2007; KBCI

The number of wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming continues to grow, with federal officials saying the three states had at least 13-hundred wolves at the end of 2006. Ed Bangs is wolf recovery coordinator for the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service. He says he can't see room for any more -- but he adds, ''We'll see.'' The wolf population has, on average, grown by about 26 percent a year for the past decade. The reports of livestock being killed by wolves have also increased, along with the number of wolves killed after livestock attacks. The latest federal report says there are at least 316 wolves in Montana, 311 in Wyoming and 673 in Idaho. Bangs says the wolf population will eventually level off, and will likely decrease once state agencies take over management of the predators. - Full Story