Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 83 INTERVIEW WITH TY SMUCKER WOLF MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST, MONTANA FISH, WILDLIFE & PARKS TY SMUCKER is a Wolf Management Specialist with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, responsible for monitoring and managing wolves in North-Central Montana, east of the Continental Divide. Ty has lived in Montana for over 20 years and has been involved in monitoring wolves for over 15 years. He completed his Master's in Wildlife Biology at the University of Montana in 2007. As a wildlife professional, Ty is most interested in understanding predator-prey interactions, monitoring and man- aging populations, and resolving human-wildlife conflicts. He lives on a small farm near Freezeout Lake, with a view of the Rocky Mountain Front, and enjoys exploring Montana's public lands and waters with his family and friends. In Yellowstone National Park, the primary mortality source is being killed by other wolves. When this happens there, it is viewed as a func- tion of the natural order of things; wolves defending their territories and resources from intruders. This is in stark contrast to the reactions we see when a Yellowstone wolf ventures out of the park and is shot. Similarly, seeing wolves or bears bring down an elk or bison in Yellowstone is exciting. Humans are fascinated by predation! Looking 30 years ahead, we could lose wolf hunting and trapping as a management tool, due to change in public opinion. Wolves have ex- panded into Washington, Oregon, and now California. These states have rural areas with many of the same wildlife issues we face in Montana, but they also have larger, more urban populations with diverse opin- ions on wildlife-related issues. Hunting and trapping of some species, including mountain lions, has been restricted or eliminated, and it will be interesting to see how they deal with increasing wolf populations. BASED ON TODAY'S TRENDS, HOW DO YOU THINK ATTITUDES WILL HAVE CHANGED TOWARD WOLVES IN 2050? Recent surveys showed that although tolerance of wolves in Montana was relatively low (<30%), it increased slightly over just five years with their public hunting and trapping. These surveys also showed increased satisfaction with wolf hunting regulations among hunters and landown- ers. Management of wolves will continue to be a contentious issue in Montana. Many of the differences in opinions regarding wolves and wolf management are deeply ingrained and likely to persist. IF YOU WERE LOOKING BACK IN TIME FROM THE YEAR 2050, WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU WISH WE COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY WITH OUR WOLF POPULATIONS? Honestly, after much reflection, I would say that the reintroduction of translocated wolves in the Northern Rockies by the federal govern- ment may not have been the best path to their recovery and accep- tance in the West. Given their reproductive and dispersal capabilities, and how they have repopulated the landscape over the past 25 years, it is very likely that we would have about the same number with roughly the same distribution throughout the Northern Rockies, regardless of whether reintroduction occurred. The population naturally expanded to over 4,000 in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan; it ap- pears that wolves are perfectly capable of recovering their populations. On the flip side, wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone provided a mas- sive boost to visitation and the local tourism economy, at a time when elk numbers had been way above carrying capacity for far too long, re- sulting in significant habitat degradation and high elk mortality rates during harsh winters. Considering the tremendous effort that went into exterminating predators in Yellowstone, it does seem appropriate to have reconciled the past by bringing wolves back to the park. Having a healthy wolf population in Yellowstone alone, though, does not constitute a recovered, self-sustaining population in the West. Reintroducing wolves to central Idaho may have been less justified and has been more controversial. However, in the context of recovering a viable, connected wolf population in the Northern Rockies, it made sense biologically. The long delay in delisting, due to repeated legal challenges, likely did considerable damage to public attitudes toward wolves and other carnivores and increased animosity toward the federal government in the West. It will be very interesting to see how grizzly bear recov- ery moves toward delisting as populations continue to expand. CAN YOU MAKE ANY PREDICTIONS AS TO HOW TECHNOLOGY WILL HAVE CHANGED AND IMPROVED THE MANAGEMENT OF WOLF POPULATIONS IN MONTANA IN 2050? Twenty years ago, I was looking into using military-style drones for monitoring wildlife and habitat. I talked to one company that built drones for motion picture companies and was told they could probably build me a prototype for around a million dollars! Thanks to the highly competitive and innovative market for professional and consumer-level drones, this technology has advanced rapidly since then, and prices have dropped dramatically. Today I am a licensed small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle pilot with a drone that costs less than a decent pair of binoculars! Like GPS units, binoculars, cameras, tablets, and smartphones, drones are rapidly becoming another tool in the wildlife biologists' toolbox. I have used drones to count wolf pups at den and rendezvous sites, to count elk, deer, and bighorn sheep, as well as nests of various birds in marsh complexes. In combination with precise location data from GPS collars with satellite uplink capabilities, we can observe wolves by flying drones over potential kill sites or resting areas. Currently, there are several groups of researchers and engineers working on radio telemetry-capable drones to allow biologists to locate and observe radio-collared animals in real-time. In the future, propeller noise could be significantly reduced or eliminated to minimize potential disturbance to wildlife. If this happens, we could use drones equipped with dart guns to capture wildlife for research and monitor- ing, reducing the use of traps and snares. It is unlikely that wolves will change much over the next 30 years, provided they have space to continue doing their thing. New technolo- gy may allow us to collect data more efficiently, with greater detail, pre- cision, and accuracy, but many of the questions will essentially remain the same. I am hopeful that advances will also help with reducing livestock conflicts with wolves and other large carnivores.

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