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PABLO - The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes will use lethal control, if deemed necessary, as part of its wolf management plan. The goal of the plan provides for the long-term presence of wolves on the Reservation while also working to minimize conflicts between wolves and humans.

The Tribal Council approved a policy supporting the cultural and ecological significance of wolves.

Wolf population management will depend heavily upon wolf behavior and the amount of conflict with other wildlife, livestock and people. If there are few or no conflicts with a higher population of wolves on the Reservation, no excessive effort to reduce the wolf population will occur.

However, if limited numbers of wolves occur on the Reservation, and if those wolves repeatedly kill livestock, or if excessive numbers of big game or other wildlife species are documented as killed by wolves, lethal control may be implemented.

"The Plan states that livestock growers may also take problem wolves that are attempting to kill or are observed feeding on livestock that the wolves have recently killed under specific guidelines," said Tribal Wildlife Biologist Stacy Courville.

Courville said if a rancher or farmer sees a wolf stalking livestock or domestic animals the plan allows for the killing of the wolf and requires the immediate notification of the Tribal Wildlife Management Program by calling Tribal Dispatch.

The plan relies upon close cooperation between Tribal Wildlife Management Program staff and wildlife managers of other state and federal agencies that also manage wolves to monitor populations of wolves and big game and livestock conflicts.

To view the management plan, log on to http://www.cskt.org/tr/docs/fwrc_WolfManagmentPlan.7.29.09.Final.pdf