Estimated costs of maintaining a recovered wolf population in agricultural regions of Minnesota

• Published in: Wildlife Society bulletin 1998-12, Vol.26 (4), p.817-822
• Main Author: Mech, L.D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural management; Agricultural population; Agriculture; Comparative analysis; Cost control; Cost estimates; Costs; Endangered & extinct species; endangered species; Population control; Population estimates; predator control; Species Conservation and Management; Wilderness; Wildlife conservation; Wildlife management; wildlife recovery; Wolves
• ISSN: 0091-7648; 1938-5463

The annual costs of maintaining Minnesota gray wolves (Canis lupus), now numbering about 2,500, under 2 plans are compared: (1) maintaining a population of about 1,400 primarily in the wilderness and semi-wilderness as recommended by the Eastern Timber Wolf Recovery Plan, and (2) allowing wolves to continue colonizing agricultural areas for 5 years after removal from the endangered species list, as recommended by a consensus of wolf stakeholders (Minnesota Wolf Management Roundtable). Under the first plan, each year an estimated 27 farms would suffer livestock losses; wolves would kill about 3 dogs; 36 wolves would be destroyed; and the cost per wolf in the total population would be $86. Under the second plan, conservative estimates are that by the year 2005, there would be an estimated 3,500 wolves; each year 94-171 farms would suffer damage; wolves would kill 8-52 dogs; 109-438 wolves would have to be killed for depredation control; and the annual cost averaged over the total population would be $86 for each of the 1,438 wolves living primarily in the wilderness and an additional $197 for each wolf outside the wilderness.