Dan MacNulty
@DanMacnulty
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Ecologist, Professor, Utah State University
Logan, Utah
Joined February 2022
Explore the science behind the headline in our open-access article here:
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RT @WyoFile: A bill that would deregulate killing of mountain lions and mandate trapping throughout the state stems from concerns over stru….
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Two bills seeking to roughly halve Montana’s wolf population pass out of committee. HB 222 and HB 176 seek to reduce Montana’s wolf population by expanding the hunting season and lifting hunting and trapping limits.
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Bills seek to ramp up wolf killing in Montana.
missoulacurrent.com
The two of first three wolf bills heard in the 2025 Legislature would mandate more drastic measures in order to drive Montana’s wolf population down.
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The challenge with managing for the minimum number of wolves is that it requires accurate & precise population estimates, which brings attention back to FWP's controversial iPOM model. Curiously, H.B. 176 mandates that FWP continue using the iPOM model.
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
A clear connection between basic research and applied management is often missing or difficult to discern. We present a case study of integration of basic research with applied management for...
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Key detail from yesterday's hearing is that MT FWP equates 450 wolves with 15 breeding pairs, which is the minimum number of breeding pairs MT must maintain to avoid triggering a status review by USFWS & potential relisting, as per the 2009 delisting rule:
www.federalregister.gov
Under the authority of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act), we, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), identify a distinct population segment (DPS) of the gray wolf (Canis...
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Montana seeks to cap its wolf population at 450. House Bill 176 proposes several measures to reduce wolf numbers when the population is at or above 450, including allowing a single hunter to kill an unlimited number of wolves. Hearing: today, 3 PM MST.
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RT @WyoFile: BREAKING: Grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the Lower 48 will stay protected under the Endangered Species….
wyofile.com
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials also propose modifying recovery zones and managing the population as a single entity.
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New paper by John Benson et al. in @ESAEcology explores the drivers of group cohesion in social canids. Cohesion varies widely, shaped by life history, prey, group size, and humans. In wolves, it declines as pack size grows or human disturbance increases.
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Much appreciate @SoSeaEmerald for helping the public understand our recent @ESAMonographs paper, debunking the myth that fear of wolves drives aspen recovery in @YellowstoneNPS. The lead image features another wily canid—the coyote.
southseattleemerald.org
There's an old saying: "Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story." This weekend's read is the truth behind a really good story about habitat recovery in Yellowstone National Park. In case...
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One pack in our study grew to over 20 wolves, including 11 pups—an impressive size for such an extreme environment. In this photo, it numbered at least 27, underscoring the remarkable productivity of this polar desert ecosystem.
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Our new paper offers rare insights into the ecology of wolves in the High Arctic. GPS tracking revealed relatively high wolf densities, year-round territories, and likely sustainable muskox predation—but also potential risks to endangered Peary caribou.
wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Wolves in a productive area of Canada's High Arctic remain on territories year-round at densities similar to populations farther south, primarily preying on muskoxen and Arctic hares. The high...
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RT @blairmiller: Following adoption of new regulations, Montana settles with conservation groups that sued to shorten wolf trapping season….
dailymontanan.com
The State of Montana and the parties involved in a lawsuit that shortened Montana’s wolf trapping season in the western two-thirds of the state to reduce the chance that threatened grizzly bears...
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Grizzly bears vanished from Utah a century ago. They could return soon. Grizzly bears in Wyoming are expanding their normal ranges, bringing outlier bears closer to Utah’s border.
www.sltrib.com
Grizzly bears are creeping closer to the Wyoming border and could return to Utah within the next decade.
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News that Montana hunters killed up to eight wolves from Yellowstone's 8-Mile Pack shortly after they crossed the park's northern boundary underscores the reality illustrated by this cartoon.
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Fifth wolf killed in unit north of Yellowstone National Park despite quota. All five wolves taken from single Yellowstone pack, three others missing.
wyofile.com
All five wolves taken from single Yellowstone pack, three others missing.
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Why is the Yellowstone "landscape of fear" story so entrenched? In Effective Conservation Science: Data Not Dogma, Emma Marris suggests it's partly because humans are suckers for a good story.
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Our recent paper in @ESAMonographs challenges the textbook story that fear of wolves drives a trophic cascade in northern Yellowstone. Read the monograph for the science and the news story for the 'skirmish'. Monograph: News story:
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RT @VoyaWolfProject: This fascinating video shows a wolf stalking and then killing a beaver in April—an exceptionally rare thing to catch o….
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3/ Montana hunters killed a fifth wolf from the 8-Mile Pack as it crossed outside the northern boundary of Yellowstone National Park on October 24. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks “believes this wolf was unknowingly wounded” when hunters fired on the pack.
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