Wolf-caused depredations of Idaho livestock have dropped for the second consecutive year, wildlife officials say.

USDA Wildlife Services conducted 9.5% fewer investigations of livestock depredations and confirmed nearly 46% fewer as wolf-caused compared to a year earlier, state director Jared Hedelius told the Idaho Wolf Depredation Control Board Sept. 14.

Compared to two years ago, investigations have dropped by 24% and livestock depredations confirmed to be caused by wolves have fallen by 57.4%.

The board — funded by the state legislature, the Department of Fish and Game and the livestock industry — pays Wildlife Services to investigate livestock depredations and to control wolves. Lethal control actions require Fish and Game approval.

Wildlife Services from July 1, 2022, to last June 30 investigated 142 depredations and confirmed 46 as wolf-caused, Hedelius said. The agency lethally removed 28 wolves and collared 10 for tracking purposes.

Investigations during the fiscal year confirmed that 13 cows were killed and three were injured, 10 calves were killed and three were injured, and 62 sheep were killed, he said. The deaths of four calves and two sheep were determined to be probably caused by wolves.

Wildlife Services a year earlier investigated 157 depredations and confirmed 85 to be caused by wolves. Confirmed wolf-caused deaths included 30 cows, 33 calves and 191 sheep. The agency lethally removed 38 wolves and collared two.

Two years ago, 187 livestock deaths were investigated, with 108 confirmed to be wolf-caused.

Fish and Game in recent years has focused wolf trapping and hunting on areas where livestock depredation is chronic or elk populations lag management objectives.

Similarly, Wildlife Services returns to some of the same areas each year — a factor in confirmed depredations declining, along with “working these control actions in times of the year when we’re more successful,” Hedelius said.

Less activity was seen in spring and summer, he said.

The agency has “spent a significant amount of time in isolated areas,” Hedelius said. At the same time, “we’ve had confirmed wolf depredations in areas that we haven’t had for a while.”

The state legislature in 2021 increased allowed wolf take and authorized new methods, including hiring contractors. Senate Bill 1211 drew criticism from wolf advocates and prompted legal action by environmental groups.

The wolf board in June approved $50,000 for a pilot program under which it will reimburse ranchers for wolf-control actions on private property where livestock depredation is a problem.

The board Sept. 14 took under advisement three proposals, which would cost up to $78,000 combined, from rancher groups in the McCall-Cascade and Salmon areas, and eastern Idaho. The board is slated to consider the proposals again Sept. 27.

More detail is needed, including how funding would be spent and how project actions and achievements would be documented, members said. The board also wants to make sure the ranchers’ work complements existing board efforts.

“That is kind of the challenge here: What is the metric for success?” said Fish and Game Director Jim Fredericks, board co-chairman. A wolf taken in a lower-priority location likely should not be reimbursed at the same rate as one taken where depredations are more frequent, for example.

Some board members said the rancher groups could be paid partly upfront and partly as they show results.

If the board moves forward, it would work with the attorney general’s office to put together agreements and contracts, said state Department of Agriculture director Chanel Tewalt, who co-chairs the board.

Idaho had 1,337 wolves last summer, according to a Fish and Game estimate based on camera surveys and other analysis methods. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2009 Endangered Species Act Delisting Rule for the Northern Rockies called for about 500, and instructed the state to manage for at least 15 breeding pairs and 150 wolves in midwinter.

Total mortality in the July 1-June 30 fiscal year was 585 compared to 477 a year earlier and 485 two years earlier, according to Idaho Fish and Game.