William E. Rideg, Kishenehn Wildlife Works, PO Box 701, Missoula, MT 59806, USA

A recently finished book, These Wolves in our Woods, is a vivid account of wolves natural history of Montana. The foundation of this volume is one rich in history, painstakingly archiving how wolves were all but exterminated from the state. Chapters that follow investigate reports of documented wolf sightings, wolves that were trapped, and a cumulative look at wolves that were able to survive in rugged cores of wilderness during the early, and mid-1900's. Additional chapters reveal the struggle of one female wolf in the late 1970's would became the cornerstone for wolves recolinization of the Glacier Park region.

The book also closely examines wolf dispersals, formations of new packs, and the subsequent structure of wolf packs in Montana from 1986 to current day pack activity. This chapter also touches on interspecies relationships, and how predators adjust to other predator in the forests. One chapter explores the issues surrroundeing livestock depredation: why wolves sometimes choose domestic over wild prey; how Animal Damage Control operates; the science of a necropsy. Also I uncover how wolves have affected hunters in Montana. A look at attitude towards wolves, and the effect on the prey base that both utilize.

Finally, the book touches on compensation and the future of wolves in the state. I have detailed all the livestock depredations from 1980, and show brief histories of each case, and the compensation afforded to the livestock owner. In addition, what modern day techniques are being utilized in efforts to keep wolves alive in the future.