Lets clear this question up:
Grey wolves are native to NORTHERN Canada, an area that is considerably colder than Idaho. The type of wolf that is native to Idaho is the Timber Wolf. In the 1990s, we thought the Timber wolf was extinct. People claimed they had seen them, but they were so shy and recluse, most didn't believe it. It wasn't until after the Grey wolf was introduced that we found out that our native wolf population WASN'T gone, they just weren't killing $2,000 cattle (That's $2,000 EACH).

After being introduced to a warmer climate, their population grew much faster than we expected. Not only that, but they are much more aggressive than the smaller Timber wolf, and actually DO target livestock. What people didn't do to the little Timber Wolf, the Grey wolf has pretty much finished, by pushing into their territory. Right now they are 5 times more populous than we thought they would be by this time. Understandably, this is freaking out livestock owners. But the same groups that made the agreement 15 years ago are going back on them, saying the wolves AREN'T ready to be delisted, even though they've far outreached expectations.

Next time you feel like making an educated comment, read PLAYING GOD IN YELLOWSTONE by ALSTON CHASE.

You people refer to "Letting the environment take care of itself." The problem Idaho has is its the 2nd most wild, forested state, second only to Alaska. Know what that means? WE ARE THE ENVIRONMENT! You cannot take Man out of the equation; you cannot tell one person not to live somewhere, not to use a patch of ground he OWNS just because YOU don't live there. What would happen if 50 wolves were dropped off in your neighborhood? How would you REALLY like to get a wolf for your birthday? And when it eats your dog? What then? Well, that's nothing compared to (not making this up) ONE $2,000 steer!

But here's the thing, Idaho has been cooperating with its wildlife for decades; we LOVE our forests. We take a LOT better care of the "environment" than nearly any other state. Because, hey, guess what? We DO care.

Fact: Hunters kept elk populations to reasonable numbers before some nutcase decided to give that job to wolves. I'm not saying, "Kill all the wolves!" and that is NOT what the officials are saying either; again, we love our wildlife (how many times do we have to repeat that?). But cutting down the numbers to a level we can actually manage is not a bad idea.

Do you know any hunters? Do you know any ranchers? I don't hunt, and I don't ranch, but I know people who do. Believe me or not, but you will NEVER find a greater lover of wildlife than a hunter. They aren't hicks, they aren't barbarians, they're just people loving nature their own way.

Want to understand a little about what outsiders (people who really have no clue about the balance of nature) have done to the Rockies? Read PLAYING GOD IN YELLOWSTONE by ALSTON CHASE. Taught me a lot.

77.
Mark Gamblin (IDFG) Says:
August 16, 2009 at 4:08 PM

" Lynn – in the Lolo and Sawtooth Zones the recent, sharp decline in elk productivity and recruitment I referred to is due to wolf predation of productive cows and their calves, not hunting mortality. The radio-telemety data we have for cows and calves in those zones gives us the fate of each collared elk and allows us to accurately estimate the wolf predation rate of cows and calves. Having good baseline data for these elk populations from previous years, including hunting harvest data, we can say with certainty that wolf predation has pushed elk production and recruitment in these two zones below levels that have required substantial reductions in the elk hunting opportunity that was allowable with essentially the same habitat when wolves were introduced. HOW we manage this new wildlife population dynamic (elk-wolf) and the necessary changes in public uses and benefits of those resources is of course our challenge. "

Call him yourselves, I told you this for years..

Hunt the wolves!!!!!!

I don't understand why people say that wolves have reduced the number of deer and elk. I have found a chart that says otherwhise and to my knowledge wolves have increased the population significantly. Type or copy this in and scroll down not happy then reply. www.treehugger.com Protect the wolves and save them too. I don't want a wolf dead on my birthday or I will be royally PO'd.

Even the playing field. We hunt deer and elk. Hunt wolves too. Wolves with be thinned and fear us just like deer and elk. It's a place to start.

What if we just let the ecosystem manage itself?

I finally find myself admitting that the wolf will affect my hunting this fall. No I do not hunt large ungulates, I do however hunt forest grouse with a bird dog. With the potential of hundreds of wolf tags sold there are bound to be a few idiots in the mix. I for one will not trust my dogs safety in the woods with these individuals.

hunters destroy herds by killing the fastest and the strongest. the wolves make them stronger by only killing the old and the weak.

It's nice we live in a place where wolves and airports are all we have to get worked up over.

Not that I endorse the same policy as some hunters, but there is so much insanity among the wolf lover side. Because of the zealots like Lynne Stone who fire their handguns illegally from the the road to "scare away" the Phantom Hill pack, hunters and those tired of the BS such as $2000/hr helicopters herding a wolf pack out of Blaine County suburbs will take appropriate and rational action. You figure it out. Randy is right and probably not saying as much as he knows. Even if there is a hunt, hundreds of hunters will rightfully "shoot poorly and shoot often". I don't blame them, the wolves are simply a back door agenda to destroy all hunting of big game by destroying the big game populations in Idaho. Resident Idahoans won't stand for it. And part timers who own Summer homes in Sun Valley and love their coffee table books about Canis Lupus can't do a thing about it. Their will be a hunt this year, no matter what. Still it will be years before the population of wolves is under control and decades before the Elk and Deer make a comeback.

Love the wolves? Buy some property, make a high fence enclosure for them and then habituate them to people by feeding and playing with them like pets. Then you too can publish your own coffee table book and be the next idiot who destroys an entire states ecosystem. I don't care who loves wolves or why, I think they should be hunted to the extreme and then some more. I prefer a strong tax base of hunting revenue and my vote reflects that. Hundreds of thousands of Idahoans agree with me and it seems Governor Otter understands this. I vote and I want to kill as many wolves as legally possible and I don't mind those who shoot, shovel and shutup (never meet any of those great people, but I support them;) Can't wait until September!

Wisconsin is now home to over 600 Timber wolves in 94 packs. They are not decimating the deer herds nor are they destroying the farmers way of life by eating all the cows. These are the same Timber wolves found in Canada and Idaho. The wildlife species we have reintroduced is the elk. It was wiped out by human hunters.

This is interesting. Im very concerned for him cuz he may end up in jail sometime in his life when he's caught poaching. Because im positive that if the wolves are kept delisted they will end up listed again because this management is such a disaster plan. plz save our wolves from people like him!

It would be interesting to know how many of the folks posting here actually live in (not just visit) wolf country? And if you really do live in wolf country, how has it changed your life? (I'm not talking about part-timers.)

Its about time they open a hunting season on wolves! Visit huntwolves.com for more information!

cj,Are you an expert on all areas?And what makes you think that everyone is rich and driving around in fancy cars.There are good hunters and for the rest comes the border line to bounty hunters.

If a Canadian enters the country illegaly is he or she legal to be here?Idaho has its own wolves why shoud they have to compeat?

They "manage" them in Canada, otherwise, "Scientists postulate that natural wolf-ungulate systems tend to stabilize at low numbers." www.srd.gov . Elsewhere in this website they state that to maintain a stable population of 4000 wolves they need 200,000 hoofed mammals to provide 30,000 prey animals every year for the wolves. In order to do this, they must "harvest" 1200 wolves a year. Otherwise, when they run out of prey, wolves start to fight and kill each other. Sounds like another familiar animal ... reproduces profusely ... murders each other for scarce resources ... maybe that's why we love them so much. Click on "Alberta's Wolf Management Plan" at the bottom of the above referenced page.

While all the beautiful people are filling up their beutiful SUVs with fuel, enjoying their beautiful homes(their own personal addition to the carbon footprint) and fighting the man to get spoon fed, cuz they just havent F* up Idaho enough. My educated and compassionate for Idaho compadres and I will finally be hunting the animal that you RE introduced that has completely thrown the deer and elk population out of balance. Hey maybe next you can RE introduce Buffalo or maybe we can genetically recreate primitive animals that the earth hasnt seen for 1000's of years and you can continue to have something to bitch about. Oh, and for all the replies I get....leave out the "your so ignorant" speech please, thats getting so redundant. Happy hunting fellow sportsman and be safe.

John,

This is a quote from forwolves.org

"When selecting wolves for release into Idaho, biologists selected populations in Canada that were already utilizing elk prey and were living in habitat similar to that of Idaho. This increased the suitability of these wolves for life in Idaho."

Everyone is an expert;hunters,wild life experts,everyone who claims that someone in their family is an expert,and politicians.Trust is hard to come by and it's hard to trust any of you.

It's amazing how much misinformation, fear and just plain ignorance has become part of our conventional wisdom about wolves here in the West. Seems like its time for us as regional residents to really examine the facts if we want to make informed decisions about wolves and their management.

Fact: We have roughly 1000 wolves in our state today according to IDFG. The Idaho wolf hunting plan calls for only 518 - 732 wolves in the state (Page 1)
fishandgame.idaho.gov Unfortunately, our state legislature can and does override IDFG's authority. The Idaho legislature's official state policy on wolves is House Joint Memorial No. 5. That memorial is referenced at the preface (page 4) of the Idaho wolf management plan (read online at: species.idaho.gov ) as the state's position on wolves. You can read it for yourself at www3.state.id.us

So, if Idaho's official position on wolves is "that wolf recovery efforts in Idaho be discontinued immediately, and wolves be removed by whatever means necessary", and the federal wolf delisting rule allows all but 150 wolves in Idaho to be killed before the federal government would consider relisting the species, (read the federal delisting plan online at www.fws.gov) isn't is pretty easy to understand why the wildlife conservationists would oppose the current wolf delisting plan? We don't manage any wildlife at such low population levels nor should we.

We need a rational, science-based wolf delisting plan that provides for a healthy, sustainable wolf population after federal protection is lifted. The current plan fails to do this. As regional residents, we should demand a better plan that moves this issue from arguments to resolution.

P.S. The argument that these are Canadian wolves and not native isn't factual. The Canadian border doesn't stop long ranging species like wolves, elk, eagles, or other species from crossing it. Wolves have walked on their own from Canada into central Idaho and back to northern Alberta within just a few months. This is another convential wisdom error that somehow being from north of an invisible border makes them a different subspecies. If you examine the historic records on wolf skulls and measurements, you'll find that some of the largest wolves in North America came from the Wyoming /Rockies range. The bison hunters were the biggest wolves. Fact is, these wolves are more indigenous than we are.

How totally ignorant: "If you Feds don't allow us to extirpate this species in Idaho, we (Idaho Fish & Game) will encourage hunters to break the law and do it anyway."

Oh, now that's a rational basis for wildlife management!

No wonder Idaho still has elk feedlots that promote the spread of disease...

I have an interesting observation. Four years ago at the Tin Cup trailhead in the Frank Church Wilderness I saw a wolf, wolf prints (big!) on the camp road and Loon Creek trail and wolf information signs at the trailhead. This year at the same place the wolf information signs were gone, no wolves seen and only one deer seen in the course of four days of backpacking up and down Loon Creek. I heard fewer branches breaking from ungulates in the brush than usual. I also saw fewer deer prints in the muddy areas around springs. Where'd they all go? Have the wolves already eaten up all the deer, elk, etc.? My observations are not scientific, but things seem different.

I feel safer sharing the trails and bike paths with wolves 12 months out of the year, than excitable blood sport enthusiasts all fall, winter and spring. Wolves are a lot pickier about their targets.

The thing that gets to me from all of this is that there is the incredibly odd factor that the best that most are willing to say in dealing with anything but the human race is to cull it's numbers. Deer, wolves, ducks, stray dogs, sharks, name ANY animal on this planet, and you'll find that it's far easier to kill it than deal with it.

I can use human's best friend as an example, we cherish, reward, and care for just as many dogs as we kill in shelters, breed for monetary gain, and will abandon. An animal that we directly had a hand in with respect to it's evolution into different breeds, and yet, ultimately a "disposable" and let's face it, replaceable animal. I love dogs, all animals actually and support many organizations that protect both wild and domesticated animals.

My point being for any one of us with the mindset to be as responsible as possible whether a hunter or wildlife advocate, there are people on both sides that are so afraid of having a "right" taken away, that we become less than thinking people and become zealots.

The world is a changing place, and the only species that is really expanding is us. And we will KEEP expanding, and with each generation, looking for a place to call our own. Where does that leave the rest of our animal neighbors? When do we stop? Since when does a paltry population of a few thousand animals even begin to constitute a viable breeding population? We need to understand the social organizations, the ways that animals will roam, to better live with them.

Wolf hunting is absolutely neccessary to control the population and it is absolutely the right of the state and the resident of that state to be able to manage wolves.

If your going to hunt wolves this fall be sure to chekc out

www.huntwolves.com

Happy hunting!

It's because they're black right?

There was a reason why the wolf was hunted before. They kill livestock,deer,and elk that people eat. Very few people eat wolf meat. Contrary to what Mr Dutcher tells you they do kill for fun. He would like you all to believe he is an "expert" on wolves. My two uncles, Olaus and Aldolph Maurie, who were world authorities on wolves would laugh him right out of town. Mr Budge's comments are entirely appropriate. There needs to be a season for control. A lot of you "locals" were not here when there was not abundant populations of elk and deer. If the wolf population is allowed to grow it will be that way again.

I really love the wolf in Idaho. It brings out the true person in all of us and everyone of us is either black or white on the topic. I can't wait for the hunt and the longer it gets put off the bigger the slaughter will be. But the only reason it will be an ugly hunt is because of the court system that man has set up has made us all angry and now people like Randy Budge are speaking out. We are all to blame for this one.

First,This wolf is a Canadian wolf and not a species that was indigenous to Idaho.Special interest groups have made this non-indigenous species the poster child to further their agenda which has nothing to do with having a balanced ecosystem.
Why should this non-indigenous transplant take precedent over our naturally occurring animal species?

I wish we could turn back two hundred years when the animals habitat was unlimited but unfortunately we have manipulated the landscape to a point that some species will have difficulty coexisting in today's world.
The Canadian wolf in the northwest is such a species.

I am emphatically opposed to the killing of wolves. They are an important part of our ecology. I feel Commissioner Randy Budge's comments were unwise at best. His comments sound as though he is resigned to the fact of wolves being hunted rather than spending him time trying to find a way to manage the problem (which I don't think it is) responsibly.

This article states there are approx. 1650 wolves in the tri-state area, it does not state how this number constitutes a problem. We have to remember as we build and expand we are encroaching on "their" territory. There has to be a way to co-exist with these animals. Killing them just because they are carnivores is ridiculous. There are many other animals in our forests that can cause damage to humans when crossed, especially with their young but we don't hunt them to near extinction because they are herbivores and we view them as less of a threat. When is the human race gonna wake up and realize we are the threat?