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Idaho Wolves To Be Hunted Soon… Hopefully

Wolves are a hot button topic here in Idaho right now and the title of this post is sure to cause a stir, but I aint skeerd.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) has released its proposed hunting regulations for wolves in Idaho. As in Montana and Wyoming, Idaho now manages wolf populations through the 2008 Idaho Wolf Population Management Plan, approved in March by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who delisted wolves as a federally endangered species in March 2008. However, many anti hunting groups, have filed a suits in court to overturn the delisting and transferred management decisions that would impact an estimated 1,500 wolves in the Northern Rockies bio region. According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, approximately 800 wolves presently inhabit Idaho’s back-country. With high emotions on both sides of this issue, it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

I myself have seen many wolves while hunting and guiding over the past few years. More than I would like to see personally. Although they are pretty cool to watch and hear them howling at night, I feel that it should be a treat to see one instead of a common thing. They have affected ranchers, hunters, outfitters and especially elk in an amazingly short period of time, and the impact they have on moose is astonishing. In the area that I hunt, I haven’t seen a moose in years. I am eagerly waiting for the chance to turn the tables and hunt them. Hopefully we’ll have some wolf hunting outfitters in our directories soon.

A friend of mine who is an avid hound hunter sent the following email and photos to me the other day.

Idaho wolves“This weekends bear hunt consisted of dodging wolves. The hounds survived, but have a few more hunts to come. These are pictures of three of the seven wolves we saw on Sunday, June 8, 2008. This bitch had six healthy puppies, this is ONE female, now factor in all the other “breeding pairs” in the Island Park area.”
Mike P.

Wolf pups

For more information about IDFG’s wolf hunting rules, seasons, and quotas, please reference the Fish and Game website at Idaho Fish and Game. Please submit comments on the proposed regulations in person at the regional public meetings, at the IDFG website, or by mail to the regional IDFG offices or to Wolf Hunting Rules, Idaho Fish and Game, P.O. Box 25, Boise, Idaho 83707.