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Email: timberwolfinfonetwork@gmail.com
Email: timberwolfinfonetwork@gmail.com

3 wolf packs frequent the Foothills

3 wolf packs frequent the Foothills

Predators follow deer and elk heading to Boise

————–
Rocky Barker
The Idaho Statesman

Three packs of wolves are living within 30 miles of Boise so itýs no
surprise to federal wolf managers that people are reporting the predators
in the Boise Foothills. Officials are getting scattered reports of wolves
above Lucky Peak and around the Foothills as deer and elk migrate from the
mountains to the Boise area, said Carter Niemeyer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Idaho wolf recovery coordinator. There have not been complaints about the
wolves and officials have not attempted to confirm their presence.

“We couldnýt begin to have the man hours to follow up every report,” he
said.

Wolves have been seasonal visitors to the Foothills, following their prey
to their winter range at least since 1999, federal officials believe. They
have been confirmed south and west of the city for the last five years as
the wolf population has rapidly grown since 1995.

Today, the state has more than 370 wolves protected by special federal
rules in place when 35 wolves were brought into the state from Canada in
1995 and 1996. Federal officials are considering removing wolves from
protection under the federal Endangered Species Act and returning control
to the states.

Holding up that plan is Wyoming, which refused to meet the minimum
standards for protection required by federal biologists. The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service said earlier this month Idaho and Montana wolf plans met
their standards.

Steve Huffaker, director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, told
the Senate Resources and Environment Committee Tuesday the state is
prepared to manage wolves. The state plan would allow hunting and allow
game managers to kill wolves that are harming game herds.

Biologists for the Nez Perce tribe, which monitors wolves in Idaho, and
the Fish and Wildlife Service have confirmed three packs of wolves in the
backcountry around Idaho City. Two wolves were killed last year in Mores
Creek Summit and Crooked Creek area.

The federal agency is seeking information regarding the wolf killings.
Contact law enforcement agents at (208) 378-5333.

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