by ERIK FINK/Staff writer
The Silver Valley Sportsmen’s Association met Saturday morning for its annual Sportsmen’s Breakfast to discuss wolf harvesting in the Idaho Panhandle area.
Brad Corkill, Panhandle Commissioner for Fish and Game, started the conversation with an update of dates for the opening of trapping season. He said trapping season will run from Oct. 10 to March 15. He emphasized the need to regulate grey wolf populations to ensure elk populations stay healthy.
“It’s a good move,” Corkill said. “I was assured by several trappers that if the season was opened earlier, they would go in there and attempt to take some wolves out.”
Corkill wanted to make sure people know that he wants the elk herd in the area to keep its numbers high. He said he will do everything he can as commissioner to handle the wolf problem.
He also addressed the misconception that the elk population is fine because they are frequently seen by locals. Many times he said this is because the wolf population is forcing elk out of the forests and into the towns.
Tony McDermott, Director of Fundraising and Promotion of the Foundation for Wildlife Management, spoke further on the subject, saying he remembers hearing Corkill saying that he would be fine if every wolf in Idaho was gone.
McDermott said he appreciates the sentiment.
“The biggest resource mistake Idaho has ever made was the reintroduction of wolves,” McDermott said. “Idaho didn’t want wolves, but we didn’t have a choice. We got them stuffed down our throats by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and that was not a very good decision.”
McDermott said in the past there has been little incentive to get into trapping wolves because the reward for their pelts is considerably less than the resources required to catch them. He said eventually the foundation just started paying people to go out and trap so the work would get done. This strategy has proven successful, yielding a significant increase in wolf trappings, McDermott said.
Jack Hammock, member of the board for the Foundation for Wildlife Management, ended the discussion with a presentation of maps showing wolf population in the area. He said the panhandle area has harvested 42 males and 51 females, numbers considerably larger than anywhere else in the state. This is mainly due to the foundation reimbursing trappers more per wolf, Hammock said.