Idaho wants public input on plan to kill wolves
the Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho • Idaho wolf managers want to know what the public thinks about their plan to kill dozens in northcentral Idaho to help restore elk herds.
There are between 75 and 100 wolves around the Lolo elk hunting zone, one of 29 hunting zones the Idaho Department of Fish and Game manages.
The agency wants to cut the number of predators here to between 20 to 30 wolves for five years.
It thinks they’re eating too many elk.
Idaho must get the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s permission, after the public has weighed in.
More than 140 cow elk in the Lolo Zone have been radio-collared since 2002. More than half the elk that died were killed by wolves. Degraded habitat and natural mortality are also keeping elk numbers down.
Idaho had hoped to use hunting to cull wolves here, but would now likely use state and federal agents to kill them.
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Online:
To comment on the Fish and Game proposal over the next two weeks http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/public/.