Idaho Wildlife Leaders Want Input on Proposed Wolf Kill
Boise, Idaho — Idaho Fish and Game commissioners want your thoughts on a proposal to kill up to 80 wolves they say are eating too many elk.
The commission will seek permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to hunt wolves in part of the Clearwater drainage, known as the Lolo Elk Zone. According to Fish and Game, about 100 wolves there have killed more than half of the adult female elk tracked since 2002, and 65 percent of the elk calves since late 2005. They want to thin wolf numbers from 100 to between 20 and 30.
Despite a federal judge’s recent decision to re-list gray wolves as endangered, Fish and Game officials say a rule under the Endangered Species Act allows for the removal of wolves in one of their 29 districts.
“The commission has put out a proposal that would allow for the removal of many of those wolves in order to give the elk population is that particular area some relief,” said Fish and Game spokesman Michael Keckler.
The Fish and Game commission has also agreed to appeal the federal judge’s ruling on gray wolves.