May 19, 2010 in Idaho

Idaho Fish and Game to weigh traps, bait in wolf hunts

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Liberalizing hunting methods for wolves – including the use of traps, bait and electronic calls – will be discussed at the Idaho Fish and Game Commission meeting Thursday.

The use of bait, traps and electronic calls could help hunters fill their wolf tags in hard-to-hunt areas, said Ed Mitchell, a Fish and Game spokesman. But the idea is drawing fire from Defenders of Wildlife, which questions whether Idaho has enough wolves to hunt in the first place.

Trapping and baiting led to wolves’ extermination from the Northern Rockies in the early 1900s, said Jesse Timberlake, a conservation associate with Defenders of Wildlife’s Boise office.

“We’re very worried that they’re steamrolling ahead, without taking time to consider whether the methods are ethical and allow for fair chase,” Timberlake said. “The hunting community’s standards say that animals must have a fair chance.”

The seven-member Fish and Game Commission isn’t expected to make a decision Thursday. But action is expected before the August meeting, where the commission will set wolf quotas for the next season, said Ed Mitchell, a Fish and Game spokesman.

Idaho’s first public wolf hunt in decades ended on March 31, with 188 wolves killed. Some areas, such as the Lolo zone, had low hunter success rates. Only 13 of the zone’s 27 allowed wolves were taken.

State wildlife managers want to cull the Lolo’s wolf population to protect declining elk herds. Last week, Idaho Fish and Game announced that outfitters would be allowed to kill 20 more wolves in the Lolo zone.

Mitchell said that bait, traps and electronic calls would increase success rates in hard-to-hunt areas.

“It’s not singling wolves out,” he said. “We have for a long time allowed electronic calls for cougars in the Lolo zone.”

Electronic calls simulate the sound of a prey animal, such as a rabbit or elk calf. They’re used to attract predators to the scene.

Idaho hunters can also set up bait stations in the spring to attract bears.

“If there’s going to be a hunt, we’re very concerned about baiting,” said Defenders of Wildlife’s Timberlake.

Baiting carries the risk of habituated wolves – those that associate food smells with people and lose their instinctive fear of humans, he said.

Timberlake also said that traps for wolves would also be a danger for domestic dogs.

The Defenders of Wildlife was one of 14 environmental groups that sued the federal government last year over the decision to take Idaho and Montana wolves off the Endangered Species List.

A hearing date for oral arguments is set for June 15.

Four comments on this story so far. Add yours!

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  Kadah on May 27 at 3:15 p.m.

  L David Mech, pro-wolf advocate, scientist, has made it very clear that in order to hold the wolf population stable, 70% of the increase in population must be killed each year. That’s just to hold the population stable. Idaho has close to 7 times the number of wolves agreed to when wolves were introduced. Wolves are deciminating Idaho ungulate herds. Defenders of Wildlife doesn’t care about ungulate herds or wolves; the wolves are but a tool to drive ranchers off public grazing; DoW has made this goal very clear. DoW has made millions, at taxpayer expense, suing the government and collecting legal fees. These people wouldn’t know “conservation” or “management” if it hit them between the eyes with the force of a 2X4! The same DoW that claims traps will ensnare dogs, also claims that pet owners should keep their pets kenneled at all times so they aren’t killed by wolves. So which is it DoW? You speak with forked tongue!

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  gingerpepper on May 28 at 11:45 a.m.

  kadah, you have forked brain!! You cite one name, as though he is the ultimate authority, scientist, on wolves. There are many more opinions that don’t agree with you regarding the killing, hunting, poisoning, trapping of animals, ergo wolves. Instead of proving your point, argument, you attack Defenders of Wildlife. You pull ideas out of context, further proving your ignorance or lack of real information, then use them to inflate your position. Managing wildlife means letting nature do its thing without mankind imposing its cruel tactics to protect it profits. come on we are talking about cattle grazing on our land (tax payers), that is leased to ranchers so they can profit, at the expense of nature. If we continue with the philosophy of profiting off of our natural resources, we will have nothing left for our children to sustain them and their children. Killing is not always the answer, and should be the last resort. It is a war against nature and we will lose. Poisoning to kill wildlife puts domestic animals in danger, as has already happened. Try being a bit more creative in life instead of just complaining. You are just another far right (albeit religious) hater that is splintering this country with backward notions of how things should be according to you.

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  respectnature25 on May 29 at 12:37 p.m.

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  It’s 2010 and time to stop demonizing and persecuting wolves. The early European settlers brought their demonic fairly tales and church- inspired fear of the wolf to this pristine continent. Wolves were here on this land long before us. They are a vital part of America and the land. Native Americans lived with many thousands of wolves all around and they respected them. When will all the people of Idaho respect the wolf and let them be? To continue to demonize and persecute wolves is so incredibly wrong, cruel and obscene. I lived and worked in Yellowstone for awhile and lived in a tent in Alaska for awhile and worked up there. Do not dismiss me as a flatlander who knows nothing. I live in a rural state. I love and respect wildlife, including wolves, and trust the wisdom of nature. When will you? This summer, I will finally return to Yellowstone and will not set one foot in Idaho and will not visit that state again, until you stop your vicious and bestial hatred and killing of wolves. It’s 2010 and time to love and respect all of nature, including the beautiful and intelligent wolf.

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  cstoianoff on June 09 at 2:13 p.m.

  My father was a lumber contractor in Bonner’s Ferry. My mother taught school to the Nez Perce. I spent my early years in a play pen surrounded by bear and wolf cubs. I’ve been away from Idaho for many years but I can’t help feeling the people who live in Idaho today are a bunch of whimps and cry babies. They live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, particularly northern Idaho: its lakes are natural jewels. Its native fluara and fauna deserve to be preserved for future generations. Yet this generation of lawyers, free-grazers and sheep hearders are out to destroy it all. Hunting from Pipers and poisoning bait!! What a pathetic bunch!! Is this what America has to look forward to?? Is this what people in Afghanistan and Iraq are giving their lives for??