Rich Landers: Wolf management plans being scrutinized

Wolves are dragging Idaho and Washington fish and wildlife commissions out of the closet.

These citizen panels, which make policy for the state fish and wildlife agencies, conduct business that generally draws an audience from hunting and fishing communities.

But the removal of wolves from the endangered species list has brought national interests – and their lawyers – to watch commissions wrestling with state wolf management plans.

The spotlight is on, and so is the heat.

Idaho’s Fish and Game Department has scheduled public meetings next week to gather public comment on commission-approved proposals for fall wolf hunting seasons. Reasonable people who have studied the situation understand some sort of wolf control has been going on since wolves were reintroduced, and the need to kill certain numbers of wolves will continue to be necessary.

Curiously, none of the Idaho public meetings is scheduled in Boise or the Sun Valley area.

Maybe there’s a good reason, but it smells like a snub of Idaho’s greatest concentrations of wolf lovers.

Strike one.

Wolves were the main item on the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission’s agenda for its meeting Saturday in Colville, a corner of the state in which county commissioners are openly intolerant of wolves moving into the region.

The way the weekend was orchestrated, commissioners dined and rubbed elbows in exclusive contact with an anti-wolf contingent of local officials one night. Then Saturday, several of the panelists put on a good show of wagging their wolf-wary fingers at the 17-member citizen’s advisory group that’s trying to hammer out a wolf management report from truly diverse points of view.

Strike two.

Commissioners had some good points. For instance, several emphasized that finding funding to compensate ranchers for wolf-killed livestock will be critical to maintaining public tolerance for wolves.

They identified the number of breeding pairs allowed before lethal management can begin as a crux in the fragile negotiations between livestock and wolf advocate groups.

But building the constituency to manage wolves and compensate people who suffer their impacts will be easier if the commission doesn’t strike out in the first inning of what’s going to be one hell of a game.

Thankless job: Several Colville-area men who gave public comments to the Fish and Wildlife Commission Saturday couldn’t help but make digs at state wildlife officials for not listening to their opinions about big-game hunting seasons.

What these hunters and businessmen really mean is they haven’t been getting what they want. That’s not the same as not being heard.

The rest of the meeting was a case in point.

As the state heads into preparing its three-year big-game management plan, the date for closing the late buck season in northeastern Washington has emerged as a contentious issue.

Ending the late buck hunt on the Sunday before Thanksgiving was advocated by several people during public comment. In recent years, the season has ended Nov. 19 – just before the peak of the rut – regardless of the day of the week to prevent pressure on big bucks during their most vulnerable period in the mating season.

Ray Clark, Colville sporting goods store owner, said closing the season midweek last fall was a blow to local businesses. Students go to school and adults have to work during the week, he said. They need more weekends to hunt.

Other hunters pointed out the last Sunday before Thanksgiving this year will be Nov. 23. Past experience has shown hunting that late into the rut can result in a slaughter of big bucks, especially if the hunt coincides with snowy weather.

The Chewelah-based Northeast Washington Wildlife Group recommended staying with the Nov. 19 date.

These differences of opinion, some minor and some profound, permeate just about every aspect of fish and wildlife management.

Citizens have the luxury of a disconnect between their desires and the job of perpetuating fish and wildlife.

One hunter said all sportsmen should be able to buy archery, muzzleloader and modern rifle deer and elk tags in a single season. Another hunter said he wanted Washington to grow more big bucks and bull elk.

Some people said they want no wolves in Washington, but about 75 percent of state residents recently polled favor wolf recovery.

Several people said hunting seasons should favor businesses to boost local economies. Others contend healthy wildlife populations are the agency’s top priority.

By the end of the commission’s public comment period, a few audience members were starting to see the big picture through the eyes of a professional wildlife manager.

“We all want more deer and more big bucks but also a longer season so we can kill more of them – it doesn’t add up,” said John Magart of Chewelah.

“You can see the difficulty we face,” said Jerry Gutzwiler, commission chairman from Wenatchee.