Idaho wolf management

“Idaho asks for $408.000 to count wolves” (S-R, Jan. 30, 2020) “Expanded wolf hunting, trapping on the table” (S-R, Jan. 30, 2020)

Idaho Fish and Game is requesting the outrageous amount of $408,000 annually to count wolves! Also, some Idaho state senators want to create “wolf-free” zones, which obviously means that any wolf in a “wolf-free” zone can be killed on sight. What kind of wolf management is that?

By allowing year-round hunts in “wolf-free zones” using brutal tools like snares, wildlife officials put forward the usual show of cruel efficiency. In 2013 a group of citizens and livestock owners was organized under the title “The Wolf Advisory Group” to discuss interactions protocol on deterrents. The protocol stipulated a mandate that calls for at least two non-lethal deterrents to be put in place around grazing livestock to prevent wolf attacks.

Regrettably, some ranchers do not comply with this mandate, but rather leave it up to Idaho F&G to target and exterminate whole wolf packs. Instead of spending $408,000 just to count wolves, this money would be better spent investigating wolf kills and enforcing non-lethal deterrent compliance, like making sure that so-called range riders are really doing the job they are paid to do. After all, it was reported that some range riders were not anywhere near the range while being paid.

Cecilia Nolthenius

Coeur d’Alene