IDFG Wolf Depredation

[idmilhunter]

I thought this was interesting.

http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/apps/releases/view.cfm?NewsID=5328

So now that they are off of the endangered species list, shouldn't hunters be able to sign up for a wolf depredation, like they do with other big game?

 

[IDBoneCollector]

Not to bash the Idea, I wold more than love for every hunter to get a chance to kill as many wolves as possable in that particular situation the land/livestock owner and employees all had expressed permission from the state to kill any wolf they saw in the area and at best they might have only been able to kill two or three of them at the most. The state is able to be way more efficent at eradicating a proablem pack than us hunter can ever hope to be. The reason is they are able to use airplanes and radio equipment. They got 8 of the 9 wolves. all from the plane. I know all of this because the wolves were killing my buddys grandfathers cattle. I have actually got video of five of the wolves leaving the feedlot just before they called in the plane and smeared wolf brain all over the rocks lol it was a good day

 

[Yoyak]

I think the only reason they wouldn't do that is because us hunters probably couldn't kill the problem wolves fast enough. The feds can kill them from a helicopter quickly before they cause more problems.

 

[springbear]

Good points, however they dang well better consider these issues when developing the quotas and seasons. heck the wolf zones for that meatter.
The particular wolf zone that I frequent needs changed. Most of the wolves got shot up in the North Fork country, and rightly so, as there is a heathly up there. But the rest of the zone did not have a real good chance before the quota was met.

 

[backcountryID]

i don't think we'll have a wolf quota or zones much into the future. hunters just aren't efficient enough at harvesting them

 

[freebird63]

I believe there is a bill in the house that they want to bring the wolf population down to 150 statewide.

 

[destroyer350]

Is there a living, breathing Judge that would let this happen!!

 

[idmilhunter]

I agree that the helicopter method is more effective, but wouldn't most hunters that fill out the depredation sign ups like to receive a phone call or email about a landowner that is willing to let a few hunters come have a chance at depleting the wolves on their property. I mean most people are just hanging out in the winter itching to get back into the field and start the next season of hunting anyway.

This is the newest report that was done last month. I think it is interesting to see that the amount of wolves taken in 2008 had over doubled from the previous year. http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/wildlife/wolves/wklyReport/2010/jan.pdf
Page 4 of the report is a good time line of wolf kills and what they have done to domestic animals. The only other item I would like to see on this report is the amount of deer & elk they take from year to year.

 

[excaliber]

So far hunters have killed maybe close to 3% of the population if you believe the Wolf Numbers posted.
Right now they are increasing by 20-25%.


Wildlife services needs to do a fly by on all the zones and clean things up.

 

[fowladdict]

Where do you get 3%? Maybe I've misread, but they believe we have 850-1,000 wolves in Idaho and so far we've killed 162 (not counting those killed by F&G). That would be roughly 16 to 19%. If we have only killed 3% that means we have 5,400 wolves in Idaho. Just wondering where you got your numbers...somebody said 90% of numbers are made up on the spot.

 

[IDBoneCollector]

The numbers that the fish and game give out is said to be an estimate, they get that number from confirmed sightings and that number for wolves in Idaho has been just shy of 1000 wolves for alot of years now, the truth is no one actually knows how many wolves are in idaho but i am sure that number is very inacurate and is much more to say that their is 5400 wolves i believe is proabley a high number but 1 wolf in idaho is too many if you ask me, as for a depridation hunt, when a rancher is having troubles with wolves they usually do not want to have any more troubles with thoes wolves so let the feds do the good job they do at killing everyone of them rodents and not let me or you maybe get a shot at one and scare them off temporarly only to return and kill again. as for you people who want every oppertunity to kill a wolf just do it when you get a chance i dont know anyone who would turn you in for poaching a wolf drop and rot them rodents

 

[kicker]

I have a question. If there were 1,000 mule deer in Idaho you could go for years and never see a track. Why is it that I see wolf tracks/sign everywhere from Kooskia to Mtn. Home??? I don't believe the numbers they "estimate" are even close! There are a lot of wolves in Idaho.

 

[KamiahKid]

If anyone here believes the population numbers the F & G or any other agency are puting out on wolf numbers here in Idaho, you are drinking some form of Kool-Aid!


Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.

 

[springbear]

Why would F&G lie about their wolf population numbers?

I can see a few wolf lovers working for the agency or wolf haters as well, but by an large it would not be in the best interest of the state to mis-represent the wolf population.

Now, I do believe that there are more than 1000 wolves in Idaho. However, that is the best sciece and estimates that the F&G can come up with. It is all they have to work with, so they must report it that way.

 

[excaliber]

For starters......... Single wolves or pairs or whatever number of wolves are not counted unless they are part of a pack. To be counted at all a pack must have an Alpha pair that has mated and has 5 or 6 pups that live past December.

F&G has been saying the Population has been over 1000 Wolves for years now.

The population increases by 30% or more a year. I'd bet there are close to another 1000 they haven't found or counted.

That makes at least 2000. Now add 30% for the last few years and you have a better idea of how many Wolves are really here.

 

[springbear]

not sure your facts are straight excaiber..

I also note that these are "minimum" numbers..

Date: March 12, 2010
Contact: Ed Mitchell
(208) 334-3700



annual wolf report available


The 2009 annual summary of wolf recovery in Idaho is now available, and it shows wolf numbers are nearly the same as 2008.

The Idaho 2009 Wolf Conservation and Management Progress Report includes the current status of the wolf population in Idaho. Biologists documented 94 Idaho resident and border wolf packs at the end of 2009. The minimum population was estimated at 843 wolves. In 2008, the minimum population estimate was 856 wolves.

In addition, 20 documented border packs were counted for Montana, Wyoming and Washington that established territories overlapping the Idaho state boundary and likely spent some time in Idaho.

Of the 65 packs known to have reproduced, 49 packs qualified as breeding pairs by the end of the year. These 65 reproductive packs produced a minimum of 204 pups.

In Idaho, wolf packs ranged from the Canadian border south to Interstate 84, and from the Washington and Oregon borders east to the Montana and Wyoming borders. Dispersing wolves were occasionally reported in previously unoccupied areas.

Sixteen previously unknown packs were documented during 2009, but the overall net increase was only six documented packs in the state. During 2009, 343 wolf observations were reported on Fish and Game's Web site report form.

Biologists confirmed the deaths of 275 wolves in Idaho during 2009; three of those belonged to Montana packs and were addressed in that state's report. Of known wolf mortalities, hunter harvest accounted for 135 deaths and agency control and legal landowner take in response to wolf-livestock depredation accounted for 94 deaths.

Twenty wolf mortalities were attributed to other human causes, including illegal take. The cause of 24 wolf mortalities could not be determined and were listed as unknown, and two wolves died of natural causes.

The Idaho progress report is available online at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/wildlife/wolves/manage/.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Northern Rocky Mountain progress report, which includes reports from Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, is available at: http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/annualrpt09/index.html.

For questions or comments go to: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/inc/contact.cfm.

 

[excaliber]

"Of the 65 packs known to have reproduced, 49 packs qualified as breeding pairs by the end of the year. These 65 reproductive packs produced a minimum of 204 pups. "

It looks like they're still confused.
What were the qualifications for a pack?

What I stated above is how they classified wolves and packs.
Go back and take a look at rules pertaining to the introduction. What contitutes a pack is clearly laid out for everyone to see.

 

[excaliber]

"Further, according to the USFWS, there must also be agreement among the three states as to the definition of a wolf pack. States must cooperate on forming an agreement across the plans as to how many wolves and breeding pairs form a viable pack. Wyoming Game and Fish disagrees with Montana
14
and Idaho??s management plans on what constitutes a pack, thus further hindering implementation of a management plan since maintaining a specific number of ??packs?? is a core component of the wolf reintroduction policy under the ESA (Brown 2000)."

"Of 83 documented packs in 2007 (Table 2.2), 59 produced litters (200 pups) and 43 qualified as
breeding pairs (2 adults producing ??2 pups that survive until 31 December of that year)."

So what official parameters need to be meet to constitute a legal Wolf pack here in Idaho?
I think I was pretty close in my first post.

 

[thirtythirty]

The reason the Idaho Fish and Game lies (or badly under-estimates) about wolf population numbers is because of money. The more wolves there are, the less non-residents hunt here because of less game populations and thus,leading to less revenue. A regional manger recently told me (off the record) that there will be no way the wolves will be under control again because of special interest groups. There will litigation until the cows come home and by then the wolf population will have continued to increase exponentially. He conceded that it is probably too late and hunting in Idaho as we know it, will drastically change in the next decade.

Call this hyperbole, but they really screwed the pooch by helping to allow the Canadian Grey Wolf(a non-native species)into Idaho. I doubt my grandchildren will have a chance at a mature bull in Idaho.

30-30

P.S. How's that for depressing.