Wolf Season extended

[BPKHunter]

From Fish and Game website:


The Idaho Fish and Game Commission on Thursday, March 28, extended the current wolf hunting season in the Middle Fork and part of the Dworshak-Elk City wolf management zones.

The commission extended the wolf hunting season through June 30 in the Middle Fork units 20A, 26 and 27 and in the part of the Dworshak-Elk-City Unit 16 north of the Selway River. These seasons were scheduled to end March 31.

Most other hunting and trapping seasons closed March 31, except hunting seasons in the Lolo and Selway zones, which also run through the end of June.

As of April 1, hunters had killed 192 wolves and trappers 114 for a total of 306 wolves. Last year, hunters and trappers killed 379 wolves.

For information see http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/wildlife/wolves/.

Unfortunately the wolves are getting smarter or we aren't trying as hard.

 

[rmanwill]

Nice, hopefully they get to their objective number. I keep hoping that they will extend it in the northern panhandle units where we bear hunt, but has not happened yet.

Keep thinking about trying to change units and hunt bear in the middle upper parts on a two bear unit where the wolf hunt stays open through June. Just hard to change units after doing well and spending years in a unit learning the unit and the bears.

However, two bear tags and a wolf tag in your pocket while hunting would be sweet. Never know what will show up while in the outdoors!!!

 

[huntfishfeed]

I know I personally didn't try quite as hard. Not that I didn't want to, I just couldn't. I wish they would have extended it state wide to help pick up some slack. At least they killed a handful in the sawtooths!

An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life. -Robert Heinlein

 

[Yoyak]

I think they are getting smarter. I saw a lot of people out looking for wolves compared to prior years.
I think if we ever want to keep their populations in check there needs to be a year round season, like coyotes.
www.pure-elevation.com

 

[BPKHunter]

I get the sense that the wolves, being smart, have learned to stay farther back away from the roads and away from people. I hope this will give the deer/elk some buffer.

Fish and Game has successfully modified the original structure a few times and will probably continue to do so, but at a slow pace to avoid making it easy for the anti crowd to jump in. Not that they need a reason of course.

Hopefully in a few years we won't need a tag. I wonder how many people have opportunities and simply didn't pick up a tag.

 

[idelkslayer]

You are right that the IDFG has to make small incremental adjustment to avoid the antis jumping in. Remember in 2009 when the season was extended and the antis cried about the danger it presented to pups in their den.

I think we will see more liberal seasons and increased trapping opportunity as we go forward.

The fact that overall harvest is down can mean that we are having an impact and getting the numbers under control. The latest report for 2012 shows fewer wolves and more packs but that they are in smaller packs.

Unfortunately in one of my hunting areas, more than double the amount of wolves were killed this year indicating that the population may be growing there but hopefully the hunting has made an impact there too.

I think we will always have to buy tags to hunt wolves just because the IDFG needs the money to track and monitor the wolves.

 

[BPKHunter]

Would be nice if they could replace the wolf tag with a Predator Control Stamp, required by all hunting license buyers. Could be only a $1 or $1.50 maybe and bring in same revenue maybe, but then anyone licensed can take up to say 2 wolves per year. Make it mandatory to have inspected by F&G within X days.

We are still a few years from an idea like this. We would have to show that populations are stable enough to justify biologically. Fact is these predators are too smart to get whiped out by anything other than helicopters, poison, or a nuclear bomb.

 

[Yoyak]

I would like to see successful wolf hunters put in for a special elk or deer tag like a super tag* or something. I know there are a lot of details to work out with that and the anti's would hate that the F&G is incentivizing wolf harvest. But ultimately that is what we need, a little extra motivation. I know I'd be out every weekend chasing wolves if it meant I could draw a tag that I would otherwise have a slim chance of drawing.

*Obviously the problem with it being a super tag would be a wolf killed in Northern Idaho won't do much for the game herds in southern Idaho where most super tag hunters head to hunt. So it might have to be a regional thing.

Unfortunately areas with high wolf numbers don't usually have great trophy tags to motivate people...shocking coincidence I know.

Just an idea though...

www.pure-elevation.com