At the end of the day Wednesday, March 31, Idaho’s first regulated wolf season closes statewide.

The season already has closed in seven of 12 wolf zones, and as of March 29, hunters have taken 185 wolves. The harvest limit is 220.

“The season has succeeded in halting the growth of Idaho’s wolf population,” Fish and Game Director Cal Groen said. “It showed that Fish and Game is capable of monitoring and managing a well-regulated wolf hunt.”

The hunt also showed that fears of wholesale slaughter of wolves were unfounded, Groen said. Hunters exhibited good compliance with the rules and with check-in and call-in requirements.

Idaho Fish and Game set wolf harvest limits for each of 12 management zones. The season closes in each zone when the limit for that zone is reached, or when the statewide limit of 220 wolves is reached.

Idaho Fish and Game sold 26,428 wolf tags in 2009 – 25,744 resident and 684 nonresident tags.

Harvested wolves ranged in size from 54 to 127 pounds – males averaged 100 pounds, and females averaged 79 pounds. Of the wolves taken, 58 percent were male, and 15 percent were juveniles less than one year old.

About 86 percent of the wolves harvested were taken by resident hunters. Twelve of the wolves checked in were wearing radio collars.

Most wolves were shot in October and the fewest in January. Two wolves were taken in the Southern Idaho zone, and 49 were taken in the Sawtooth zone.

At the end of 2009, Idaho had a minimum of 843 wolves in 94 packs, and 49 packs are considered breeding pairs. The average pack size was 7.8 wolves. A total of 142 wolves are radio-collared.

In addition to hunter harvest, 138 wolves were killed in livestock depredation control actions and from other causes.

For more information on the wolf hunt in Idaho, visit the Fish and Game wolf management Web page: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/wolf/.

Hunters who want to pursue wolves after December 31, are reminded they will need a 2010 wolf tag.

And all hunters need a 2010 Idaho hunting license to hunt in the New Year.
Wolf hunt rules allow a hunter to take only one wolf per calendar year. Hunters who shoot a wolf between January 1 and March 31, 2010, will not be able to hunt wolves again until 2011.

Wolf hunting seasons already have closed in four wolf management zones where harvest limits have been reached. The season closed December 18 in the Palouse-Hells Canyon zone, November 17 in the Dworshak-Elk City zone, November 9 in the McCall-Weiser zone, and November 2 in the Upper Snake zone.

Elsewhere in the state wolf seasons remain open. But two additional zones are nearing their harvest limits. In the Southern Mountains, with a limit of 10, nine have been killed, leaving one wolf, and in the Middle Fork zone, with a limit of 17, hunters have taken 15, leaving two more wolves until that zone closes.

Wolf hunters are reminded to check the harvest limit in the wolf hunting zones they intend to hunt. Idaho Department of Fish and Game set wolf harvest limits by 12 zones. The season closes in each zone when the limit for that zone is reached, or when the statewide limit of 220 wolves is reached, or on March 31, whichever comes first.

As of Wednesday, December 30, the statewide hunter harvest was at 136 wolves.
To find out whether a zone is open, call 877-872-3190. The Fish and Game wolf harvest Web page is updated less frequently, but provides a zone map and other useful information: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/wolf/quota.cfm.

Wolf hunters are required by state law to report within 24 hours of harvesting a wolf and then must present the hide and skull to a Fish and Game conservation officer or regional office within five days.

To report a wolf kill, call 877-872-3190 toll free.

As a reminder to all hunters and anglers, they need a new, 2010 Idaho license to hunt or fish on January 1.

Wolf hunters have taken four wolves as of Monday, November 30, in the Palouse-Hells Canyon zone in north Idaho where the limit is five wolves, leaving one wolf until that zone closes.

The zone includes big game management units 8, 8A, 11, 11A, 13 and 18.

Three other zones already have closed. The wolf season closed November 17 in the Dworshak-Elk City zone, on November 9 in the McCall-Weiser zone in west central Idaho, and on November 2 in the Upper Snake zone in eastern Idaho.

Elsewhere in the state wolf seasons remain open.

Wolf hunters are reminded to check the harvest limit in the wolf hunting zones they intend to hunt. Idaho Department of Fish and Game set wolf harvest limits by 12 zones.

The wolf season has been extended to March 31, 2010. Hunters who pursue wolves after December 31, however, need a 2010 wolf tag and hunting license. Seasons remain open until March 31 or until the limit for a wolf management zone is reached, or when the statewide limit of 220 wolves is reached, whichever comes first.

As of Monday, November 30, the statewide hunter harvest was at 114 wolves. Harvest information is updated as soon as it is reported.

To find out whether a zone is open, call 877-872-3190. The Fish and Game wolf harvest Webpage is updated less frequently, but provides a zone map and other useful information: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/wolf/quota.cfm.

Wolf hunters are required by state law to report within 24 hours of harvesting a wolf and then must present the hide and skull to a Fish and Game conservation officer or regional office within five days.

To report a wolf kill, call 877-872-3190 toll free. The information on the report is essential to Idaho wolf management.

Well a few months ago it was confirmed that wolves moved into Oregon. the Oregon Wolf Program is headed up by Russ Morgan of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

You can find out about the status of wolves in Oregon at the ODFW Wolf Webpage.  The latest press release details a depredation that occured in Eastern Oregon

September 5, 2009

BAKER CITY, Ore.—Two problem wolves involved in five separate incidents of livestock depredation in the Keating Valley area were killed in Baker County this morning by USDA Wildlife Services.

 ODFW authorized Wildlife Services to kill the wolves on Saturday, Aug. 29 after both agencies investigated and confirmed the last two depredation incidents at a private ranch in the Keating Valley area of Baker County.

The first incident occurred the evening of April 9, 2009 and the last occurred the evening of Aug. 27, 2009 on the same ranch. ODFW and Wildlife Services documented the loss of 29 domestic animals in the five separate incidents, all of which occurred on private property. Four of the five incidents occurred on one ranch and the fifth occurred at an adjacent ranch.

Evidence including bite marks and other wounds on the livestock, track sizes, the wolves’ historic use of the area and the style of the depredation itself confirmed that the same two wolves were involved in all of the livestock losses.

After the first incident, ODFW, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Defenders of Wildlife and the landowners worked together to try non-lethal measures to keep the wolves from killing livestock again. Those measures included radio-collaring one of the wolves so they could be monitored, installing fladry (flagged fencing that can be a wolf deterrent), using a radio-activated-guard box that makes noise when a radio collar approaches, double-penning livestock, keeping livestock near homes at night, burying carcass piles and using guard dogs.

ODFW hazed the wolves out of the Keating Valley area multiple times with an airplane or helicopter and also used cracker shells (noise making devices) to discourage them from remaining in the Keating Valley area around livestock operations.

“Under Oregon’s Wolf Conservation and Management Plan our first response to wolf-livestock conflict is to use non-lethal measures to deter the wolves,” said Russ Morgan, ODFW wolf coordinator. “If non-lethal efforts are ineffective, then lethal measures are taken. It’s unfortunate that we got to this step but these wolves continued to kill livestock despite our many efforts to keep them out of trouble. We cannot allow chronic losses to continue.”

Wolves in Oregon are protected and listed under the state’s Endangered Species Act. Wolves are also protected by the federal Endangered Species Act west of highways 395/78/95.

The state’s Wolf Conservation and Management Plan provides livestock producers and wildlife managers with specific tools to manage any wolf depredation. Ranchers may not shoot a wolf without a permit, even when it is in the act of attacking their livestock. The rancher that experienced four out of the five depredations had tried non-lethal measures to deter the wolves and ODFW and Wildlife Services had documented his continued losses. Because of this, he was given a permit to kill the wolves should they return to his ranch and be caught attacking his livestock again.

The two wolves that were killed were yearling animals and never bred. Their genetics link them to Idaho wolves, but it is not clear if they were born in Oregon or dispersed to Oregon from Idaho. For unknown reasons, the wolves were on their own at a young age, which could have contributed to their inability to survive on wild animals rather than livestock.

ODFW is currently monitoring two wolf packs in Wallowa County. In July, two pups were observed with one of the packs, marking the second confirmed instance of wolf reproduction in Oregon. Besides these two packs, other wolves continue to disperse into Oregon from Idaho.

If you have seen a wolf or wolf sign contact Russ Morgan the Wolf Coordinator for ODFW.  GPS coordinates and as many other details as possible will help determine the true number of wolves in the state. Track size, stride, direction of travel, scat location, etc. is all valuable informatin and may allow more wolves to be collared. 

With enough information, Oregon will be able to truly manage the wolves sooner

Here is Russ Morgan’s info:
541-963-2138 Ex.231
Russ.L.Morgan@state.or.us

September 1st was the opening of Wolf season in some areas of Idaho. The following story from the Idaho Statesman tells about the first two successful hunters in Idaho’s inagural wolf season.

The Story at Idaho Statesman
By Rocky Barker – rbarker@idahostatesman.com
Two Idaho hunters shot wolves in opposite sides of the state opening the state’s first wolf season.
Robert Millage of Kamiah said he was surrounded by a pack of wolves before dawn and waited until light to call them with a hand call that sounded like a wounded coyote. The 80-pound female wolf came fast to him 25 yards before Millage shot her with his .243 rifle in the Lolo Zone.

“The whole area is lousy with them,” Millage said. “But I guess it was the luck of the draw.”

Meanwhile, shortly after sunrise archery hunter Jay Mize of Emmett walked out of his tent to see a wolf harassing his horse at Bull Trout Lake near Stanley. He walked back into his tent, put his rifle together and shot the wolf, said Jon Rachael, Idaho Department of Fish and Game wolf manager.

“He said he had bought a wolf tag but never planned to use it,” Rachael said. “He was going to have it framed.”

Millage went to Lewiston to show the animal to Fish and Game and to take it to a taxidermist.

“I figured I had complained so much in the last few years we didn’t have a season I thought I’d better go,” he said.

Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials reported few hunters and no action early Tuesday in the Idaho City and Lowman areas.

Other observers said there were few hunters in the Sawtooth Valley participating in a hunt that remains under a cloud of uncertainty as a federal judge in Montana decides whether to close it.

“We thought we’d cruise around and (see) if we could see any wolves,” said Boise hunter John Huddleston. “We really weren’t expecting to see anything.”

Huddleston, his son and another hunter drove to the Thorn Creek Butte Summit above the Middle Fork of the Boise River near Idaho City looking for wolves. Warden Matt O’Connell, who checked their tags, found fresh wolf tracks and scat on roads in the area.

“You guys are in the right ballpark,” O’Connell told them.

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy took under advisement a request by 13 environmental groups to stop the hunt while their lawsuit seeking to return wolves to the federal endangered species list is considered. Molloy said he would decide quickly.

Nearly 10,000 wolf tags were sold in Idaho so far. But hunting only began Tuesday in the Sawtooth Zone and from Boise up to the Sawtooth Valley and in the Lolo Zone in northcentral Idaho.

Idaho will allow 220 wolves out of a population of an estimated 1,000 wolves to be killed this year. Montana also has a wolf season with a 75-wolf limit.

Hunters already were waiting when Idaho Fish and Game started selling wolf tags at 10 a.m. Monday, August 24.

The first ticket at the Fish and Game headquarters was sold to John Dennis of Kuna. But the very first ticket, Monday morning, was sold to Adrienne Peterson at Jim’s Pawn Shop in Middleton.

A hunter may buy only one tag at a cost of $11.50 for residents and $186 for nonresidents. A tag is good for one wolf, which may be taken in any one of the 12 wolf hunt zones in Idaho.

Fish and Game had sold 1,825 wolf tags in the first hour. By mid-afternoon Monday, about 4,000 tags had been sold.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission earlier in August set a statewide wolf hunt limit of 220 wolves. When that number, spread over 12 wolf zones, is reached the hunt will end. There is no limit on the total number of tags sold.

Hunters can buy those tags at any Fish and Game office, license vendor, by telephone at 800-554-8685, or online at https://id.outdoorcentral.us/. The process is the same as buying a license or big game tag for other species, including deer, elk, black bear or mountain lion.

The hunter must have a valid 2009 Idaho hunting license to buy a tag. A printed brochure containing the 2009 wolf hunting rules and seasons is available from license vendors. The rules also are available on the Fish and Game Web site at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/wolf/.

Because of potential legal action, however, some hunters may be unable to hunt wolves for which they bought tags in Idaho. A request for an injunction has been filed with a U.S. District Court in Montana. If granted, the injunction would block the wolf hunt in Idaho.

The timing is still unknown.

If the wolf season is blocked before September 1, hunters who have bought a wolf tag would be eligible for a refund. If the season is blocked on or before October 9, hunters who can show in good faith they did not hunt may be eligible for a refund.

The hunter must submit a request for refund by December 31 on a Fish and Game form along with the original wolf tag. Requests received after December 31 would not be eligible for a refund.

This refund process applies to the 2009 wolf hunt season only.

All refunds will be for the amount paid for the tag. Refunds can be in the form of a check or an Idaho Fish and Game gift certificate. Requests must be submitted to: Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Wolf Tag Refund Request; P. O. Box 25; Boise, Idaho 83707.

The refund policy and refund request forms are available from Fish and Game and on the Fish and Game Web site at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/wolf/.

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission, Monday, August 17, set harvest limits for Idaho’s first public wolf hunting season this fall.

Fish and Game models indicate Idaho now has at least 1,000 wolves. The population increases at a rate of about 20 percent a year, without hunting.

The commissioners adopted a strategy that would help meet the state’s wolf population objective, as outlined in the 2008 Idaho Wolf Population Management Plan.

Hunters will be allowed to take up to 220 wolves this fall and winter. Wolf tags go on sale at 10 a.m. August 24, at all license vendors. A resident tag costs $11.75, and a nonresident tag costs $186.

One of the commission’s top considerations is retaining state management of Idaho’s growing wolf population. Idaho has an approved wolf management plan, developed with public involvement. The plan was approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and found acceptable by a federal judge.

The commissioners’ decision is consistent with the population goals set out in the plan.

In 1995 and 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service introduced 35 wolves to central Idaho. Since then they have increased in numbers and expanded their distribution.

Fish and Game has a responsibility to manage those wolves in balance with their prey and their habitat – just as the agency manages other fish and wildlife species. As with other species, hunting seasons on wolves would be part of managing the population.

A wolf hunting season gives Idaho Fish and Game an opportunity to learn how public hunting fits into managing wolves. As Fish and Game learns how effective regulated hunting is, seasons can be adjusted in areas where wolves are causing unacceptable problems for big game herds or domestic livestock.

Wolf managers will use the harvest limits the same way already used effectively with other species that Fish and Game manages. When limits are reached, the season ends.

The commissioners set harvest limits for each of the state’s 12 wolf management zones. When the limit is reached in a zone, the season would close in that zone.

Commissioners want to manage the wolf population toward the 2005 level of 520 wolves through regulated hunting (five-times higher than the federal recovery goal). The 2005 wolf population figure was used as a target number because wolf conflicts both with wildlife and livestock increased significantly that year.

Wolves in Idaho and Montana were removed from the endangered species list in May and have been managed under state law since then. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s rule delisting wolves, however, faces challenges in federal court. The outcome of those challenges could affect Idaho wolf hunting season.

For 2009 wolf seasons and rules go to the Fish and Game Web site: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/hunt/wolf/wolfrules.pdf. A printed brochure will be available at license vendors when tags go on sale August 24

I received this e-mail of a picture taken last spring of 2008, when the State of Wyoming opened season on wolves.  It is interesting to hear the perspective of a Wyoming resident on the hunting of wolves.

First two wolves of the first five wolves (shot legally) near Pinedale and Big Piney, Wyoming after the season for wolves was opened up. I would venture to say they are ‘just a little bit bigger’ than the local coyotes! These were caught, with two others, in a calving pen, killing livestock…..not eating the livestock, just killing it.

I’m thinkin’ my 340 Weatherby isn’t too much gun for one of these critters….. fortunately the wolves I saw on Wanda’s place weren’t near this size…… they were 3x the size of our coyotes,though…..these guys have been eating really well! Acutally, eating TOO WELL! It’s no wonder the elk and moose calves only have a 20% chance of making it to 6 months old in the Yellowstone area with thesebig boys around! Amazingly, the Colorado Division of Wildlife has requested anyone catching a wolf or wolverine in a leg hold trap to”please try to release it alive”……. that could be a pretty goodtrick! I was expecting much smaller wolves to be in the ‘not safe for wolves zone’ …… wonder how big the wolves are that ran these two out of the ‘safe zone’? 

Dont think I want to snowshoe or cross country ski in Wyoming anymore……. expect to see these critters in Colorado pretty soon….coming to a favorite deer or elk haunt near you!

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed delisting gray wolves in Idaho and Montana, but not Wyoming, in a ruling that may take effect in late February.

Officials expect the proposed ruling to be published in the Federal Register January 27. It would take effect 30 days after that. But the new Obama administration could delay the publishing or the effective date.

When delisting takes effect, Idaho would again take over managing wolves under state law adopted in 2008 and under a wolf population management plan also adopted last year.

“Our plan is to manage wolves as we do other big game,” Fish and Game Director Cal Groen said. “Once wolves are removed from the endangered species list, Idaho would actively manage the population and not let them return to the list and federal control.”

Fish and Game would apply the same professional wildlife management practices to wolves as it has applied to all big game species, which all have recovered from low populations during the early 1900s, he said.

Wolves were all but extirpated by the 1930s in Idaho. They were declared endangered in 1974, and a federal recovery effort brought 35 wolves to central Idaho in 1995 and 1996. Wolf population numbers have grown steadily since then.

Fish and Game has embraced the recovery efforts and has applied its expertise in big game management to gray wolves. Based on the Legislature’s 2002 Wolf Conservation Plan, Fish and Game biologists developed a wolf population management plan, adopted by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission in March 2008.

For information contact Fish and Game Deputy Director Jim Unsworth at 208-334-3771. The Fish and U.S. Wildlife Service delisting documents are available at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/wildlife/wolves/.

Last winter Biologists confirmed a grey wolf in Eastern Oregon near Joseph.  The source: Idaho’s reintroduced wolves.  So it only seemed natural that Washington state would be next.  The Cascade mountains are a remote location where a pack could establish without much human contact. 

As the grey wolf is removed from the federal endangered species list, it will certainly be interesting to see how the state management in Washington is similar or different in Washington State than Idaho or Wyoming.  With the majority of it’s population being urban and on the Western side if the Cascades there will more than likely be more preservation pressure in Washington state than in the more rural Idaho and Wyoming. 

I will keep an eye on new developments.  Until then, here is a news release from Washington Fish and wildlife:

7/14/08

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) biologists believe a gray wolf pack may exist in western Okanogan County, based on results of a howling survey there July 8.

During the recent survey-initiated in response to reports of wolf sightings, reports of howling and remote-camera photos of possible wolves-biologists heard multiple vocalizations indicating adult and juvenile wolves were in the area. The biologists visited several locations making wolf-like howls, and heard multiple adult and juvenile howls in response.
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