Area wildlife manager favors wolf hunting season

Jim Hayden is all for hunting wolves, but remains pessimistic about it happening in Idaho.

That's because environmental groups plan to sue if delisting of wolves continues, Hayden told about 40 people during a recent Idaho Department of Fish and Game meeting in Bonners Ferry. Hayden is the agency's wildlife manager for the Panhandle Region

Gray wolves in the Northern Rockies will be removed from the endangered species list following a 13-year restoration effort that has seen the animal's population soar.

Eleven conservation groups, however, have notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that it violated the Endangered Species Act by removing gray wolves from the endangered species list, according to a published report.

Under the delisting rule, the states would assume management of wolves on March 28.

“You have a predator problem,” Hayden said during his stop in Bonners Ferry.

There are three named packs in Boundary County, but Hayden said he did not have an accurate count on the number of wolves.

One pack is in the Queen Mountain area; another is the Solomon Lake Pack, and the third is the Calder Mountain Pack.

“We have several others we are sure are packs,” Hayden said. “The annual report is that Idaho has 753 wolves. Are there 1,000? Could be. Wolves are just tough to get a good number on.”

Idaho Fish and Game would like to establish a wolf season that runs from Aug. 30 to March 31, Hayden said. Hunters could buy over-the-counter tags from $9.50 to $11.50. A quota would be established and anybody that harvest a wolf has 24 hours to report it to game officials.

As for the loss of wildlife in Boundary County due to wolves, Hayden noted “it happens, but not much.”

“I don't hear as much (about it) up here,” he said.

An estimated 1,500 wolves now roam Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. That represents a dramatic turnaround for a predator that was largely exterminated in the United States by the early 20th century.

Plans submitted by Idaho, Montana and Wyoming indicate the states will likely maintain between 900 and 1250 wolves for the foreseeable future, according the Associated Press.