Horn hunter encounters pack of nine wolves

Local hunting guide Aaron Wages has seen wolves while working in Alaska.

Just two weeks ago while horn hunting in northern Boundary County, Wages saw his first Idaho wolves - a pack of nine that ran up on his black Labrador retriever.

“The dog didn't really care. He was thinking they were other dogs,” the Moyie Springs man said. “I hollered for the dog to come to me and yelled at the wolves to run them off.”

“I've seen lots of wolves before (in Alaska), but never in a pack,” he said.

Wages preferred not to give the exact location of where he spotted the wolves since he was searching for elk, deer and moose sheds.

Officials with Idaho Department of Fish and Game a few weeks ago confirmed there are three named wolf packs in Boundary County. One pack is in the Queen Mountain area; another is the Solomon Lake Pack, and the third is the Calder Mountain Pack.

Protected by the Endangered Species Act for 13 years, wolves were recently delisted. Under the delisting rule, the states would assume management of wolves on March 28.

Idaho Fish and Game would like to establish a wolf season that runs from Aug. 30 to March 31. Hunters could buy over-the-counter tags from $9.50 to $11.50. A quota would be established and anybody that harvests a wolf would need to report it within 24 hours.

Several environmental groups have said they will fight the delisting.

Fish and Game officials have said they do not know the population of wolves in the county, but don't believe much wildlife has been lost.

Greg Johnson, senior conservation officer for Idaho Fish and Game in Bonners Ferry, noted the biggest threat to wildlife is loss of habitat due to development.

“Habitat loss is a much bigger concern for us,” Johnson said. “Most of our lower elevation habitat is in the winter range. A high percent is on private lands. As we lose winter range, we lose that development.”

“Right now wolves are on the radar screen, but as far as impact on big game animals, we haven't seen that,” he continued.

Wages said he's been seeing more wolf tracks and hears about wolf sightings.

“I would like to see a wolf hunting season,” he said. “I think we've got the numbers to do it.”

Wages also stumbled upon a dead deer while horn hunting up north.

“I assumed it was killed by something,” he said. “There were wolf tracks.”