“SALMON, Idaho, July 28 (Reuters) – Idaho will open its wolf
population, now estimated at about 1,000 animals, to extensive hunting and trapping to reduce their numbers to no fewer than
150 under a plan approved on Thursday by the state Fish and
Game Commission.
The move came after a heated public hearing Wednesday night
in Salmon, where wolf foes declared war on the iconic predators
with rhetoric describing Idaho as locked in a “wolf crisis” and
as one of three “wolf-occupied states” in the Northern Rockies,
along with Montana and Wyoming.
Wolves have been at the center of a bitter debate since
they were reintroduced to the region in the mid-1990s over the
objections of ranchers and commercial outfitters who said
wolves would prey on cattle and compete with hunters for elk.
The plan to cut the wolf population in Idaho comes just
three months after wolves in Idaho and Montana were stripped of
federal protections under the Endangered Species Act through an
unprecedented act of Congress.
Removal from the U.S. endangered species list turned
control of those wolves over to state wildlife agencies, now
free to set hunting seasons as a way of reducing wolf numbers
to levels they see as better balanced with human interests.
In Montana, wildlife managers earlier this month set a
statewide quota of 220 wolves — out of an estimated population
of 566 — for its wolf hunts, which will generally run from
September to November.
Idaho’s commissioners, by comparison, approved a plan that
sets no quota for a combination of hunting and trapping that
will be allowed for most of the year in most of the state,
beginning next month.
However, Idaho would bar wolf numbers statewide from
falling in any given year below the 150 minimum necessary to
prevent federal re-listing of them.
The action in Idaho comes as a federal judge in Montana is
poised to rule on a lawsuit by environmental groups challenging
the de-listing of wolves in both states earlier this year.
DUELING NUMBERS
The commissioners said their aim is to lower the number of
conflicts between wolves and livestock in the state and to end
wolf-caused declines of elk in some parts of Idaho where
outfitters have complained they are losing clients because of
unsuccessful hunts for elk and other big game.
Still, a recent survey by state wildlife managers shows elk
populations exceed or meet biologists’ objectives in the vast
majority of Idaho’s hunting areas. Another study by wildlife
managers shows Idaho wolves killed 148 cows in 2010, out of a
total 2.2 million head of cattle in the state.
Idaho game commissioners characterized their plan as a good
starting point, with future plans to include wolf trapping and
killing by designated state agents and by landowners.
“We will increase the tools in the toolbox and use all
legal mechanisms to solve the problem,” commission chairman
Tony McDermott told wolf opponents on Wednesday night. “We’re
on the same page and we’ll get it done.”
At the meeting Thursday in Salmon, commissioners also cut
the price of non-resident wolf hunting tags statewide from
about $186 to $31.75 as an incentive to out-of-state hunters.
Wildlife advocates on Thursday vowed to launch a boycott of
Idaho, its potatoes and its outfitters.
“The word is getting out that this is basically a wolf-hate
state,” Idaho wolf activist Lynne Stone said. “I think this is
going to be a big hit to the image of Idaho and further hurt
our economy.”
(Editing by Steve Gorman and Peter Bohan)
**Thanks to Laura Zuckerman, Reuters, for providing this information!
The Wolf Preservation Blog 
I will no longer purchase ANYTHING made from Idaho nor will I spend any monies there on vacation anymore. There is no excuse for this – absolutely none!!! Idaho is no long known for their potatoes and beauty – it has not become known for it’s hatred of wolves and murder.
Human males who are preoccupied with displays of strength that indicate their genetic suitability are often trying to compensate for an inadequacy. This applies to hunters, who rather than simply hunting for meat, are more interested in “trophy animals” or a huge mounted rack of antlers. Domination plays a key role in hunting (note the importance of size in trophy animals) and especially in rodeo, where virtually every event involves throwing animals to the ground, tying them up, and keeping them immobilized. These displays of dominance are intended, however unconsciously, to impress available females and competing males.
(Stephen R. Kellert, Ph.D and Alan R. Felthous, MD)
“Violent acts toward animals have long been recognized as indicators of a violent psychopathology that doesn’t confine itself to animals. Studies have now convinced sociologists, lawmakers and the courts that acts of cruelty toward animals deserve our attention. They can be the first sign of a violent pathology that includes humans.”
The Psychology of Abuse, Neal D. Barnard, M.D.
There is a substantial scientific literature linking aggressiveness toward animals and aggressiveness toward people. When psychologists interview violent criminals, for example, they often find a history of cruelty to animals.
Cattle ranchers justify their activities by calling themselves “environmentalists,” and hunters do so by calling themselves “conservationists.”