The Wolf Hunt Update

Hunters bag 3 wolves in first days of public hunt

by Associated Press

KTVB.COM

September 2, 2011

BOISE, Idaho -- A couple of Idaho hunters have already reported success in their quest to bag a wolf.
Idaho Fish and Game officials say three wolves have been killed since the season opened Tuesday.
One hunter bagged a black male wolf near Island Park in eastern Idaho on Tuesday.

Agency Spokesman Niels Nokkentved says a hunter roaming the backcountry near Warm Lake in central Idaho shot and killed two -- one female pup and an adult female.

He says all three were taken legally.
State rules give hunters 72 hours to report a wolf kill to the agency's regional offices.
Idaho is holding its second public hunt in the last three years as part of its effort to manage the state's growing wolf population.

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Wolves killed on behalf of John Peavey and Diane Josephy Peavey

By Ken Cole On September 2, 2011 

One of the wolves killed by Wildlife Services. Photo courtesy Natalie Ertz

John Peavey, a former Idaho politician, and Diane Josephy Peavey, a former commentator on Boise State Public Radio, who’s Flat Top Ranch near Carey, Idaho has reportedly received payments totaling $970,139 from 1995 through 2010 according to the Environmental Working Group’s Farm Subsidy Database, has received another subsidy in the form of 3 dead wolves.

On Wednesday , USDA Wildlife Services swooped in with their airplane, which was formerly decorated with stickers commemorating each wolf it killed, and shot down 3 wolves accused of killing a calf on John and Diane’s property. The scene was witnessed by wolf activist Natalie Ertz who related the story to the Idaho Mountain Express.

The alpha female has survived three kill orders and coyote traps over the last several years and six pups from her pack were found dead in 2009.  Their cause of death was never determined but a poison such as compound 1080, which may not have been detectable after a certain period of decomposition, remains a possible cause.

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Bowhunters May Hunt Wolves Starting Saturday

RAVALLI COUNTY

By Kevin Maki

September 2, 2011

UPDATED: 6:56 pm MDT September 2, 2011STEVENSVILLE, Mont. -- Archery season starts Saturday. Bowhunters will be hunting more than elk, deer and antelope.Wolves are off the Endangered Species List. Hunters may cull as many as 220 of the animals in Montana.The hunt has upset wolf advocates, but sportsmen are gearing up in a big way. Archers are getting their weapons adjusted at a Missoula sporting goods store.Workers are busy fine tuning scores of bows. Many elk and deer hunters have wolf tags."I'll try and get an elk," said bowhunter Mark Engwall. "If I see a wolf I'll try and get him." There should be a lot of bowhunters in the woods Saturday.Many say wolves have depleted wildlife in pockets of Montana. Ranchers have lost livestock.

Wolf populations have thrived."They're recovered," said Senator Jon Tester. We ought to be celebrating that. Now it's time to manage them."Tester said if we manage them it's good for wildlife, agriculture and the wolves.But Marc Cooke doesn't think so. He gestures to the Bitterroot Mountains, where plenty of wolves will be targets.Cooke thinks the state quota of 220 is a big number. His group, the National Wolfwatcher Coalition opposes the hunt."We don't believe it's being driven by the best available science," said Cooke. "We believe it's driven by special interest groups and politicians." 

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