EWISTON, Idaho (AP) — Four
more wolves have been killed near Elk City in an effort to push the
animals away from the small mountain town, officials said.
Elk City residents have complained for months about frequent wolf sightings and dogs and cattle being attacked by wolves. Idaho Department of Fish and Game supervisor Dave Cadwallader issued the kill permits to deputies shortly after Congress removed Endangered Species Act protections from Idaho and Montana wolves last May.
A total of five wolves have been killed. The first was shot by Idaho County deputies in late June.
Cadwallader told the Lewiston Tribune (http://bit.ly/pEt2Y3 ) that four other wolves were caught in foot-hold traps set by agents from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. State conservation officers and sheriff's deputies are helping check the remote traps because the federal agency is "so undermanned," Cadwallader said.
"The local guys are checking the traps on a daily basis," he said.
Cadwallader said Monday that even after the five wolves were killed, two large calves were attacked and killed within the Elk City township.
Elk City sits in one corner of a 36-square-mile township that is a mix of private property, state and federal land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. Cadwallader's order allows trappers, deputies and conservation officers to kill wolves until Aug. 29, just a few days before the state's wolf hunting season opens on Sept. 1.
"I didn't see any reason to continue the kill order once the season opens," he said.
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Information from: Lewiston Tribune
Elk City residents have complained for months about frequent wolf sightings and dogs and cattle being attacked by wolves. Idaho Department of Fish and Game supervisor Dave Cadwallader issued the kill permits to deputies shortly after Congress removed Endangered Species Act protections from Idaho and Montana wolves last May.
A total of five wolves have been killed. The first was shot by Idaho County deputies in late June.
Cadwallader told the Lewiston Tribune (http://bit.ly/pEt2Y3 ) that four other wolves were caught in foot-hold traps set by agents from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. State conservation officers and sheriff's deputies are helping check the remote traps because the federal agency is "so undermanned," Cadwallader said.
"The local guys are checking the traps on a daily basis," he said.
Cadwallader said Monday that even after the five wolves were killed, two large calves were attacked and killed within the Elk City township.
Elk City sits in one corner of a 36-square-mile township that is a mix of private property, state and federal land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. Cadwallader's order allows trappers, deputies and conservation officers to kill wolves until Aug. 29, just a few days before the state's wolf hunting season opens on Sept. 1.
"I didn't see any reason to continue the kill order once the season opens," he said.
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Information from: Lewiston Tribune
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