Brian W. Thair.

Its best to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool, rather than to open it and remove all doubt.

There isn't a great deal of snowmobiling done in the Lolo zone. Not by any means. I live just a short drive away and what I can tell you is that wolves have over run the area. Two years ago I shot a 6x6 bull opening morning and within an hour after starting my packing job, wolves had moved in on the gut pile. Before that they were just waiting for me to move on. (kinda makes a fella nervous having to look over his shoulder all the time and watch those land gators) Now I wouldn't doubt that if nothing was done to control their(wolves) population it wouldn't be long before hungry animals decided to run you off your kill. Which wouldn't be a good scenario whilst you were elbows deep in a animal.

What little impact that snowmobiles have is probably so small that its not even measurable. (at least in the context in which you are implying) I don't have any statistics to back this only first hand account. The vast, and when I say vast, I mean VAST majority (like 99.9%) of the land isn't even close to used by snowmobiles. More animals are probably effected by the noise of the machine and the stress it causes them, rather than giving wolves a hunting avenue.

FYI wolves have big feet which distributes the load of their weight out over the surface of the snow allowing them to run on top of it, while the elks hooves punch through the snow.

I might add that Season in the Lolo zone has been extended to June 30, along with the Selway zone. So if anyone is itching to get a wolf there is still plenty of time =)

I'm glad to hear they are finally getting a handle on the wolves. I'm afraid it might take a long time for elk herds to get back to where they were. The damage would have been much less if not for the lawsuits from a very few meddlesome environmental organisations who hate hunting and hunters.

One should never forget all the harm they've caused. The Center for Biologic Diversity run by Kieren Suckling and Western Watersheds by Ralph Maughan. If they all found a new hobby we all might be better off.

Go Go Idaho!
I hope that Montana adopts this as policy.
Funny about all the outcry over the hunt before it happened, and now that it is over for the season, there seems to not be much dissent over it. Sort of like the buffalo hunt. Just put these tools in place, and let the bunny huggers go find something else to whine about.

Wonderful to see wildlife agencies helping the herds. Man, what I would pay to have that job.

It is great to see states bucking the status quo and taking wildlife management into their own hands. Good job Idaho!!! I cannot wait to move there one of these days.

As an idahoian and an elk hunter its great to see something done about the wolf population...good article LOVE haha

I can imagine that your elk herds have winter ranges.
Keep the snowmobiles out of there.
Wolves love the snowmobile crowd. Such lovely packed trails to move in quickly on elk foundering in snow.
Banging a bunch of woofs won't help enough until the sled heads get taught.

Well Greg I see you have no clue what you talking about so I well explain the facts to you. Your grossly ignorant comments are laughable. I just came back from wolf hunting. YOU WELL NEVER CONTROL WOLVES BY HUNTING. Only aerial hunting can have some effect. Trapping is the only way to control wolves. They put the wrong wolf in they put the largest most powerful wolves in the world with an average pack size of 11 wolves. The Yukon wolves. In Idaho the wolves are wiping out the elk herd there is huge section where the calf survival rate is 4 calves per 100 elk cows. None of these problems show up until the wolves did and the pixie dust fairy tale that wolves balance nature. Man balance nature. But Greg since you so clueless about wolves I well explain some more the Federal law says 100 wolves per state that is it not 1000 wolves per state. If you get off the couch and actually drive out there yourself you can learn about the diseases these vermin wolves are spreading to people. You have a long ways to go in your education on the facts I suggest you start reading Lobo Watch become a member or just tell the truth you are working with anti Hunters to help the wolves wipe out the elk herds so hunting well be close. If you have no clue hunting seasons are already being closed due to grossly ignorant fools believing in fairy tales that wolves are needed in an eco system that is a complete and utter fraud.

One F&G official stated that managing wolves is like "chasing shadows". Why can't these states learn from Montana and Wyoming. I am from OR and we are really getting it in the NE corner.

IDFG has been warned and warned by Scott Rockholm and Save Western Wildlife working tirelessly and w/o pay to bring this to the awareness of the public. As wolves are quite intelligent it is very difficult to "hunt" them. There were only supposed to be 100 wolves in the state to sustain other wildlife and there are well over a few thousand.

I honestly blame the Defenders of Wildlife (wolves) for this huge error in judgement and promotion. Yet they continue to stick their hand out for "more donations". What??

First, as much as I love this apex predator, the wolf, I cannot do it, and only one reason, a laughable one at this, I don't like flying! Well, I never been in one of those flying coffins and never plan to as long as I live. Second, I hate when there is an invasive species that I cannot eat. Boar, yes I will eat, I'd rather see the gray wolf in their actual habitat with a few being taken out of the pack to keep the elk and mule deer to prosper fully, even to see them in their native plains habitat. However, with the greedy politicians at Capitol Hill, that's almost impossible.

Too little too late boys and girls. Elk herds are declined to the point that its really hurting the hunting industry. The elk herds might rebound in a few years, but the hunting reputation will take alot longer. Also who do you think is paying for the helicopter rental, shooter to go after these wolves? What does a helicopter cost to rent?

Although IDF&G is doing something, it is not enough. This aerial gunning of 14 wolves comes only after years of sportsmen and women screaming to be heard and does little to tame the overpopulation of the introduced wolves. Sportsmen/women have been pleading for the state's wildlife agencies' help in protecting the ungulate populations - which are being wiped out by this transplant, invasive subspecies of wolf. The decimation of our native wildlife is one thing. Human safety is yet another. Wolves are continuously coming closer to humans. Recently a wolf was spotted, and recorded on camera, on a Kalispell, MT middle school campus. This is cause for alarm!! Maybe this will wake people up before something horrible happens, again, but here locally. These are just a couple reasons why strict wolf management needs to be under our State's control, not Federal - which was the original agreement. MT/ID/WY as states would manage the introduced wolves after the target number of wolves was reached (30 breeding pairs). Wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming are by no means 'endangered'. We are astronomically above the target number for the introduced wolves and still do not have a state controlled wolf management policy. The pro wolf people, along with National Geographic and Animal Planet, would love for everyone to think that these wolves belong here and are helping the ecosystem. Wrong. These particular wolves are a subspecies that were not native to these regions nor a part of the natural ecosystems. The problems we are facing today are man-made. The USFWS, F&G departments, conservationists and any other people/groups responsible for transplanting this invasive species need to be help accountable! An invasive species is usually not conducive to maintaining the ecosystem is takes over! I should also mention that these wolves are carrying and spreading Echinococcus granulosus (EG) tapeworm which can be transmitted to humans, domestic animals and plant-life (ie: huckleberries). Are our wildlife managers doing enough? I think not.

Glad to see something is being done about it. Something like this has been used. In South Dakota for coyote control, and I think they used a plane. Still, though the wolves would't do this if it weren't for the ones who put them there.

Obviously Greg, you don't live "with" the wolves that you speak so fondly of. If you did your tune would certainly change. The Feds and thereby the rest of America have unleashed hell upon my State of Idaho and our neighbor States, all so those like you can have your "wild" predator viewing areas. If it's wolves you want then by all means lobby your representatives to have them placed within your home fields and keep your ill-informed support out of mine!

I attended one of the first wolf meetings in Western Mt.Ed Bangs was the main speaker of almost a secret metting only a few ranchers were invited. I found out from a freind and we both took time of from work to attend.Mr. Bangs said the plan was to have 10 breeding pairs of wolves in each study area not in each State which would amount to 300 wolves total.At the time we already had wolves here around Deer Lodge Mt. Which the feds. denied for years till they killed 8 beef cows outside of town one night. After doing their analizes on the dead cows they finally agreed there were wolves here. At the meeting I said before you get 100 wolves in each of your study areas at the same time a total of 300 wolves. you will have wolves all over these 3 States. Ed Bangs comment to this was no the wolves are very teritorial and they stay where you put them.So I said if wolves stay where you put them why do we have wolves outside of town because you claim you never planted them in this area. He said well every once in a while they just get up and move.So I said where did these wolves move from, He said probally Canada which is 250 plus miles from here.So I said you really think we should beleive you when you tell us your wolves will stay in a study area.I hope Ed Bangs (head fed wolf biolgist) reads this and see's that his lies comeback to haunt you.One thing that Ed did say after the meeting that might be true is that by hunting them you break up the pack stucture and they now breed like coyotes.So instead of having one breeding pair per pack you now have many of the females getting bred which makes the population sky rocket. They could put a bounty on wolves and never kill them all.They are almost as elusive as a cougar. I agree that yes they are one of Gods creatures and they deserve a place on this earth.But there numbers need to be controlled to protect the other wildlife and ranchers livlyhood My feelings are there numbers should be the same as a wolverine they aren't endangered but you rareley even see a track.Good luck Minn. with your wolf hunt You have such a great force of all your small sportsman groups in almost every town, you need to all join together and start making noise instead of letting the bunny huggers have it there way.BECAUSE it is not there way of saving the wolf it is there goal to eliminate sporthunting and they really have a good start.When you get a wolf tag it is shoot and release season you only tag about the 5th one. Happy Hunting.

It's good that they're managing the population where they need to. But it's incredibly ignorant to sit here and say we need to get rid of wolves, that they ruin populations of deer, elk, and moose. There's a need for management, not a second extirpation. If you're so worried about your elk herd, how bout you go out and hunt some wolves? Why should elk have the only consideration in management? Some views need to be reexamined.