The Idaho Fish and Game held it’s recent Commission meeting in McCall over the last two days but failed to take up one item on its agenda. The Commission did not discuss wolf hunting even though they are likely to start hunting wolves starting September 1st. They plan to take up the subject at their August 17th meeting which is just days before wolf hunting would start. This gives very little time to contemplate any proposed rules and is widely viewed as a way to avoid an injunction on the pending court case against delisting.
Idaho Fish and Game Postpones Public Hearings on Wolf Hunting Quotas
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I think an injunction is most likely to be issued during or after the hunts.
An injunction is issued to prevent likely immediate harm or to stop harm in progress.
Montana can be make a case on paper that they have been thoughtful about how to structure their hunt — no obvious harm forthcoming.
What can be said of Idaho? Nothing. A judge will have to look at the activity.
I attended the comment meeting in McCall Wednesday night and commented on the Bighorn sheep/domestic sheep problem in which the sick bighorn ram was shot and killed near Riggins.
I voiced support for the Bighorns and told the F&G commission that the Idaho Legislature and the Woolgrowers had gone behind the backs of those of us on the Governors Bighorn/Domestic sheep Working Group and that I would not be attending any more meetings of that group as it was a waste of my time.
I also voiced support for a non-hunting/viewing area for wolves in the Big Wood River area above Ketchum where the Phantom Hill Pack resides.
Other than one man who complained about the poor job in general that the commission was doing on the elk numbers, there were no rabid anti-wolf people that commented. There were two gentlemen who said they supported introducing wolves , but were tired of the lawsuits and that we needed to get on with managing wolves now that the introduction is a success.
I’ll say it again. If you want to have any input on how wolves will be managed in Idaho, you need to show up and be heard at these meetings.
Clearly, IDF&G’s strategy is to delay a public announcement of the dates & killing quotas for the wolf hunt. It would then be too late to get an injunction prior to the beginning of the hunt. Considering the logistics necessary for Idaho’s first ever wolf hunt, it is hard for me to believe that IDF&G has not already done much planning. Just think of just the written work needed – pamphlets, flyers, et. Then there are the arrangements for personnel, & so on. Does anyone know if there are public disclosure laws in Idaho that might force IDF&G to reveal its plans?
There are public disclosure laws in Idaho.
http://www3.state.id.us/cgi-bin/newidst?sctid=090030038.K
I am not sure there is any great evil strategy involved with the Aug. 17 meeting for setting wolf quotas. The commission needs to see if wolves will be delisted for sure, and then total up the number of wolves already killed by Wildlife Services and by accident or poaching and then set a wolf hunting quota for each area. If wolves are indeed delisted, there WILL be a hunting season for them. Hunters, oufitters and anti-wolf folks always come to these commission meetings. You can’t complain about the rules if you don’t show up to help formulate them.
Larry,
Wolves are delisted, advocates haven’t submitted for an immediate injunction. Unless the commission indents to shore up the count so it can greenlight the hunting of every last wolf (save 105), there is no reason to wait & count at the last minute.
I, like you, believe more people should attend these meetings – but I under no allusion that the commission will grant any meaningful influence to wolf advocates. People ought have a right to an opinion & to influence either way.
Brian, has the commission been talking about killing all but 105 wolves still?
Brian,
I seems to me that the “management objective” number that I have heard is 450. Do you have other information??
Layton, what is the population now? How much of a percent reduction is that?