Ken Cole
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Since the beginning of the Idaho wolf hunting and trapping season I have been keeping a spreadsheet with a running tally of wolf kills. Presently the total stands at 332 dead wolves with 237 taken in the hunt and 95 taken by trapping and snaring. There are three zones that have been closed so far…
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Here is the latest open thread on wildlife news topics. You can access the previous open thread here.
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Senator Jeff Siddoway’s Wolf Kill Bill S1305 has been sent back to committee which effectively kills it. The bill would have allowed ranchers to kill wolves by various methods including use of live bait and even aerial gunning. Yesterday the USFWS told the Idaho Statesman that the bill could threaten the wolf delisting plan and…
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I think it’s safe to say that this couldn’t be called a trend, but last year a funding shortfall for USDA Wildlife Services shortened their coyote killing season by two months in Montana while at the same time the number of domestic sheep that coyotes killed ended up being lower by 1,900. The effectiveness…
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The Idaho Department of Fish and Game issued a press release this afternoon stating that in early February, USDA Wildlife Services killed 14 wolves from helicopters in the Lolo Zone. They say that it was done in an attempt to reduce predation on the elk herd. The press release goes on to say that “[i]n…
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I just got out of the Idaho Senate and Resources Committee meeting where they discussed S1305 which allows ranchers to kill wolves in many different ways. They voted to send the bill to the floor with a do pass recommendation. One interesting comment was made by Republican Senator Tippets who said that he had dinner…
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Brooks Fahy, of Predator Defense in Eugene, Oregon, has put together an account of Robert Norie, the owner of Bella the husky, and the ordeal they went through after Bella was caught in an unmarked USDA Wildlife Services snare set for wolves in Idaho’s Boise National Forest in August 2010. Wildlife Services has been implicated…
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The Montana FWP Commission has decided not to extend the wolf hunt in the Bitterroot area. While many claim that the elk declines seen there have been due to wolves but a recent study implicates cougars and a quick look at the historic numbers shows that poor hunting management has also contributed to the declines…