Idaho Wolf Problems

[HunterHarry]

With Idaho now accepting applications for this seasons controlled hunts, I was wondering just how bad the wolf problem is getting there.
I have heard that some areas have been hit REAL hard by the dogs and are hardly worth putting for.
I remember some threads here about the problem, but nothing too recent.
Any thoughts?
HH

 

[mdbrown]

in the mccall area there pretty bad , i called one in last season to 9 yards. allot of guys that ive talked to around here have had hunts ruined by the wolf. but there is still elk around here although im not sure if i would travel here from out of state.

 

[shortmag]

It depends on how you define problem. In units in the east central part, elk are at or over objective. Unit 21A for example just had 140 cow permits added. There are wolves in the unit but they are not impacting populations. There have been some control measures where wolves messing with livestock have been shot. Many of us in Idaho hope delisting will happen and reasonable harvest will happen.

 

[JACKELOPE]

not to ask a dumb question but what areas of the state are the wolves in...??
wonder when the problems will start in washington.

 

[idhunters]

Jackelope it may be easier to ask which areas of the state they are NOT in. I know of wolves being seen near the Ut/Wy border, in the south hills, central idaho, north idaho, etc. They are concentrated in central idaho around the release sites but they have migrated in smaller numbers across the state. Now, the FWS will tell you they are only in certain areas but remember they really only count breeding packs and collared wolves. The ones being seen in the outlying areas are singles and pairs mainly, but they are there. Here in SE Idaho, we really haven't seen any impact from the ones that are here. My in-laws live in Salmon and maintain that the elk herds in that area are really down. They have lived there over 25 years and my brother in law tracked the wolves and their kills for 2 winters. Just saying they know what they are talking about.

WA may be safe as I doubt there are significant wolf population in the palouse area and the rest of WA is somewhat protected by the Snake River breaks. I bet you will see wolves moving in from the extreme northern part of Idaho and from the south, thru OR.

Its not a wreck here....yet.

 

[Navaluk]

Here in Idaho County we are overrun with them. I have seen tracks every season since 2001. I believe fish and game plans to starve them out by continuing to hand out cow tags until the few remaining elk are gone. Should be over by 2008.

 

[kicker]

Navaluk, that is the perfect way to put it. I think you should make a bumper sticker that say's that. Where abouts in Id county do you live? I'm STUCK here in the city, but my hearts in Idaho County. My Mom was raised in Grangeville and we spend alot of time up there.

Hope i'm not intruding, just curious.

Kicker

 

[Navaluk]

Kicker, I'm just outside of Grangeville. In fact, I jumped 4 wolves up on the hill in sight of town two years ago. Never saw them unfortunately.

 

[JACKELOPE]

I want to say i heard somebody on a flyfishing forum i frequent say they heard of some wolf sightings in the n.e. corner of washington, but i can't remember for sure where i heard that. that wouldn't surprise me, but i guess i wasn't thinking about the great big river blocking there path to the southeast corner of the state.

 

[Hiker]

When are they going to delist these "Canadian Gray" Wolves, so you guys can start killing some and save your elk before they are all gone.

Hiker

Proverbs 3:5-6

 

[ironhead]

I bow hunted in unit 50 last year and although I didn't see the wolves I saw there tracks and found there den. It was big enough to drive a VW bug into it. I had heard they killed 6 or 8 prior to my arrival and talked with the gov wolf (controller) and he said they didn't get the alpha female that was collared. The Elk never made a peep for 2 weeks. There were still some elk but they were sure scattered compared to years past.

 

[Model70]

Like someone said above, it depends where you are at in the state. A number of units will have extra cow tags available, so presumably there are plenty of animals in those units (i.e. 66x). I found wolf tracks and heard howling in 19A last year. There were plenty of elk around, but you can bet the wolves keep them moving. The morning I found the track (and it was pretty fresh), we moved our efforts to a different area a few miles away and had good luck.

 

[Pre64]

I hunt central Idaho. Last year we noticed big changes both in the number of elk and behavior. We saw as many elk in two weeeks of hunting last season as we did in a day of hunting the season before. A friend (ex-trapper) found wolf tracks last week while turkey hunting 25 miles out of Boise. I fear elk hunting in Idaho, especially the central part of the state, will never be the same.

 

[idhunters]

Just remember that having cow hunts or extra cow tags available doesn't mean that unit is over run with elk.

As part of the mule deer initiative the IDFG is going to significantly reduce elk populations in the traditional deer areas, especially winter ranges.

A good example is the Bannock Zone here is SE Idaho. 25 years ago elk were few and far between in this area. 10 years ago there were limited draw hunts, primarily muzzle loader hunts and quite frankly it was great elk hunting. But the deer were few and far between. Now, there is a general season over the counter rifle hunt for cows. The reason the hunt is structured that way is to get rid of the elk. It doesn't mean there are so many elk in the area that they have to harvest cows. At first the open cow hunt was a slaughter. Now, you can still get a cow, if your really lucky or find some on private ground. The population is way down, which was the whole point of the open hunt.

Keep that in mind as you look at these extra cow tags (there may be a reason there are tags left over!)