Wolf Information from Idaho

mightyhunter

Very Active Member
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I read this article about wolf management and mortality from the adjoining State of Idaho. Although, I am not convinced that Idaho is a state to emulate when it comes to fish and game management, it would appear that IDFG is miles ahead of Wyoming when it comes to knowledge of and the management of the wolf. They have been at it a lot longer than Wyoming, because Idaho and Montana were the first states to have the wolf delisted from the ESA. Idaho was also the first state to allow trapping as a management tool. Idaho has the same goal as Wyoming in keeping the population in the state at no less than 150 wolves.

Is Wyoming G&F more conservative in their estimates of wolf populations because of the way in which they were delisted in the state?

Is Wyoming devoting enough resources to wolf management?

Is their a reason why quotas set in the trophy zone areas of Wyoming are not consistently being met?

Does Wyoming have a lot fewer wolves than Idaho? If so, why is that?

Is hunting wolves an efficient way to manage populations?

Would the use of trapping be something that Game and Fish in Wyoming should look at?

Should Game and Fish in Wyoming consider dropping the wolf tag fees for residents and nonresident hunters in the state?

I have lived in both Idaho and Wyoming for my entire adult life. I have a lifetime hunting license in Idaho but have only used it a few times over the last 20+ years that I have lived in Wyoming. Although the deer and elk seasons are very long in Idaho, I have never found the hunting to be all that great.

I didn't post this thread to be bashed by the usual clowns. I am interested in what others think on the subject. just sayin...mh
 
Most people carrying wolf tags are doing so on an off chance of seeing one, not focusing their hunt on them. I think they set higher quotes in the trophy area to avoid shut downs. Quotes kept the courts off their backs.
 
MH, to answer some of your questions.

Idaho has a lot more wolves than Wyoming, lot more remote and suitable habitat in Idaho...Frank Church, Selway/Bitterroot, panhandle, etc. etc.

Most of Wyoming is not that great of habitat for wolves, and with the predator zones, they wont expand as much as they did in Idaho.

Hunting can be an effective management tool...but it takes serious hunters to accomplish it. I have a friend in MT that has killed (hunted, not trapped) his allowed quota every year since wolves were on the menu. The guy is NOT your average hunter, probably one of the top 5 hunters I personally know. Just flat gets after it, no matter the species. This year, he had his 5 wolves by late December.

Reality is, 99% of the hunters just don't have the drive it takes to hunt wolves, lets be honest, most struggle to fill elk tags consistently. Hunting wolves in the NW part of Wyoming is no joke, its big country, its tough country, and wolves aren't behind every tree.

I don't think tag prices for wolves is keeping people from hunting wolves that are half serious about it. I don't hunt the trophy areas much, but when I do, I buy one. IMO, the State should try to make some money on wolf tags. Even if you gave tags away, nearly all would go unfilled.

Trapping might get quota's filled, but again, trapping wolves isn't much easier than hunting them. You have to know what you're doing, its not as easy as stringing some steel and filling quota's...by a long shot. Trapping takes skills and also the time to do it.

These days, most people dont have the time to figure it out, lay out a proper trap line, do the required checks, keep your sets fresh, etc. Too busy with everything else and if people are going to spend time hunting, its for elk, deer, pronghorn, sheep etc. rather than wolves. Its just not a priority for a vast, vast majority of hunters.
 
Wyoming has been managing wolves much longer than Idaho as they were introduced into Wyoming and remained mostly in Wyoming and Montana territory for almost a decade. Wyoming has far fewer wolves as only 15% of the state is considered and regulated as trophy hunting areas. The smartest management decision Wyoming made was sticking to their guns and keeping the classification of wolves as predators and unregulated hunting allowed in 2/3 of the state. This helps ensure Wyoming wolf numbers will remain much lower than surrounding states which have much larger Trophy and regulated hunting areas.
 
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