IDFG preps for wolf season

COEUR d'ALENE - Barring any delays, gray wolves will soon be removed from the federal endangered species list, and Idaho Fish and Game is preparing for a 2011-12 wolf season.

Biologists are updating wolf population and distribution estimates provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nez Perce Tribe, according to a Fish and Game press release.

"We have been out of the business of wolf management for about six months," said Mike Keckler, IDFG chief of communications. "We're after it. When (Idaho Gov. Butch Otter) told us to prepare to resume wolf management, we started immediately."

Once the USFWS officially publishes its delisting rule - which should occur within the next few weeks - Idaho wolves will again be under state management.

Wolf tags could be for sale by late spring.

At last count, IDFG estimated a statewide population of about 880 wolves, Keckler said. The population has likely increased.

Biologists will present updated wolf information to the Fish and Game Commission in Lewiston on April 18, 19 and 20, officials said. A public hearing is scheduled for April 18 at 7 p.m.

"We make a point to listen to what sportsmen have to say," Keckler said. "Commissioners take that into account. Public input is important."

Fish and Game will develop harvest options for a fall wolf hunt, and present those options to commissioners in July, the release said. The commission will likely develop a harvest strategy at a meeting in August.

Hunters harvested 188 wolves during the 2009-10 season - 85 percent of the 220-wolf harvest limit. Only two violations were issued statewide, the release said.

More than 30,000 wolf tags were sold in 2009-10.

"We proved we can responsibly and effectively manage wolves," Keckler said. "We said all along, we're the professionals when it comes to big game management."