An important tool for elk recovery in the Panhandle

There is an urgent need to change Idaho's wolf trapping regulations so a longer interval is permitted between the checking of a trapper's snares. Presently that interval is 72 hours or three days. It needs to be expanded to 15 days. That one small change to the regulations could increase the efficiency for those trappers who utilize snares in taking wolves which, in turn, is so important in achieving a more favorable balance between wolves and our ungulate herds of elk, moose and deer. Some states have no snare check requirement (Montana and Alaska) and the only Canadian Province requiring one is British Columbia with a 14-day interval.

The impact of wolf predation on Idaho's populations of elk, moose and deer has been catastrophic especially in prime hunting areas historically hunted by resident and non-resident hunters. Not only have our ungulate populations been relegated to minimal numbers in important hunting areas but so have the businesses and the industries which support hunting and outfitting. Hunting wolves alone does not manage them in the same manner as the hunt for black bears and mountain lions manages those species. Trapping wolves in addition to their being hunted can have a positive impact on recovering our ungulate populations of elk, moose and deer where they have suffered major depletion.

Our Panhandle Fish and Game Commissioner, Brad Corkill, who has been on the job for about a year, needs to support a 15-day snare check interval. We hope that Commissioner Corkill will see the wisdom and utility of allowing trappers greater flexibility in checking their snares in remote and hard to get to areas, thus saving their resources and valuable time. It is easy to be influenced by the Boise headquarters to not pursue actions that can increase the efficiency of trappers who utilize snares. Our Boise based Fish and Game Department Director, Virgil Moore and his deputy, Jim Unsworth, know how to apply the pressure on Fish and Game Commissioners. Those two gentlemen have concerns over confronting the extreme views of extreme environmental organizations that worked to bring wolves to Idaho along with the willing and facilitation of a previous Fish and Game Department Director and environmentally inclined members of the department staff. Today the present department leadership would rather "let sleeping dogs lie." Those extreme environmental organizations will always be at the door with lawyers in tow and always willing to trade real and valued resources for feel good policies with no value.

We recognize that the job of being a Fish and Game Commissioner is often a difficult one where one must make decisions on issues burdened with competing philosophies, outcomes and consequences. We believe that Commissioner Corkill must do what is best for the Panhandle Region. The Panhandle Region has had a solid history of doing what is best for our ungulate populations and the hunters who hunt for those species. Many years ago the Boise department leadership opposed the institution of the Panhandle Elk Tag which was a significant victory for Panhandle elk hunters. The Panhandle Elk Tag survives today as a testament to the willingness of strong leadership demonstrated by a previous Fish and Game Commissioner. It was the right thing to do. Those ungulate populations need our help now, so that they may recover to a level experienced in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Idaho Code puts a statewide wolf management goal at 150 wolves and 15 packs. That goal was agreed to by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Idaho presently has about 1,000 wolves. Wolves can double their population on about a three-year cycle. Estimates tell us that a single wolf will consume in the range of 12 to 16 elk per year. The math is simple when it comes to annual elk loss and the additional losses to moose and deer. Those losses are directly reflected in vastly reduced big game hunting revenues for the Department of Fish and Game especially those revenues paid by non-resident elk hunters. The department faces a future of significant austerity especially in the areas of personnel hiring and providing the so called "free" programs offered to Idaho citizens and tourists who do not hunt, fish or trap. The bitter irony for the department is that its highly robust workforce and wide range of "free" programs, which were built upon big game hunting revenues, are now being reduced and dismantled by some of the unfavorable consequences of wolf introduction.

Commissioner Corkill and fellow Fish and Game Commissions need to do the right thing by exerting their leadership over the Department of Fish and Game by supporting and fighting for extending snare check intervals to 15 days to assist in achieving a more favorable balance between ungulate populations and wolves.

Pete Thompson is a resident of Ponderay and Ed Lindahl lives in Sagle.