Death from above

COEUR d'ALENE - United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services agents in a helicopter shot and killed 23 North Idaho wolves in February, Idaho Fish and Game announced Friday.

According to a press release issued by the state wildlife agency, the action is consistent with Idaho's predation management plan for the Lolo elk zone, where predation is the major reason elk population numbers are considerably below management objectives.

This was the sixth agency wolf control action taken in the Lolo zone, which is near the Idaho/Montana border, during the last four years. Twenty-five wolves were taken in the previous five actions.

Fish and Game authorizes control actions where wolves are causing conflicts with people or domestic animals, or are a significant factor in prey population declines.

The agency prefers to manage wolf populations using hunters and trappers, states the press release. However, the Lolo zone is steep, rugged country that is difficult to access.

In addition to the animals killed in this control action, 17 wolves have been taken by hunters and trappers in the Lolo zone this season. The trapping season lasts throughout March and the hunting season ends June 30.

IDFG estimates there were 75-100 wolves in the Lolo zone at the start of the 2013 hunting season, with additional animals crossing back and forth between Idaho and Montana. The agencies' goal is to reduce the Lolo zone wolf population by 70 percent.