The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday that it will begin the process of removing the northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf from the endangered species list.
If eventually delisted wolf management authority would be transferred to the state level, although the process could take up to a year.
In Idaho, that will likely mean a hunting season on wolves.
Earlier this month, Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter said he's eager to land a wolf hunting tag and that he'd like to see about 550 of the state's 650 wolves killed.
Several hunting groups in the region can't wait to take their shot at wolves, either, claiming the animals have decimated elk populations.
Sixty-six wolves were reintroduced to central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park 11 years ago. There are now more than 1,200 wolves in the region, which includes Wyoming and Montana. The Fish and Wildlife Service, which has been managing wolves since their reintroduction, has mandated that each state retain a permanent population of at least 100 animals, including 10 breeding pairs. If populations dip below those figures, the federal agency will step in and relist them.
The state of Wyoming has yet to convince the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that it has a sound management plan, mainly because it wants to shoot the animals on-sight outside wilderness areas and national parks. If Wyoming does not develop a plan that gels with federal goals a delisting will not be granted to the state.
Last week the Idaho Fish and Game Commission set wolf tag prices at $26.50, a price that still must be approved by the Idaho Legislature and is entirely dependent on a delisting.
"All of this is contingent on whether wolves are delisted," Niels Nokkentved, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said. "This is moot until they are."
Sharon Rose, spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Widlife Service, said the delisting process will be extensive and will not officially begin until notice is published in the Federal Register, which will likely occur next week.
Once posted, a 60-day public comment period will begin.
Rose said the Fish and Wildlife Service will look for any fresh scientific information and not opinions on whether the animal should be delisted.
"This will not be a voting type thing," she said.
Rose said the public comments will undergo significant review, as will the state's plans, and the entire process will "take quite a bit of time."
She said she expects people to comment on the prospect of a hunting season, but that issue will be up to the individual states.
That fact has concerned wolf advocates in Idaho, where lawmakers have not made it a secret that they're anti-wolf.
Last week's comments from Cameron Wheeler, chairman of the Idaho Fish and Game Commission, certainly didn't help matters. In a discussion regarding the price of a wolf tag in Bosie, Wheeler said that wolves may never generate much money, "kinda like women's sports."
Nokkentved said he wasn't in a position to respond to Wheeler's comment.
"I don't think anybody is going to feel comfortable responding to it," he added.
Wheeler could not be reached for comment.
As for a wolf-hunting season in Idaho, Nokkentved said it's too early to get into specifics.
"We actually have just kind of started on that process," he said. "We're barely getting started."
He said the public will "absolutely" be given a chance to comment on a wolf hunting season and will help dictate when and where seasons occur.
"Sometime during the summer there will be an opportunity for folks to comment," he said.
To get involved:
Public comments on the proposed delisting of the northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf can be electronically mailed to NRMGrayWolf@fws.gov. They can be hand-delivered to USFWS, 585 Shepard Way, Helena, MT, 59601. They can be mailed to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wolf Delisting, 585 Shepard Way, Helena, MT, 59601. All comments must be received within 60 days of the proposed rule's publication date in the Federal Register. For more information on Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolves, visit www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf.
Photo courtesy Idaho Department of Fish and Game
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday it will begin the process of delisting the northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf. Pictured are three wolves from a Central Idaho pack.
