The list of hearings on wolf hunts proposed by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game should have read, "Blaine County Stay Home."
It should also have read, "Boise Stay Home."
While Fish and Game says it wants the public to help it decide on the extent of wolf hunts in the state in the wake of the animals' removal from the endangered species list, its hearing schedule makes it look like it's trying to hide from a majority of the public.
Despite the fact that two hearings are scheduled in every Fish and Game region, there is only one hearing scheduled in the Magic Valley Region, which includes Blaine County. The meeting is in Jerome—an hour-and-15-minute drive from the Wood River Valley.
Contrast this with the Salmon Region's hearings scheduled in Challis and Salmon, cities located a similar distance apart.
Adding insult, every other hearing in Idaho is scheduled for evening hours. Not Magic Valley's. It's scheduled between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., making it difficult for people with day jobs to attend.
And to fail to schedule a hearing in the state capital on one of the most controversial issues ever to hit Idaho? Unbelievable.
Hearing or no hearing, anyone may comment on the proposed wolf hunts on the Internet at fishandgame.idaho.gov. And weigh in they should. Fish and Game proposes to reduce the estimated 800 wolves in the state by 25 percent.
Fish and Game officials—and their boss, Gov. Butch Otter—ought to get out of their foxholes and embrace the challenge before them: to bring Idaho together on a sensible wolf management plan.
