Idaho declares state of Emergency against wolves

[lungdeflator]

Heard on the radio news today that the governor of Idaho declared a state of emergency on the wolves. I havent looked any more into it and the story was short on the news, but they said the main reason was the wolves are hurting the big game numbers. Anybody know what this would mean with the wolf situations out there?

[Spearing Machine]

Found this on Yahoo from just a couple of days ago. Gray Wolf State of Emergency

[creepworm]

Kind of funny they have 800 wolves in their state and declare a state of emergency. We have over 2900 and can't do anything about the population.

[Scoot]

Creepworm, there's a huge difference between the "official" number of wolves in the state and the "actual" number (according to most "in the know" in ID). Also, the elk in wolf infested areas don't act like they would otherwise and it makes hunting not only tougher, but not as much fun for many (non-vocal elk simply aren't as "cool" as vocal ones). The state has lost a bajillion dollars in revenue from hunters abandoning the state and elk numbers are not at all good in many areas due to predation. I'd say they are accurately describing a "state of emergency". JMO.

[matchset]

fyi minnesota moose are immune to wolves, so we need to worry.

[hockeybc69]

Quote:

The state has lost a bajillion dollars in revenue from hunters abandoning the state and elk numbers are not at all good in many areas due to predation. I'd say they are accurately describing a "state of emergency". JMO.

Scoot,

Do you have any data to back that up? I am just curious what the numbers show in regards to hunters exiting the state. Are wolves the real reason for an exodus if its happened? Nothing regarding available permits, license prices, etc?

[candiru]

If they do this, can we declare a state of emergency on cormorants?

[Scoot]

Scoot,

Do you have any data to back that up? I am just curious what the numbers show in regards to hunters exiting the state. Are wolves the real reason for an exodus if its happened? Nothing regarding available permits, license prices, etc?

I'm not interested in getting in a peeing match about this. There's tons of info available on this topic online. There's been a mass exodus of hunters from ID and SW MT- again, info available online. ...and yes, wolves are the primary reason for this. I'm not interested in participating in a bickering match about wolves- it's a hot button topic for many and attempts to have intelligent conversations about it rarely seem to go well.

Sorry- don't mean to sound chippy with my response towards you. But, I'm "once bitten, twice shy" about trying to disucss this topic in a civil manner.

[goblueM]

wolves have certainly impacted the hunting business out there.

declaring a state of emergency and trying to find loopholes in the system is not in these states best long term interests though. They'd be far better served by going through the proper channels and not (further) angering other parties in this contentious issue.

Idaho and Montana were so close - they only needed Wyoming to come up with a management plan that wasn't "shoot wolves on sight" and the wolves would have been delisted and turned over for the states to manage. They are just adding fuel to the fire right now with this emergency declaration

[Steve Foss]

Idaho and Montana were so close - they only needed Wyoming to come up with a management plan that wasn't "shoot wolves on sight" and the wolves would have been delisted and turned over for the states to manage. They are just adding fuel to the fire right now with this emergency declaration

Agreed.

[Scoot]

Yeah, at some level I agree too. However, having this thing run by the feds has not served the interests of many states out West and they're sick and tired of helplessly getting jerked around. I can't say I blame them...

[DuckDog]

Montana was able to put the delisting of their wolf population as an "add on" amendment for the budget bill. Minnesota's congressional folks would never think about that.