Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire The cost of killing problem wolves

In 6 months last year, Idaho killed 31 problem wolves at a cost of $4600 each. The feds dumped these things on us then left the taxpayers to deal with them. We already have generous hunting and trapping seasons with large numbers of tags available but wolves just aren't all that easy to hunt.


Board Wants Another $400K to Kill Wolves

BOISE • Thirty-one wolves preying on livestock in Idaho were killed between Aug. 7 and Dec. 31, at a cost of $4,600 each, state lawmakers learned Tuesday.

The state created the Wolf Depredation Control Board last year, to kill wolves that attack livestock, deer and elk, and funded it with $400,000 from the state’s general fund. It also gets money from the livestock industry and from Fish and Game.

Now Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter wants the state to give the board another $400,000 for fiscal 2015-16.

The board is already contracted to spend $235,000 more before July 1, when the new fiscal year starts, and it expects to have $130,000 left then, board member Carl Rey told the Legislature’s Joint Finance Appropriation Committee.

But Rey said the board will need the additional money Otter is asking for, since its first year was unusually slow. The panel wasn’t established until July 1, missing usually busy times in the spring and summer.

Also, wolf depredations were down in 2014, he said. Fish and Game officials recorded 75 attacks on livestock in 2014, the fewest since 2008. But the attacks are cyclical and could go up, Rey said.

“We think we’re going to need every dime of that money before this is over,” he said.

So far, the board has spent about $143,000 — or $4,600 per wolf killed, as Rep. Van Burtenshaw, R-Terreton, put it.

“If the wolf population grows, how are we going to sustain this type of expense, in your opinion?” Burtenshaw asked.

Brad Compton, state Fish and Game’s assistant chief of wildlife, said the population has been declining slowly since wolves were removed from the endangered species list in 2009 and hunting and trapping resumed.

“We’re starting to see some positive responses in reduced depredation,” he said. “The intent, and the future hopefully, is one of needing less rather than needing more.”

The federal government requires the state to maintain 150 individual wolves and 15 breeding pairs. It will monitor Idaho’s wolf management until May 2016.

Fish and Game’s latest numbers show a wolf population well above these levels but dropping, with 550 to 750 wolves in documented packs last year.

But the actual number is estimated at 1,000, because many wolves in remote areas don’t get counted.

The peak was 856 documented wolves in 2009, and the number has been falling since. It was at 659 in 2013.

Decreased depredations and fewer wolves taken by hunters and trappers in 2014 also point to a declining population, Fish and Game officials have said.

They have confirmed 22 breeding pairs for 2014 that meet the federal criteria of two breeding wolves with two pups that survive for a year. They confirmed 20 in 2013.

Our 'fine' government doing what it does best...

Screwing us!

Yup, create a problem that was non-existent then through money that they don't have at it. What was really stupid is that Idaho had native wolves prior to the introduction of Canadian wolves that have now killed off the natives..........

Seems to me an effective bounty could be a lot less than $4600.

I will hunt and kill them for half that think I could make a fine living at two k each

Why take tax money for that?

There are thousands that would do it free, and for the fun of it.

Idaho resident wolf tags are $11 each, non-resident are $32. You can take FIVE wolves/year. The seasons are long and almost the entire state is open.

In addition, a non-resident can use a deer tag on a wolf or bear as long as both seasons are open.

Come and get them!!!

And that IS the problem. Lots of guys say they would hunt wolves for free - but huntin' ain't killin'. Of all those who would do it for free (myself included) How many can afford to take the time required to make the necessary kills? Those who live close to a wolf pack may find that easy - but those who have to take time off work and travel, maintain a presence where the wolves are, etc, do not.

I think some sort of reward system would be far more productive and at a lower cost. But I also know that the wolf-huggers will never allow it.

the reason the Canadians are hunting them from air is they are hard to hunt. I live right in the middle of several packs and unless you are really set up for the terrain it is tuff. plus the gated roads, even though they are opened on November 15th are not maintained and have 4-5 feet of snow covering wash outs where you will get stuck with a snow machine.
the wolves we do get are down low following the elk herds.

I'd venture most of us would starve to death if tasked with hunting wolves from the ground here in the lower 48. Short of aerial gunning, poison bait stations, and a serious trapping effort, we will be coexisting into the foreseeable future.

I don't know how they padded their bill like that, but there's no reason it should cost $4600 per wolf. Every winter the local ranchers around here hire a chopper to fly for coyotes. The number of dogs killed per hour is staggering. Coyotes and wolves is not directly comparable, but it does illustrate the deadly effectiveness of shooting from a chopper.

Some of Idaho's wolves probably have radio collars, so that should get a helicopter in the neighborhood. It's up to the door gunner after that.

Yep - but if you make the reward attractive enough, you might have enough hunters motivated to the field to bring the total kill numbers up, if not the percentages.

A wolf pelt doesn't bring enough money to even make the work involved attractive for the successful hunter. But if there was more money in the pot, the required recovery and reporting would be less of a put-off.

....Or, they could just cancel the recovery requirement and let us leave the carcass where it dies. Even that will encourage more participation. Even better - also allow more time for reporting. I would bet that kill numbers go up with just those two changes - and it wouldn't cost a dime.

Oh, there are reasons - just not good ones.

Yes, aerial gunning is extremely effective with coyotes (like 20+ kills per hour of air time). Coyotes are like flies at the dump though. Wolves are more like needles in a hay stack. We did clear out wolves at one time (with the help of government), but never even came close with coyotes.

Some of our wild horse roundups can be extremely expensive too on $$$ per animal basis if one adds in all of the planning, implementation, and equipment charges, not to mention subsequent room and board of the critter.

I'm sure a few hundred hours of "issue studies" was rolled into the bill. Actual hours on the hunting clock were probably only 10% of the total.

222:
I've not seen the accounting, but I believe they actually had a man on the ground in one of the Idaho wilderness area last year. I suspect ones time, and the logistics of maintaining a remote camp with horses, hay, handlers, and groceries can add up rather quickly. The regional animal damage control folks aren't free either and the other agencies probably account for their wolf time as well.

Have a good one,

FreeMe,

Bounty systems of management don't work. It WILL make them harder to hunt though.

To have the most effective system of wolf control, they need to loosen the reigns more.

Make shooting and killing wolves incidental to seeing them.

In other words, if you see one, you can shoot and kill it.

There are lots more accidental encounters than those on purpose.

nice bounty

The Eastern side of South Dakota has just placed the wolfes on the dangered species list. Not that I would ever break the law, but there are others who would shoot, shut up, and shovel. Not that I would condone any such activities, mind you.
The Western half already had them on the endagered species list. Funny how several wolfes have been killed, but no-one knows who do it. Hmmmm....

Yeah, I specifically avoided that word "bounty " for that reason. "Reward" can mean a lot of things. I don't think "kill on sight " would ever be allowed either though. I can only tell what would make me more likely to kill wolves, that might actually be allowed (I think ). You are right about accidental (or I would say "incidental ") encounters. Recovery and timely reporting are what stops me and a lot of others I know. Eliminate the recovery requirement and give more time for reporting, and I would fill my tag without having to interrupt other activities. I don't have any desire for the trophy and the hide money ain't worth my time. I think I have a lot of company in that.