Nez Perce Tribe opposes Idaho's plan to kill wolves to help elk
By JOHN MILLER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BOISE, Idaho -- An Indian tribe that's helped with gray wolf recovery efforts since their reintroduction to Idaho in 1995 says the state is moving too quickly with a plan to kill dozens of wolves to help restore elk herds on the border with Montana.
Rebecca Miles, chairwoman of the Nez Perce in Lapwai, said tribal wolf managers aren't convinced studies of elk herds in the Clearwater River basin support a plan by state Department of Fish and Game to reduce wolf numbers in region to as few as 15, from about 60 animals now.
According to the agency, wolves are responsible for about 35 percent of recorded elk cow deaths since 2002 in two hunting units in the region.
Wolves were confirmed to have killed eight of 25 elk cows that died, from among 64 adult elk cows captured and radio collared between 2002 and 2004, the study showed.
The Nez Perce, as well as some conservation groups, say the evidence isn't conclusive that depredations are devastating elk numbers.
They argue the agency should focus on restoring habitat, not killing wolves.
"It is junk science," Aaron Miles, the tribe's natural resource manager, told The Associated Press on Thursday. "There's no peer review. It's jumping from one conclusion to the next."
Fish and Game officials held a public hearing in Boise on Thursday to introduce their plan.
A similar hearing is planned for next Tuesday in Lewiston.
Federal officials still must approve the state's proposal to kill wolves.
Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Helena, Mont., has said his agency will judge the proposal based on its technical merits, not political expediency.
The plan to kill wolves is among Idaho's first actions since it took over day-to-day oversight of the state's roughly 600 wolves during a Jan. 5 signing ceremony between Gov. Dirk Kempthorne and U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton.
Miles contends the state is relenting to political pressure from groups including hunters and ranchers who want to see more active wolf control.
Moving too quickly with the control plan also could incite lawsuits from conservation groups, he said.
For instance, on Jan. 24, eight groups, including The Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and The Humane Society of the United States, announced they plan to sue within 60 days.
State Fish and Game officials concede that hunters have been after them for more than a decade to more aggressively control wolf numbers they blame for reducing big game herds.
Still, the agency says its studies on elk herd depredations support wolf removals - as well as further efforts to improve habitat in the region straddling U.S. Highway 12.
"Wolves are the biggest single issue we've heard from hunters, almost since the day of reintroduction. They're the folks that pay the bills at Fish and Game. So we listen to what they say," Fish and Game Wildlife Bureau chief Jim Unsworth said Thursday. "But we wouldn't have come forward with the proposal if we weren't making a pretty strong case now."
Idaho would prefer to hold a controlled hunt for wolves, Unsworth said.
Until the predators undergo federal delisting, however, no such hunts are allowed.
Though Idaho and Montana have federally approved wolf management plans, no delisting can occur until a similar management plan in Wyoming wins approval.
Until now, U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials have rejected plans from that state that allow its wolves to be shot on sight.
"Gray wolves in the Northern Rockies have exceeded their recovery goals and are biologically ready to be delisted," said H. Dale Hall, the federal agency's director, in a statement on Thursday. "The potential delisting cannot be finalized until Wyoming's wolf management plan has been approved."
There are more than 900 wolves in the three states.
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BOISE, Idaho -- An Indian tribe that's helped with gray wolf recovery efforts since their reintroduction to Idaho in 1995 says the state is moving too quickly with a plan to kill dozens of wolves to help restore elk herds on the border with Montana.
Rebecca Miles, chairwoman of the Nez Perce in Lapwai, said tribal wolf managers aren't convinced studies of elk herds in the Clearwater River basin support a plan by state Department of Fish and Game to reduce wolf numbers in region to as few as 15, from about 60 animals now.
According to the agency, wolves are responsible for about 35 percent of recorded elk cow deaths since 2002 in two hunting units in the region.
Wolves were confirmed to have killed eight of 25 elk cows that died, from among 64 adult elk cows captured and radio collared between 2002 and 2004, the study showed.
The Nez Perce, as well as some conservation groups, say the evidence isn't conclusive that depredations are devastating elk numbers.
They argue the agency should focus on restoring habitat, not killing wolves.
"It is junk science," Aaron Miles, the tribe's natural resource manager, told The Associated Press on Thursday. "There's no peer review. It's jumping from one conclusion to the next."
Fish and Game officials held a public hearing in Boise on Thursday to introduce their plan.
A similar hearing is planned for next Tuesday in Lewiston.
Federal officials still must approve the state's proposal to kill wolves.
Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Helena, Mont., has said his agency will judge the proposal based on its technical merits, not political expediency.
The plan to kill wolves is among Idaho's first actions since it took over day-to-day oversight of the state's roughly 600 wolves during a Jan. 5 signing ceremony between Gov. Dirk Kempthorne and U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton.
Miles contends the state is relenting to political pressure from groups including hunters and ranchers who want to see more active wolf control.
Moving too quickly with the control plan also could incite lawsuits from conservation groups, he said.
For instance, on Jan. 24, eight groups, including The Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife and The Humane Society of the United States, announced they plan to sue within 60 days.
State Fish and Game officials concede that hunters have been after them for more than a decade to more aggressively control wolf numbers they blame for reducing big game herds.
Still, the agency says its studies on elk herd depredations support wolf removals - as well as further efforts to improve habitat in the region straddling U.S. Highway 12.
"Wolves are the biggest single issue we've heard from hunters, almost since the day of reintroduction. They're the folks that pay the bills at Fish and Game. So we listen to what they say," Fish and Game Wildlife Bureau chief Jim Unsworth said Thursday. "But we wouldn't have come forward with the proposal if we weren't making a pretty strong case now."
Idaho would prefer to hold a controlled hunt for wolves, Unsworth said.
Until the predators undergo federal delisting, however, no such hunts are allowed.
Though Idaho and Montana have federally approved wolf management plans, no delisting can occur until a similar management plan in Wyoming wins approval.
Until now, U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials have rejected plans from that state that allow its wolves to be shot on sight.
"Gray wolves in the Northern Rockies have exceeded their recovery goals and are biologically ready to be delisted," said H. Dale Hall, the federal agency's director, in a statement on Thursday. "The potential delisting cannot be finalized until Wyoming's wolf management plan has been approved."
There are more than 900 wolves in the three states.
posted by wolf saga at 11:52 AM
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