Fish and Game Wants Your Wolf Comments

BY DEANNA DARR 

There never seems to be any shortage of opinions when it comes to wolves in Idaho, but now there's a place to channel those viewpoints.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is seeking comments on its proposed 2011-2012 wolf hunt season via a new online survey. The survey will be given to 1,000 randomly selected hunters and another 2,000 random members of the public. Anyone else can also offer comment on the proposed season as well. Results from the survey will be presented to the Idaho Fish and Game Commission at its meetings on Wednesday, July 27, and Thursday, July 28. That means the deadline for commenting is Sunday, July 24.

Written comments can also be sent to IDFG via good, old-fashioned mail addressed to : Wolf Comments, Idaho Fish and Game, P.O. Box 25, Boise ID 83707.

The proposed hunting season would run from Aug. 30 to March 31, 2012, and only includes limits in the five hunting areas where hunters were most successful last year. There would be no limits in the other area—due in part to the difficulty of access, as well as high elk mortality rates and the high possibility of conflict between wolves and domestic livestock.

The proposed season would end on Dec. 31 in the hunting areas near Yellowstone National Park. Big changes from the last hunt include allowing hunters to use electronic calls and increasing the bag limit to two wolves per hunter. Hunters would still be required to report any kills within 72 hours and bring any wolves to Fish and Game officials to confirm the kills.

Click on the link to see the full proposal and to take the survey.