6-14 FB F&G Wolf Hunt

 Wolf hunt of a different kind has arrived. If you thought the wolf hunting season had closed you would be right. However, that is not the case for some agencies in Boise. I’m David Sparks and I’ll be back to unravel the mystery in a minute.

Basque people immigrated to the western United States from their homeland in the Pyrenees Mountains, first arriving in California around 1850.  These people turned to working and owning livestock on ranches.  Basque-owned itinerant sheep bands ranged from the Pacific coast to the High Sierras to the foothills outside Boise.  Still today, Basques and others have sheep herds that range in the Boise foothills and now the problem. Two wolves have killed an estimated 13 sheep in the Boise Foothills near Hulls Gulch in recent weeks, according to Idaho wildlife officials. When wolves kill sheep, Idaho Fish and Game investigates then turns the task of controlling the wolves over to USDA Wildlife Services: Here’s Doug Hanson: “If we have confirmed kills, then we talk with Fish and Game and they give us the directive, of how many wolves can be taken, if they want a collared one put in or remove the whole pack, whatever, it’s a case by case situation.” Doug says that things are starting to quiet down around Boise as the sheep herds have moved away from the area.