Different opinion on wolves

Different opinion on wolves

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Last week I told you that Idaho Fish and Game officials say they're calling off their intention to send a professional hunter into the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness to kill wolves until at least November 2015. I called "the Wolf lady" Suzanne Stone for her comments and basically Suzanne said she was delighted. This week I received a phone call from Mike Schlegel, retired Dept of Fish and Game official and he offered a different opinion. "You're contrary opinion is what? Is that wolves need to be managed regardless of whether they are in a wilderness setting or not. A wilderness setting is not a park or a preserve regarding management. When the wilderness act was conceived, the language said it would allow wildlife management research and management activities. The fact that these wolves are in a wilderness setting does not exclude them from being managed when they are impacting ungulate populations. The area that the trapper went into last year is game management unit 26 for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. In 2006, the helicopter survey they did documented 1270 elk. In 2010, it was 366. Most of that loss can be attributed to wolf predation. There were two packs in there. That is why the trapper went in last year and was trying to restore those elk populations.
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