Farmers and wolves

I talked with Idaho Farm Bureau spokesperson Shawn Ellis about the intersection between farmers and ranchers and wolves and what was being done about it. David Sparks, Idaho Egg. Today, the number of wolves in Idaho has been reduced by about 13% from last year. Do you know how much the wolf issue is on the forefront of the minds of the legislators, the farmers, because 13% decline in wolves from last year. Speaker2: A lot of ranchers ten or 15 years ago said there was 12 to 1500 wolves in Idaho. At least some people thought they were crazy, but it turns out they were right. So reducing the number from 1500 to 1300. 13% reduction is actually a good thing. The state plan calls for getting wolves to 500, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service supports that goal. And by the way, anyone who says Idaho plans the wholesale slaughter wolves is blowing smoke and they're, pardon the pun, crying wolf. The original recovery goal for wolves to be delisted, according to the federal government, was 150 in Idaho. We surpassed that long time ago, 1500. They're having major impacts on livestock and not just livestock, but a lot of the population, especially elk and deer. So getting them more into balance with the rest of the wildlife population is a good thing. And having 500 wolves in Idaho is actually a pretty good goal, it seems like. It would appear that hunting and trapping targeted on certain populations, even though the numbers, the total human caused mortality might be down. It does have an effect on the reproduction rate, apparently. Speaker1: And that, in Sean's words, is a good thing for ranchers, farmers, hunters and the ungulate population itself.