BOISE, Idaho December 27, 2013 (AP)

By JOHN MILLER Associated Press

Associated Press

A federal judge Friday allowed a wolf- and coyote-shooting derby to proceed on public land in Idaho this weekend, ruling its organizers aren’t required to get a special permit from the U.S. Forest Service.

U.S. District Magistrate Judge Candy Wagahoff Dale issued the ruling in Boise hours after a morning hearing.

WildEarth Guardians and other environmental groups had sought to stop the derby, arguing the Forest Service was ignoring its own rules that require permits for competitive events.

The agency, meanwhile, countered no permit was needed, concluding while hunting would take place in the forest on Saturday and Sunday, the competitive portion of the event — where judges determine the $1,000 prize winner for the biggest wolf killed — would take place on private land.

Dale decided derby promoters were encouraging use of the forest for a lawful activity.

“The derby hunt is not like a foot race or ski race, where organizers would require the use of a loop or track for all participants to race upon,” she wrote, of events that might require such permits. “Rather, hunters will be dispersed throughout the forest, hunting at their own pace and in their own preferred territory, and not in a prescribed location within a designated perimeter.”

Steve Alder, an organizer of Idaho’s derby, said dozens of people had already arrived in Salmon to participate. He was elated following the decision.

“We won,” Alder said. “You’ve got a lot of people who have driven from far distances to Salmon, today. A lot of motels have a lot of occupants; a lot of money has been expended for this event. It’s good for Salmon, but I don’t want to send them packing home.”

Every year, predator derbies are staged across the West and much of the rest of the country, where hunters compete to bag the most coyote, fox and other animals.

But wolves — and the notion that hundreds of armed sportsmen might head to the hills to shoot at them for cash — captured the passions of wildlife advocates on a landscape scale after they learned of the Idaho derby.

It’s been just two years since Endangered Species Act protections were lifted, and WildEarth Guardians executive director John Hornung said many people believe the big carnivores still face existential threats that are compounded when they’re hunted for prizes.

“To go from that position a mere two years ago, to contest hunts, is just incredibly dissonant to groups like ours, and I think, a lot of the public. It just doesn’t make sense,” Hornung said from his office in Santa Fe, N.M., adding he believes contest hunts are “all about a scorched earth approach to these native carnivores.”

In Friday’s telephone hearing, WildEarth Guardians’ attorney told Dale that a wolf derby taking place on Forest Service land that surrounds Salmon should be required to get the same kind of special permit as any other competitive gathering, including running races or snowmobile events.

“People are trying to kill as many animals as they can in two days in order to win the prize,” Sarah McMillan told the judge.

Meanwhile, attorneys for the U.S. Forest Service countered that no permit was needed.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Hurwit also said hunters could be in the woods and fields near Salmon this weekend shooting wolves and coyotes — regardless of whether their excursions were associated with a contest.

“There’s nothing to stop people who intended to participate in the derby, from going forward and taking the same action, killing coyotes and wolves, and just not participating in the derby,” Hurwit told Dale. “The derby doesn’t change hunting, hunting will happen throughout the season regardless of this lawsuit. The derby hunters will have to comply with state regulations.”

Wolves became big game animals in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming after federal Endangered Species Act protections were lifted starting in 2011. There are annual hunting and trapping seasons.

After reintroduction in the state in the mid-1990s, Idaho has about 680 wolves, according to 2012 estimates.

http://magicvalley.com/news/local/court-to-hear-wolf-derby-challenge/article_db0b1760-62a1-5dbf-82e7-f9ad8265065d.html

By Alison Gene Smith

SALMON • The fate of a disputed coyote and wolf derby planned for this weekend in central Idaho will be debated today in federal court.

U.S. District Magistrate Judge Candy Dale scheduled a telephone hearing in an environmental group’s lawsuit for 9:30 a.m.

“We hope that the judge just laughs it off, which he should,” said Steve Alder, executive director of Idaho for Wildlife, the group hosting the derby.

Hunters will receive a $1,000 prize for the largest wolf killed. There is a $1,000 prize for shooting the most coyotes.

WildEarth Guardians and other environmental groups contend the U.S. Forest Service ignored federal laws by allowing the competition to proceed this Saturday and Sunday near Salmon without requiring organizers to first secure a special-use permit for a commercial event on public land. They’ve asked Dale to issue a temporary restraining order that would halt the event.

The U.S. Forest Service says its rules don’t require a special permit.

“This twisted ‘wolf derby’ is a horrific demonstration of what happens when wolves are prematurely stripped of Endangered Species Act protection,” the Defenders of Wildlife organization posted on their website. “Over 154 wolves have already been killed in Idaho since this year’s hunting season began. Idaho wolves can’t bear to lose more pups, mothers and pack leaders than they already have. It’s up to you and me to stop this.”

Opponents have called the derby a “killing contest.”

These claims aren’t true, Alder said.

Data from Idaho Fish and Game shows that wolf harvest will be minimal, he said. Cold weather is mostly to blame, he said.

“There’s so much misinformation out there,” he said. “The threat of a big wolf slaughter is a joke.”

Alder said he doubts hunters who show up will even see a wolf.

The Associated Press contributed to this story