[This answers the question, “How many are left?”]
by Associated Press, January 29th 2014
KETCHUM, Idaho — A professional hunter has been called out of a federal wilderness in central Idaho because he succeeded in killing all the wolves in two packs, a state agency spokesman said.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game spokesman Mike Keckler tells the Idaho Mountain Express in a story on Wednesday that the hunter killed eight wolves with traps and a ninth by hunting.
Gus Thoreson of Salmon started hunting and trapping in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in mid-December as part of a state plan to eliminate wolves to boost elk numbers. The state agency had planned to keep Thoreson hunting through the winter.
“He had been pretty effective early on, but it had been two weeks since he had taken any wolves, so we decided there was no reason to keep him in the area any longer,” Keckler said.
Keckler said the average size of a wolf pack in Idaho is five wolves, so the agency determined it had reached its goal of eliminating the Golden Creek and Monumental Creek packs. Officials announced Monday that Thoreson was coming out.
Fish and Game Director Virgil Moore’s acknowledgement that Thoreson’s hunt relied on the use of the U.S. Forest Service’s backcountry airstrips and cabin had prompted strong emotions, including from wolf advocates who sued in federal court to force him to quit.
Defenders of Wildlife, Western Watersheds Project and Wilderness Watch filed the lawsuit Jan. 6 asking the judge to stop the plan immediately to give the case time to work through the courts. The environmental groups were joined by Ralph Maughan, a former Idaho State University professor, conservationist and long-time wolf recovery advocate from Pocatello.
They lost their initial bid on Jan. 17 when a federal judge rejected their request for a temporary restraining order. The conservation groups argued that Thoreson’s activities violated the 1964 Wilderness Act and other federal acts.
The groups had appealed that decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals when the state agency announced the hunter was being pulled out.
“I am happy that the Idaho Department of Fish and Game has relented, but it is unfortunate that so many wolves have been taken in this senseless plan to manhandle wildlife in an area that Congress recognized as a wilderness,” said Ken Cole, National Environmental Policy Act coordinator at the Boise office of Western Watersheds Project.
Wolves were reintroduced to Idaho in the mid-1990s and have since flourished in backcountry regions, including the Frank Church wilderness.
Last year, state game managers estimated Idaho’s wolf population at 683, an 11 percent drop from 2012. The highest total was in 2009, when it estimated 859 wolves were in the state.
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Information from: Idaho Mountain Express, http://www.mtexpress.com
Exposing the Big Game 
Reblogged this on "OUR WORLD".
I don’t wish the man any harm but I do hope all his dreams every night are of wolves caught in traps and in agony,, and that his dreams cause him mental agony..
That’s not going to happen. Trappers are psychopaths, and thus have no conscience or remorse.
You’re right Maureen, don’t expect his kind to be wracked by a guilty conscience.
Sadly, his kind probably sleep very well at night. 😦
It’s just to sad and tragic that evil people like him are let loose on the wolves just so hunters can kill more Elk, deer etc. I hope his life is not a happy one.
Killing wolves so hunters can have more elk to kill is human arrogance at its ultimate.
Exactly, and what’s more, even if they killed every wolf I think they will still have a problem with elk population decline. There are other variables besides wolf depredation on elk. It’s not completely understood yet, but wolf depredation is probably not significantly affecting the elk population decline.
If wolves are exterminated to artificially inflate elk numbers (so that humans can have the “pleasure” of shooting up the elk) that will also affect the flora and change the succession of trees and grasses, for example. They either have no clue as to the chain of events they are setting in motion, or they just don’t care. I got with the latter.
I agree–they don’t care. Letting nature take its course is the last thing they want. They think they’re the Earth’s (self-appointed) “managers.”
I’d be embarrassed to live in Idaho. I have family members who live there, and I used to visit on occasion. However, I will never, ever go back until their wildlife policies change and Idaho starts to care about its wildlife, including predators and non game species.
ugh this is soo awful, but lets not nuke the state, lots of good beautiful things there too!!
Reblogged this on Sherlockian's Blog.
Reblogged this on Howling For Justice and commented:
And so it goes, smoke and mirrors…..
Sometimes I’m really sorry to be part of the human race – where’s the humanity?????
Reblogged this on Mud 'n Feathers and commented:
Man’s Inhumanity – Insufferable!
Pingback: What Motivates a “Wolfer?” | Exposing the Big Game
Reblogged this on Fur ‘N Feathers and on my facebook page
Thanks for the rebblog. Here’s another one you might want to share on the same subject:
…the wolfer contracted by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to snuff out the Golden Creek and Monumental Creek packs in Idaho’s Frank Church Wilderness Area, must get an ego boost from being known as a “professional” wolf killer. He no doubt experiences some kind of perverse thrill every time he finds an animal desperately trying to free him-or-herself from one of his leg crushing traps. And he probably even gets off on hearing that his actions are upsetting a lot of empathetic wolf advocates who desperately want him to stop his atrocities.
https://exposingthebiggame.wordpress.com/2014/01/30/what-motivates-a-wolfer/
Can’t comment on the hunter’s state of mind – I don’t know him, only know what has transpired so far and I find it reprehensible – on all counts! As I understand it, we were given a God chosen task to act as caretakers, not destroyers.
Can’t comment on God–I don’t know him–I only know that if he tasked Homo sapiens to be the caretakers of this wonderful living world, he chose the wrong species.
Can’t claim to know God’s mind or understanding his reasoning process, but agree that we seem to be the wrong ones to take care of this beautiful creation!
We’ve proved that over and over.
The horrible blame on wolves because of elk depletion is so stupid! I wonder if the elk and deer are miscarrying do to polluted water from fracking?
eliminate wls and dnr, they are agencies working for special interest groups i.e hunter/trappers, ranchers, our tax money is paying for this slaughter, vote out the politicians that are supporting these barbaric acts and agencies.
I’ve successfully concocted a three-prong attack to punish Thoreson and Co.
1. Chemical warfare to smoke out the wolf haters so they can be rounded up and captured.
2. Those in some position of power – politicians, game agency heads, sportsmen’s organization heads, cattleman’s organizations, etc. – will be destroyed.
3. For the rest, a state-sized prison farm will they will never be allowed to harm another animal ever again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OmJ2snsLxWw
Each enclosed video clip explains each prong in greater detail.
Reblogged this on Wolf Is My Soul.
I cannot even wrap my head around this. I feel sick to my stomach.