Published 10:27 am Thursday, March 6, 2025

By Brad Carlson A wolf in Northern Idaho. (Idaho Department of Fish and Game) Idaho’s wolf population likely is down by about one-third since 2021, according to state Department of Fish and Game officials. Aug. 1 estimates included about 1,550 wolves from 2019 to 2021 followed by just over 1,300 in 2022 and 1,150 in 2023. The 2024 estimate, to be presented to the Fish and Game Commission in July, is expected to be down slightly based on harvest in the preceding year, to around 1,000, “if we follow the trend line we were on,” said Shane Roberts, Fish and Game wildlife bureau chief. The wolf population estimate for Aug. 1, 2024, will be a “new anchor point” for future projections that reflect impacts of a federal injunction that impacted wolf harvest during the 2024-25 hunting and trapping season, he said. Federal Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale in spring 2024 prohibited Idaho recreational wolf trapping and snaring in grizzly bear habitat in 19 counties during the bears’ non-denning season, from March through November. She upheld the decision Feb. 4 after Idaho asked her to reconsider. Some 27% of the state’s wolf-trapping harvest from 2019 through 2023 was in the geographic area that the injunction impacts, Fish and Game director Jim Fredericks told the state Senate Resources & Environment Committee March 5. “We’re not through the first year yet of seeing what the result is,” he said. “We are down in terms of our wolf harvest, and we are seeing less harvest in those areas because we are not able to trap when a lot of the harvest historically has occurred.” Nevertheless, “we have other tools, and we do remain very committed to achieving our management objectives,” Fredericks said. The department is considering appealing the federal ruling, he said. As for Idaho’s wolf population and the department’s objectives for it, since 2019, “the trend line suggests that if we are able to maintain adequate harvest, we would be on a trajectory to meet the state’s management goal of a population fluctuating around 500 animals,” Roberts said. That population goal is set in the department’s 2023-28 wolf management plan. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in its 2009 delisting rule for the Northern Rockies said Idaho could manage an average of 500 wolves without reducing wild prey or increasing livestock depredation. The Idaho Legislature in 2021 significantly increased allowed wolf take and authorized additional kill methods. Environmental groups took legal action. Previously and since, Fish and Game has focused wolf harvest where livestock depredations are chronic or where elk populations are below management objectives.

Read more at: https://capitalpress.com/2025/03/06/idaho-wolf-population-expected-to-drop-again/

Default Mono Sans Mono Serif Sans Serif Comic Fancy Small CapsDefault X-Small Small Medium Large X-Large XX-LargeDefault Outline Dark Outline Light Outline Dark Bold Outline Light Bold Shadow Dark Shadow Light Shadow Dark Bold Shadow Light BoldDefault Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua OrangeDefault 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%Default Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua OrangeDefault 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%Crews remove 90 dead birds from Little Chute pond, possible deaths caused by bird flu. (SOURCE: WBAY)

By WBAY news staff and Andrew McMunn

Published: Mar. 2, 2025 at 1:20 PM PST

LITTLE CHUTE, Wis. (WBAY/Gray News) – At least 90 dead ducks were removed from a pond in Wisconsin, and officials are investigating if their deaths were caused by bird flu.

Kent Taylor, the public works director for the Village of Little Chute, said crews removed 90 dead mallards from a storm pond Wednesday.

“Several of our employees were viewing Facebook or social media, and they had seen that there were several reports that there were some dead ducks in our Buchanan storm pond,” Taylor said.

Officials contacted the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for help in removing the dead birds from the pond in Little Chute.

“We took their advice and they said we could clean up the ducks out of the pond, so our guys went in the pond with their waders on, and pulled all the ducks out,” Taylor said.

Taylor also said there is no danger to the public at this time. However, residents are wanting to know exactly what caused that number of birds to die.

“Is it pollution? Is it bird flu? I’d like to know what it is?” Ken Affeldt of Little Chute asked.

The DNR took samples from six of the dead mallards from the storm pond.

They said the results of of the tests may not been seen for a couple of weeks.

“Their biologists came out and explained to us that it looked very similar to what they had seen elsewhere in the county, particularly over in Kaukauna (Wisconsin) most recently, and they said it looked like it would be associated with the avian bird flu,” Taylor said.

Despite the unsettling scenes, Taylor said the village will continue to monitor the storm pond and take additional measures if dead birds keep turning up.

“That pond has harbored as many as a 1,000 to 2,000 waterfowl, most recently because it is open, there’s a warm water outlet into that pond. It’s a spot we take care of on a regular basis,” Taylor said.

After the ducks were removed from the pond, the DNR placed their carcasses in bags and brought them to the Outagamie County Landfill to be disposed of.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 12,215 cases of avian flu have been found in wild birds in the country.

The vast majority of avian flu cases have been found in poultry, with at least166 million birds affected.

Under-18 youth can take part now, with full opening starting April 1

Metro photo

Posted Wednesday, March 5, 2025 5:17 pm

South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks

PIERRE — The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department recently kicked off the seventh year of the Nest Predator Bounty Program, as South Dakota youth under age 18 could begin harvesting nest predators for submission on March 1.

The program will open to all South Dakota residents April 1. Tails from raccoon, striped skunk, badger, red fox, and opossum will be eligible for $10 per-tail payments with a maximum total payout of $500,000. Tails must have been harvested during the open period to be eligible for submission.

“This program continues to get youth outside and involved in wildlife management,” department Secretary Kevin Robling said. “With spring right around the corner, this is the perfect opportunity to get out and enjoy the great outdoors.”

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The 2023 and 2024 programs saw steady participation among youth under age 18, which composed 46% of the total participants.

Tails eligible for submission can be harvested via trapping or hunting. Participants need a hunting, furbearer, or fishing license to be eligible to participate in the bounty program. Landowners harvesting nest predators for the program on their own land and youth under 18 are exempt from this license requirement.

GFP will also once again offer a weekly youth trap giveaway. One participating youth under age 18 will be drawn weekly to receive a raccoon trapping starter kit, trapping handbook, a knife and a write-up explaining Benton Howe’s love for the outdoors.

All participating youth will also be given the National Trapper’s Association Trapping Handbook as well.

“Trapping is tradition in South Dakota, and this is a great way for the next generation of trappers to learn more about this activity and wildlife management,” Robling said. “We’re excited to build on the success of this program, and the fantastic pheasant season we had last year.”

Complete program details as well as dates, times, and locations for tail submissions can be found on the GFP website. For bounty submissions outside of the listed office locations and times, please contact your local wildlife conservation officer or wildlife damage specialist.