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.
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.
Regional environmental groups filed for a restraining order in federal court Monday to block a controversial coyote- and wolf-hunting derby in Central Idaho this weekend, calling it a “Killing Contest” that should require additional permits under U.S. Forest Service guidelines.
The upcoming derby, organized by the sportsman group Idaho for Wildlife, offers $2,000 in cash and other prizes for the largest wolf killed and the most coyotes taken by two-person teams from Dec. 28-29. Organizers expected as many as 300 hunters to participate.
Conservation groups, led by WildEarth Guardians in Missoula, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Idaho, seeking an injunction to halt the scheduled two-day derby, arguing wildlife officials had disregarded their own restrictions on special events and that the competitive derby could endanger people recreating in Idaho over the holidays.
“USFS did not even consider what the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the Killing Contest might be to the human and natural environment on public lands,” the group’s complaint argues.
Wolf hunting has been an extremely contentious issue in Idaho with outspoken environmentalists calling for extended protections while hunters resent the impact of wolves on big game populations. Wildlife officials have been caught in the middle of the bitter debate, struggling to balance protections with population management.
Officials expected few wolves to be killed in any potential derby because the animals have proven notoriously difficult to track and kill.
WildEarth Guardians and the other plaintiffs argue in their complaint that the Forest Service had not followed their rules on requiring special event permits for the upcoming derby. They cite a rule mandating a permit for any commercial activity where an “entry or participation fee” is charged. The derby is $20 per person.
“Although the sponsors estimate the contest will draw 300 participants to federal public lands to shoot as many coyotes and wolves as possible over the course of two days, in contravention of the plain language of its own regulations and without following its special use procedures, USFS decided no special use authorization was required,” the complaint states.
Conservationists also expressed serious safety concerns about pitting dozens of hunters against each other in a relatively concentrated area at a time of year when families may be looking to enjoy the outdoors. They argued the derby would result in more gunfire in a smaller area where families, children and pets could be at risk.
“This Killing Contest occurs in the middle of the holidays on the weekend between Christmas and New Years,” the complaint states. “During this time, many families have time away from work, can and plan to recreate on public lands, and head out to test out new skis, snowshoes, sleds, snowsuits, snowmobiles and other recreation equipment.”
Ask any of the people in Salmon and they’ll tell you there’s nothing they like more than a good hunt.
“It is really a way of life,” said Salmon resident Billijo Beck.
But lately that way of life has come under scrutiny after a local outfitter announced a wolf derby in which hunters will be given cash prizes for killing wolves.
Several in the town of 3,000 say they’ve received threatening e-mails and Facebook messages from all over the world.
“There was one that they were gonna hang our entire family by a noose,” recalls Jen Larson, who says she began receiving threats after she and her husband’s diner, the Savage Grill, became a derby sponsor.
“Wanted to burn the business down with us in it. Make sure we were in it,” said Dave Larson.
“Some rock and a flaming arrow needs to fly through that sign,” reads one message, referring to the Savage Grill’s Native American logo.
Another reads, “Sick [expletives] like you need to be removed from the planet. I hope a pack of wolves eviscerates you and leaves your worthless carcass to die slowly, painfully and alone.”
We tracked down one of the people behind one of the threats—a man living in Canada who identified himself as a Native American elder but wouldn’t give his name.
He insists he didn’t cross any line by sending the messages.
“They’re beautiful and you can’t eat the meat. Why do they want to shoot them?” he asked.
But hunters say they’re doing nothing wrong.
“If you look up the definition of murder, it’s defined in human terms. Not in animal terms,” said Beck.
They say the wolf derby will continue despite the negative response.
“It’s mostly out-of-state people who don’t have a clue what we do here or how we live here,” said Dave Larson.
The Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office would not confirm whether they’re investigating the threats.
The wolf derby will take place Dec. 28 and Dec. 29 in Salmon.
This holiday, a killing contest takes aim at two of the most persecuted predators in North America: wolves and coyotes. The contest, scheduled in the Salmon-Challis area and hosted by the anti-predator organization Idaho For Wildlife, is billed as fun and wholesome entertainment for the entire family. Children as young as 10 can participate in the kill-fest and entrants who bag the largest wolf and the most female coyotes will win trophies and cash prizes.
The “1st Annual 2 Day Coyote & Wolf Derby,” is scheduled to begin December 28 — ironically on the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), our nation’s safety net for wildlife, that brought wolves back from the brink of extinction. On this very day, teams of hunters will enter public lands to kill as many wolves and coyotes as they can. They will use bait, calling devices and high-tech rifles. Is this fair chase? Or is it wanton blood-sport?
Idaho is not alone in this carnage. More than 15 other predator-killing contests are scheduled throughout the country in January and February 2014. Species targeted include coyotes, foxes and bobcats. Many of these species are classified as “non-game” by state wildlife agencies; this means they can be killed 24-7 by almost any method imaginable. Moreover, the populations of the targeted species and the scheduled mass killings are often not even monitored by the state wildlife agencies.
Regarding the Idaho “Coyote and Wolf Derby,” Blaine County, Idaho, Commissioner Larry Shoen said, “Shooting contests conducted in the name of killing animals for fun, money and prizes is just not consistent with the values of most people in the modern world,” as reported in the Jackson Hole News & Guide.
Agreeing with Schoen’s position, Ted Chu, an Idaho Fish and Game supervisor, wrote on his Facebook page:
“I have hunted all of my adult life. Hunting is not a contest and it should never be a competitive activity about who can kill the most or the biggest animals. The supporters of these sorts of activities would no doubt claim to be great defenders of hunting, yet they go out of their way to publicly present the worst possible image of hunting. If we hunters don’t clean up our own act, someone else will do it for us and we won’t like the results, but when that time comes, and it surely will, these ‘hunters’ will have only themselves to blame.”
Let’s start with wolves. Economically, a killing contest strips money away from Idaho. A wolf tag can be purchased for as little as $11.75, permitting each hunter to shoot four to 10 wolves, depending on region. Wolf watching generates approximately $30 million annually to the towns around Yellowstone. This does not include the ecological benefits that accrue as wolves help restore balance and biodiversity to the to the ecosystem — services unaccounted for by state and federal wildlife agencies. What is the value of a wolf alive — over the course of his or her lifetime — compared to one shot dead for a $11.75 wolf-hunting license? The ethics of recreational killing of wolves aside, the economics does not justify this insanity.
Coyotes are the other target species included in this killing contest. Too often, the justification used for mass killing of coyotes is that their populations need to be reduced and controlled to help ranchers and game hunters. However, science has shown indiscriminate coyote killing is not effective at reducing their populations; they quickly rebound and fill any vacancies. Coyotes, like other predators, self-regulate their population based on the biological carrying capacity of an area. Unexploited, coyote family groups establish territories which they defend from transient coyotes seeking new territories and mates, and will thus keep the local population stable. Lethal coyote removal, including killing contests, disrupts this stable social structure, allowing for vacant territories to be filled by outside coyotes.
The importance of wolves, coyotes and other predators in maintaining stability and productivity in ecosystems has been well-documented in peer-reviewed scientific literature. Coyotes provide many ecosystem services that benefit people including their control of smaller predators, disease-carrying rodents and jackrabbits, which compete with domestic livestock for available forage. As apex predators, wolves increase biodiversity and ecological integrity.
Even the contest sponsors are unwilling to defend their contest. When contacted by Reuters, “organizer and Idaho big-game outfitter Shane McAfee said media inquiries were not welcome.” Reuters reports that the sponsor, Idaho for Wildlife, according to the group’s website is “a nonprofit whose aim is ‘to fight against all legal and legislative attempts by the animal rights and anti-gun organizations’ to impose restrictions on hunting or guns.” An examination into the charitable status of Idaho for Wildlife, Inc. found no listing of the organization as a tax-exempt entity with the IRS.
What are we teaching our children by allowing killing sprees like this — and inviting children to participate? Wildlife killing contests desensitize children, sending dangerous messages that killing for fun is acceptable, that an entire species is disposable, and that life is cheap.
And what about the public safety hazards for the many families and their dogs who will be out in the Salmon-Challis region during the two-day predator blitz? Earlier this month USA Today reported that a pet malamute was shot dead by a wolf hunter in Lolo National Forest’s Lee Creek campground in Montana. According to the report: “Spence said he looked up just as Little Dave’s hind leg was struck by a bullet… Spence said a man, dressed mostly in camouflage, was standing on the road approximately 30 yards ahead of him and was aiming a semiautomatic assault rifle in his direction.”
It is time we decide as a nation that gratuitously slaughtering wildlife as part of killing contests or “derbies” is not acceptable in the 21st century. “A society that condones unlimited killing of any species for fun and prizes is morally bankrupt,” stated Dave Parsons, a Project Coyote Science Advisory Board Member who led the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s effort to reintroduce the endangered Mexican gray wolf to portions of its former range in Arizona and New Mexico.
Please help Project Coyote and allies stop this barbarity. Take action here and here.
Project Coyote is a national non-profit organization based in Larkspur, California that promotes compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife. More info. here.
Forty wolves and an untold number of coyotes need a few minutes of your time, now. After days of researching Idaho statues, codes, and regulations, Green Vegans has sent a seven-page letter to Idaho’s Dallas Burkhalter – Deputy Attorney General, Kathleen Trever – Lead Deputy Attorney General, Virgil Moore, Director of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG), and Rick Jackson, Chair of the Idaho State Tax Commission. We are demanding they enforce Idaho rules and regulations already in place that should stop the “First Annual 2-Day Coyote and Wolf Hunting Derby” in its tracks—if the political will is there.
The contest organizer, “Idaho for Wildlife” (really), the sponsors, and the fee-paying participants are acting outside of regulatory control. The State of Idaho appears ready to do nothing to stop this slaughter. Refer to ALERT #1 for details.
Yes, your time is precious just before the official holiday season. But the hunt is scheduled to begin December 28 and 29, 2013 in Salmon, Idaho.
Please send your email now (just cut and paste the talking points below) and then call and ask them to read it:
1)
a) Kathleen Trever – Lead Deputy Attorney General (208) 334-2400 / <a href=”mailto:ktrever@idfg.idaho.gov” data-mce-href=”mailto:ktrever@idfg.idaho.gov”>ktrever@idfg.idaho.gov </a>
b) W. Dallas Burkhalter – Deputy Attorney General (208) 334-3715 / <a href=”mailto:dallas.burkhalter@idfg.idaho.gov” data-mce-href=”mailto:dallas.burkhalter@idfg.idaho.gov”>dallas.burkhalter@idfg.idaho.gov</a> (Trevor and Burkhalter represent and interpret IDFG regulations)
c) Virgil Moore, Director, Idaho Department of Fish and Game (208) 334-3771 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (208) 334-3771 FREE end_of_the_skype_highlighting / virgil.moore@idfg.idaho.gov
Tell them:
The “First Annual 2-Day Coyote and Wolf Hunting Derby” is a commercial hunt prohibited by Idaho regulations;
It violates the 15–hunter maximum participation rule;
It violates the IDFG Commission thirteen year wildlife policy: “However, the Department will not support any contests or similar activities involving the taking of predators which may portray hunting in an unethical fashion, devalue the predator, and which may be offensive to the general public. The Department opposes use of bounties as a predator control measure.”
They have effectively passed off their legal responsibilities to a vigilante organization that is paying a bounty for the killing.
The concentration of so many hunters competing for two days to shoot as many coyotes as possible and up to 40 wolves is dangerous and a tragedy waiting to be headlines. The contest and prizes are open to children as young as ten years of age.
The organization, “Hope for Wildlife”, is deceiving the public with its statements claiming the slaughter is to teach hunters the dangers of parasites that are found naturally in a wide array of wildlife species.
The person receiving the email will be collecting them as she is covering for another staff person on vacation. Please, no harsh words. Just ask them to investigate the tax status of “Hope for Wildlife”:
“Hope for Wildlife” is the organization organizing the slaughter. They are registered as a nonprofit in Idaho but are not a federally-recognized tax-exempt organization by the IRS. They are abusing the purpose of nonprofit organizations. Tell Rick Jackson that bounty hunting does not meet the definition of allowed purposes for nonprofits.
Ask Rick Jackson if he believes “Idaho for Wildlife” has the right to collect and then distribute money and prizes to bounty hunters without paying taxes and fees required of for-profit corporations.
4) Share this Alert on your social media. Remember, Christmas is a holiday so we have Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday only to save 40 wolves and for coyotes, there is no limit.
By Ken Cole On December 23, 2013 · 19 Comments · In Coyotes, Forest Service, Idaho, Idaho Wolves, Press Release, Public Lands, Western Watersheds Project, Wolf Hunt, Wolves
… .
For Immediate Release: December 23, 2013
Conservationists Sue to Stop Wolf and Coyote Killing Contest on Public Lands
Groups Challenge Federal Agency’s Failure to Regulate Highly Controversial Contest
Pocatello, ID – Today a coalition of conservation organizations sued the U.S. Forest Service for failure to require permits and environmental impacts analysis for the advertised “Coyote and Wolf Derby” in Salmon, Idaho, December 28 and 29. The lawsuit seeks an order requiring the agency inform the killing contest sponsors and participants that shooting wolves and coyotes on public lands as part of the contest is illegal without the required environmental analyses and permits.
“Killing contests that perpetuate false stereotypes about key species like wolves and coyotes that play essential roles in healthy ecosystems have no place on public lands.” Said Bethany Cotton, wildlife program director at WildEarth Guardians. “The Forest Service is abdicating its responsibilities as steward of our public lands. We are asking the agency to comply with the law: require a permit application and do the necessary environmental analysis, including providing a public comment process, to ensure our public lands and wildlife are protected.”
The killing contest is charging an entry fee, advertising prizes for the largest wolf and the most coyote carcasses, among other award categories, and specifically offering opportunities for children as young as 10 to kill for prizes. Commercial activities like the killing contest are prohibited on public lands without a special use permit. An application for a special use permit triggers application of the National Environmental Policy Act. Highly controversial activities are exempted from fast track permitting. In contrast to the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) informed the killing contest sponsors that a special use permit is required. To date, BLM has not received an application. Hunting on BLM administered public lands as part of the killing contest is therefore illegal.
“Predator killing contests have no place in the 21st Century,” said Camilla Fox, founder and executive director of Project Coyote. “Killing coyotes and wolves for fun and prizes is ethically repugnant, morally bankrupt, and ecologically indefensible. Such contests demean the immense ecological and economic value of predators, perpetuating a culture of violence and sending a message to children that life has little value.”
Lynne Stone, director of the Boulder-White Clouds Council, who has lived and worked in central Idaho for over three decades, said, “killing contests like this have no place in a civilized society and are an embarrassment to our state. Shame on the agencies for allowing these events on our public lands. It’s no wonder so many people view Idaho as like something out of Deliverance.”
Since 2011 when Congress stripped Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves in Idaho, the state has allowed nearly half of Idaho’s wolf population to be hunted and trapped each year. Since 2011, nearly 1,000 wolves have died at the hands of hunters and trappers. Science shows that wolves play a key role as apex carnivores, providing ecological benefits that cascade through an ecosystem. Wolves bring elk and deer populations into balance, allowing riparian vegetation to regrow, in turn creating habitat for songbirds and beavers and shade for fish.
“That the US Forest Service allows a commercial event that glorifies the killing of wildlife for killing’s sake without a special use permit on public lands is unconscionable.” Said Ken Cole, NEPA coordinator for the Western Watersheds Project.
Coyotes, like wolves, serve a valuable ecological function by helping to control rodent populations and to maintain ecological integrity and species diversity. Unlike wolves, coyotes quickly rebound when they are killed indiscriminately. Coyotes have no protection under Idaho state law.
“Such killing contests reveal a larger flaw in our nation’s wildlife management strategies where predators continue to be treated as vermin, including by those very state agencies responsible for their management,” explains DJ Schubert, wildlife biologist at the Animal Welfare Institute. “The scientific reality is that predators are immensely important members of any healthy ecosystem and their ecological role should be celebrated, not condemned.”
The organizations are represented by WildEarth Guardians Senior Attorney Sarah McMillan and the Law Office of Dana Johnson.
WildEarth Guardians envisions a world where wildlife and wild places are respected and valued and our world is sustainable for all beings. We work to protect and restore wildlife, wild places, and wild rivers in the American West. Visit http://www.wildearthguardians.org to learn more.
Project Coyote (ProjectCoyote.org) is a national non-profit organization promoting compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife through education, science, and advocacy. Join our community on Facebook and Twitter.
Boulder-White Clouds Council has worked for over two decades to protect and defend wild lands and wildlife in Idaho’s upper Salmon River Country. Our website has extensive information and rare photos of Idaho’s gray wolves: http://www.wildwhiteclouds.org.
Animal Welfare Institute is a national non-profit charitable organization founded in 1951 and dedicated to reducing animal suffering caused by people. AWI engages policymakers, scientists, industry, and the public to achieve better treatment of animals everywhere—in the laboratory, on the farm, in commerce, at home, and in the wild. For more information, visit http://www.awionline.org.
Western Watersheds Project is a regional non-profit conservation group that works to influence and improve public lands and wildlife management throughout the West with a primary focus on the negative impacts of livestock grazing on 250,000,000 acres of western public lands. http://www.westernwatersheds.org
In central Idaho, local hostility to wolves expresses itself on signs along the highway. Many residents don’t like the wolves because the animals kill elk, livestock and pets. (NPR)
Conservation groups howled when Congress removed the Rocky Mountain gray wolf from the federal endangered species list. The “delisting” in most of the Northwest was attached to the budget deal in April between the White House and Congress.
The head of one environmental organization likened it to Congress throwing the wolf off Noah’s Ark. But now that states like Idaho have full authority over the wolf’s fate, they’re eager to use it.
Idaho Fish and Game Regional Supervisor Dave Cadwallader welcomes the delisting because it allows the state to treat the wolf like any other animal.
“Wolves are classified as a big-game animal in Idaho, and we fully intend to manage them like we do our other big-game animals that we’ve done successfully, bears and lions, for example,” he says. “And we want to be able to do the same with wolves.”
That most likely means annual wolf hunts. The state hasn’t yet settled the details of its wolf management plan, but it’s already started shooting them. Idaho Fish and Game recently sent helicopters to a part of the state where wolves are thought to be killing too many elk; the “aerial gunning,” as it’s called, killed five wolves.
Wolves A Menace To Some Locals
Residents of Elk City, a tiny town in Idaho’s Clearwater Mountains, say they’ve been especially plagued by wolves. They say the wolves are killing huge numbers of elk and driving the frightened survivors right into town. And other animals have been killed. Stan Denham lost one of the hunting dogs he keeps on his land just outside town.
“They attacked her right over here and then dragged her down over to the timber,” Denham says. “The whole hillside here seemed like it was covered with blood.”
Denham also happens to be one of the sheriff’s deputies in Elk City. In May, the state gave the deputies special authorization to shoot wolves in town.
“This is actually a request to hunt them and put some effort into shooting them, whether they’re causing problems or not,” he says.
Anti-Wolf Feelings Have Deep Roots
The science isn’t clear on whether killing wolves will bring back the elk. But when it comes to wolves, science is sometimes beside the point.
John Freemuth, a political science professor at Boise State University, tracked the politics of this issue. He says anti-wolf feelings have deep historical roots. “The wolf was viewed as a sort of a bad species, a predator that needed to be removed so the West could be settled and developed,” Freemuth says.
People worked hard to eradicate the wolf. And then, a few generations later, the federal government said those methods were wrong. In the 1990s, it brought in fresh wolves from Canada.
“Suddenly it’s being brought back and it’s a good species to have on the land,” he says. “The history there just suggests that some Befuddled — or just plain angry. And in the West, it’s not unusual for the wolf to become a symbol for other contentious issues.
Anger An Undercurrent On Both Sides
Sitting in the general store in Elk City, Carmen Williams considers the feds’ insistence on bringing back the wolves and sees a deeper motivation.
“Gun control in disguise,” he says. “If we don’t have any game left to shoot, what’s the sense to carrying a rifle?”
These aren’t majority opinions in Idaho, but they represent powerful political undercurrents, which have been intensified over the past few years by the prolonged court battles over when and how to take the growing wolf population off the endangered species list.
Randy Stewart has seen some of that anger over the years at the Wolf Education and Research Center, in the small town of Winchester, Idaho.
Behind a chain-link fence, a gray wolf silently touches its nose to Stewart’s hand in greeting. Stewart, who guides tours at this wolf center, says he has seen attitudes sharpen in recent years, on both sides.
“There are probably still people that don’t want wolves here, that want to see them all removed, and there’s still people who say don’t hunt a wolf,” Stewart says. “But we’re not in a society in my opinion that we can have one or the other extreme.”
Some Western conservationists are hoping the delisting of the wolf also has a silver lining. They say now that the wolf is no longer federally protected, maybe it can also shed its reputation as the federal government’s pet.
You may recall that, last April, Congress removed the Rocky Mountain gray wolf from the federal endangered species list. And conservation groups howled. As part of a budget deal also approved by the White House, states like Idaho now have full authority over the wolf’s fate. And they are eager to use that authority, as NPR’s Martin Kaste reports.
MARTIN KASTE: Environmentalists see the wolf de-listing as a calamity. But in Idaho, there’s a different take.
Mr. DAVE CADWALLADER (Idaho Fish and Game): We’re not going to annihilate wolves or remove wolves from the landscape.
KASTE: Dave Cadwallader is regional supervisor with Idaho Fish and Game. The way he sees things, the wolf is finally just another animal.
Mr. CADWALLADER: You know, wolves are classified as a big game animal in Idaho, and we fully intend to manage them like we do our other big game animals that we’ve done successfully, bears and lions, for example. And we want to be able to do the same with wolves.
KASTE: That means regular wolf hunts, probably starting this fall. The state is already shooting. Fish and Game recently sent helicopters to a part of the state where wolves are thought to be killing too many elk. The aerial gunning, as it’s called, killed five wolves.
(Soundbite of dog barking)
KASTE: Stan Denham keeps hunting dogs on his land just outside Elk City, a tiny town at the end of the highway in Idaho’s Clearwater Mountains.
Mr. STAN DENHAM (Deputy, Sheriffs Department, Idaho County): That’s Penny, it’s a little female. That’s Digger down there. My kids named them all.
KASTE: Residents of Elk City say they’ve been especially plagued by wolves. They say the wolves are killing huge numbers of elk, and driving the frightened survivors right into town. Other animals have also been killed. Denham recently lost one of his dogs.
Mr. DENHAM: They attacked her right over here and then drug her down the hill into the timber. The whole hillside here seemed like it was covered with blood.
KASTE: Denham also happens to be one the two sheriffs’ deputies here. And in May, the state gave them special authorization to shoot wolves in Elk City Township – any wolves.
Mr. DENHAM: This is actually a request to hunt them and put some effort into shooting them, whether they’re causing problems or not.
(Soundbite of barking dogs)
KASTE: It’s debatable whether killing wolves will bring back the elk – the science just isn’t clear. But when it comes to wolves, science is sometimes beside the point.
John Freemuth is a professor at Boise State, who’s tracked the politics of this issue. And he says anti-wolf feelings have deep historical roots.
Professor JOHN FREEMUTH (Political Science, Boise State University): The wolf was viewed as a sort of a bad species, a predator that needed to be removed so the West could be settled and developed.
KASTE: People worked hard to eradicate the wolf. Then, a few generations later, the federal government came along and said that was all wrong. In the 1990s, it brought in fresh wolves from Canada.
Prof. FREEMUTH: Suddenly it’s being brought back and it’s a good species to have on the land. The history there just suggests that some people are going to be a little befuddled by that.
KASTE: Befuddled or just plain angry. And in the West, it’s not unusual for the wolf to become a symbol for other contentious issues.
Sitting in the general store in Elk City, Carmen Williams considers the fed’s insistence on bringing back the wolves and sees a deeper motivation.
Mr. CARMEN WILLIAMS: Gun control in disguise.
KASTE: How do wolves lead to gun control?
Mr. WILLIAMS: Well, if we don’t have any game left to shoot, why what’s the sense of carrying a rifle?
KASTE: These aren’t majority opinions in Idaho, not by a long shot. But these are powerful political undercurrents. And over the last few years, they’ve been intensified by the prolonged court battles over when and how to take the growing wolf population off the Endangered Species List.
Randy Stewart has seen some of that anger over the years at the Wolf Education Research Center, in the small Idaho town of Winchester.
Mr. RANDY STEWART (Education Coordinator, Wolf Education Research Center): Here comes the alpha male. He is beginning to shed his undercoat
KASTE: Behind a chain-link fence, a gray wolf silently touches its nose to Stewart’s hand in greeting. Stewart, who guides tours at this wolf center, says he’s seen attitudes sharpen in recent years, on both sides.
Mr. STEWART: There are probably still people that don’t want wolves here and would like to see them all removed. And there are still people that say don’t hunt a wolf. But we’re not in a society, in my opinion, that we can have one or the other extreme.
KASTE: Some Western conservationists are hoping the delisting of the wolf also has a silver lining. They say, now that the wolf is no longer federally protected, maybe it can also shed its reputation as the federal government’s pet.
Martin Kaste, NPR news.
INSKEEP: It’s MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
Like me, you’re probably getting fed up with mainstream media’s coverage of wildlife issues lately. Although hunters make up a paltry 6% of the country’s overall population, every source, from the nightly news to Timemagazine has been reporting on hunters’ atrocities against animals like a bunch of star-struck, goo-goo eyed fans, rather than impartial journalists.
Why else would news of a “contest” hunt for coyotes and wolves planned for December 28th in Salmon, ID, go unnoticed on the media’s radar screen?
You can bet if Justin Bieber (whoever the hell that is) stepped in dog crap, they’d be all over that shit.
But when an endangered species makes a bit of a comeback only to provide “recreational hunting opportunities” for psychopaths bent on their renewed extermination, they give it the coverage they would a company picnic.
That’s why Exposing the Big Game(ETBG) is starting a new series: “Headlines We’d Like to See” (based on Mad Magazine’s “Scenes We’d Like to See.”) Watch for installments over the coming weeks…
Anyway, getting back to my original point, adding wolves to the cast of potential derby victims should indeed shoot Idaho hunters in the collective foot—figuratively, if not literally.
A sportsmen’s group in Salmon, Idaho, is sponsoring a two-day coyote and wolf hunting “derby” geared toward kids, with two separate $1,000 prizes and trophies going to those who kill the largest wolf and the most coyotes. There will also be special awards for youth ages 10-11 and 12-14.
The rules for the Salmon Youth Predator Derby, which is sponsored by the Salmon chapter of Idaho for Wildlife, state that no trapping or spotlights are allowed in the contest and all Idaho Fish and Game rules apply. The derby will be held Dec. 28-29.
“It’s not a murder killing spree,” said Steve Alder, [Oh?] executive director of Idaho for Wildlife. “Hunting is a tool for us to go out and manage wildlife. [Is it a derby or a “tool,” make up your mind.] And what people don’t realize is if you don’t manage wolves, you won’t have any of them. What people don’t understand is they will take the prey base down so low that they’ll wink out. You have to manage them. And this is an opportunity for these kids who don’t get out a lot to learn how to hunt.” [That’s a bit unscientific, wouldn’t you say? Who managed wolves back before you people became the self-appointed rulers of the wildlife?]
The contest, which costs $20 to register as a two-person team, will also give out awards for largest male coyote, largest female coyote and most female coyotes killed. There will be fur buyers available after the hunt. [Fur buyers for a hunt?]
Alder said he doesn’t actually expect any wolves to be killed during the hunt. [Wait a minute, I thought you just said you thought there were too many wolves?]
“One of our outfitters had 40 hunters this year and only saw one wolf,” he said. “And he missed. So the chances of getting a wolf are very low. We basically have these events occasionally and it’s going to be a youth hunting opportunity. We’ll have youth mentors on hand showing them how to hunt. It’s a good opportunity in the winter, instead of big game animals, you have a coyote. It’s a good way to learn how to hunt. It’s also a disease awareness campaign, and we want to educate the public about safety measures in high wolf density areas and how to take precautions.”
The disease Alder was referring to is a tapeworm, echinococcus granulosus, which showed up in Idaho game in 2006. The adult is carried by dogs, wolves, foxes and coyotes. The larval form is usually found in the lungs or liver of a herbivore.
The tapeworm requires two different animal species, a canid and an ungulate like deer, sheep, cattle or elk, to complete its lifecycle, according to the Idaho Fish and Game website. During intensive surveillance between 2006 and 2010, 62 percent of wolves tested were determined to be infected in central Idaho.
Idaho for Wildlife’s website states that the group is “dedicated to the preservation of Idaho’s wildlife.” Their motto is: “To protect Idaho’s hunting and fishing heritage. To fight against all legal and legislative attempts by the animal rights and anti-gun organizations who are attempting to take away our rights and freedoms under the constitution of the United States of America. To hold all government and state agencies who are stewards of our wildlife accountable and ensure that science is used as the primary role for our wildlife management.” [?]
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