06/06: Wolf Delisting Moving Forward; IOGA Involved With Shaping Future State Management
It has been reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received several hundred thousand comments by the May 9 deadline on their final plan to delist Rocky Mountain wolves, including those in Idaho, Montana AND Wyoming. IOGA executive director Grant Simonds submitted IOGA’s comments favoring delisting and also delivered a similar message during the March 6th public hearing held in Boise. It’s possible the USFWS will decide on delisting sometime in early 2008.
Idaho Fish and Game Department’s large carnivore manager Steve Nadeau has assembled a planning team that includes the Fish and Game wildlife managers and wolf specialists that in conjunction stakeholder groups are developing a wolf hunting and species management plan under the guidelines of the Idaho Wolf Conservation and Management Plan. The process will also include public surveys and meetings. It's premature to talk about numbers or how the animals would be hunted. But the goal of population management would be to reduce conflicts and stabilize populations. Fish and Game officials expect to have a final plan for hunting delisted wolves in Idaho ready for Commission approval in November. An actual hunting season on wolves could be months or years away depending on the outcome of the delisting process.
Idaho Fish and Game Department’s large carnivore manager Steve Nadeau has assembled a planning team that includes the Fish and Game wildlife managers and wolf specialists that in conjunction stakeholder groups are developing a wolf hunting and species management plan under the guidelines of the Idaho Wolf Conservation and Management Plan. The process will also include public surveys and meetings. It's premature to talk about numbers or how the animals would be hunted. But the goal of population management would be to reduce conflicts and stabilize populations. Fish and Game officials expect to have a final plan for hunting delisted wolves in Idaho ready for Commission approval in November. An actual hunting season on wolves could be months or years away depending on the outcome of the delisting process.
