The Idaho Fish and Game Commission has decided to allow hunters to kill 220 of the state’s 1,000 wolves.
In the first-ever state regulated hunt of gray wolves in the continental United States, Idaho residents can purchase a hunting tag for $11.75 and out-of-state hunters will pay $186 for the opportunity to kill a wolf.
The hunt is set to begin on September 1, and Montana has planned to begin its wolf hunt in October.
In a Defenders of Wildlife press release, Suzanne Stone, Northern Rockies representative for Defenders of Wildlife, made the following statement:
Idaho hosts the core of the Northern Rockies wolf population, with approximately 1,000 wolves. By wiping out 220 wolves, the state will cripple the regional wolf population by isolating wolves into disconnected subgroups incapable of genetic or ecological sustainability. It’s only a matter of time before Idaho’s state legislature enforces their demand that all wolves be removed ‘by whatever means necessary,’ which is still the state’s official policy on wolves. Today’s announcement underscores the key problem with the federal delisting rule: it only requires maintaining 150 wolves per state. That’s a completely inadequate population goal if you hope to maintain any semblance of connectivity and genetic viability.
No other endangered species has ever been delisted at such a low population level and then immediately hunted to even lower unsustainable levels. This isn’t wolf recovery; it’s a rejection of responsible wildlife conservation principles.
Fortunately, Defenders of Wildlife and other conservation groups are likely to file a request for a preliminary injunction to temporarily restore federal protections to the regional wolf population, until the court reaches a final decision in the plaintiffs’ pending legal challenge to the delisting.
This decision by the Idaho Fish and Game Commission is appalling, disturbing, and obviously short-sighted.
Hopefully, the rightful protections will be restored to U.S. wolf populations.
Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pss/ / CC BY 2.0
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