With the gray wolf coming back to Idaho, proponents of wolf recovery are saying careful management can minimize livestock losses caused by wolves. But skeptical ranchers and farmers are unconvinced.
"Some of the released wolves will attack livestock. There will be losses. After all, the wolf is a predator," says Patricia Tucker, co-founder of Wolf Sentry, a group presenting wolf education programs to audiences in Idaho and Montana.But, Tucker predicts, "Losses will be kept low with careful management."
Most wolves will prey on wild game, and the few that target livestock should be trapped and removed, she says.
Stan Boyd, director of the Idaho Wool Growers Association, says livestock producers wonder if government specialists can ever come up with a foolproof plan for managing wolves.
"Today's Idaho is not the wild area it was 200 years ago," Boyd insists. "The wolf does not really belong here any more."
The Idaho Farm Bureau has initiated a lawsuit seeking to block the wolf's reintroduction into central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park. Joining the Idaho association in this action are the Farm Bureaus of Montana and Wyoming and the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Bringing wolves back to Idaho would endanger livestock over a wide area, says Rayola Jacobsen of the Idaho Farm Bureau. "Wolves can't be managed," she says. "They go where they want to go and do what they want to do."
Protecting livestock and pets from outlaw wolves is an important goal of the wolf management program outlined by federal officials. They plan to install small radio transmitters in the collars of 15 Canadian wolves that are scheduled to be released in central Idaho in November or December. When another 15 wolves are released in Yellowstone Park early next year, these animals also will carry mini-transmitters so their whereabouts can be closely monitored.
Keeping tabs on wolves' movements and investigating livestock kills wolves could be blamed for will be key responsibilities for those managing the recovery program. And it is still unclear whether the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the Idaho Fish and Game Department will take on that role.
The Idaho Legislature's Wolf Oversight Committee strongly recommends assigning wolf management functions to the state. Idaho Fish and Game employees would handle problems fairly and responsibly, says House Resources and Conservation Chairman Golden Linford, R-Rexburg.