If you decide to pack way into the middle of the Lolo Zone in the quest to fill your wolf tag, you might want to inform the IF&G of your exact location. Wouldn't want any friendly fire in the War On Wolves.
IF&G recently announced two things. One, they are disappointed that hunting and trapping efforts have not substantially reduced the wolf numbers in the Lolo Zone. Two, they're going to use helicopter gunning as a consequence.
They want to do this ASAP in order to help the Lolo Zone elk herd rebound, which has crashed down to about 2,000 elk from numbers that once were around 16,000 before wolves were introduced. This action will likely come later this winter, when snow cover will be sufficient for causing the wolves to stick out like sore thumbs and easy targets. Use of helicopters is not cheap; it's best to wait for optimum conditions. You can read all the details here.
One thing we know for sure - wolf advocates will not like this move. Prepare to hear about it. IF&G's stance is that they want to kill as many wolves as possible, but leave just enough to prevent them ever being considered as an endangered species. 150 wolves need to be maintained statewide to prevent federal review.
The latest IF&G wolf harvest update shows that 1 more wolf was killed in the Lolo Zone. 2 more in the Dworshak/Elk City Zone. 3 more in the Salmon Zone. And 1 more in the South Mountains Zone. Only 1 wolf has been harvested by trapping, and that was in the Dworshak/Elk City Zone.
Here's the latest update:
~ J. Bunch
