Idaho wolves hitting cow elk hard
By ERIC BARKER
Of the Lewiston (Idaho) Tribune
Idaho Fish and Game biologists have established that wolves are the primary cause of death of radio-collared cow elk in the Lolo hunting zone, where cow elk numbers are projected to be shrinking by 13 percent a year.
The department could use that conclusion, from its continuing study of elk, to again seek permission to authorize federal trappers to cull wolves in the remote area of central Idaho. But officials would rather see wolves removed from the endangered species list so wolf packs could be thinned through hunting.
"I just think it's generally more acceptable with folks to manage populations through hunting than any other way," said Jim Unsworth, deputy director of the department at Boise. "We are going to monitor the delisting process. If that occurs, we are going to pursue the hunting option. That is certainly our preferred option."
In case delisting is delayed or the department gets tied up in lawsuits, Fish and Game commissioners told the department to look at the options available under federal wolf-management rules, Unsworth said.
read more... http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2008/12/07/features/outdoors/24-study.txt
