Frustrated by predation, livestock growers support wolf hunt, population control

By CAROL RYAN DUMAS

Capital Press

Livestock producers who endured increasing losses to wolves have no doubt the predator needs to be managed by hunting.

Jeff Siddoway, a sheep producer and state senator from Terreton, Idaho, suffered $40,000 in losses this summer due to wolf predation. He said wolves killed more than 100 rams, ewes and lambs and six guard dogs in 11 separate incidents in his grazing areas in Eastern Idaho and western Wyoming. He lost an additional 15 to 20 sheep to black bears and coyotes because the wolves killed the guard dogs.

"I've had problems before," he said. "But this year, it just kept coming."

The wolves kept striking the same areas, even though Wildlife Services killed two wolves from one pack and two from another. "When a pack starts to prey on livestock, they'll keep coming back. They need to give us permission to kill the whole pack," he said.

"Biologists are trying to tell you they just kill the lame, the sick and the poor. That's bunk. They're killers; they kill for the fun of it," Siddoway said.

"It'd bad enough for the livestock deal, but what they're doing to our elk herd just makes me want to cry."

There used to be about 4,400 elk in the Sand Creek herd, he said, but that's down to about 1,700 today.

The wolf hunt that began in Idaho this week isn't going to help Siddoway. The hunt is not allowed in the unit where his sheep depredations occurred. He also doesn't believe hunters will have much success killing the elusive animals.

Siddoway is disappointed with Idaho Fish and Game for setting the quota at 220 wolves.

Fish and Game pegs Idaho's wolf population at 1,020, but Siddoway believes the number is higher, with packs in the wilderness the agency can't count.

"I'm thinking we've got twice as many wolves as what we're allowed to count. It grows by about 20 percent a year," he said.

He said he supports the hunt, but that alone won't stabilize the wolf population.

Stan Boyd, executive director of Idaho Wool Growers Associations, agreed: "The key is it's a management tool," he said. "We hope that the judge doesn't interfere with the state of Idaho managing its wildlife populations."

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Montana is considering a request for an injunction by environmental and animal protection groups opposed to the wolf hunting in Idaho and Montana.

Boyd noted the recent wolf predation of 120 purebred rams near Dillon, Mont.

"It's terrible," he said. "But if it had to happen, it was good timing. Public sentiment is weighing in pretty heavy."

Tom McDonnell, executive vice president of the Idaho Cattle Association, said, "We have so many wolves, we have to do something. The population has to be managed like any other species of wildlife."

Wolves are 170 times more likely than coyotes, bears or mountain lions to kill cattle, he said. In 2008, documented livestock and dog depredation from wolves in Idaho was 153. Investigated depredation by all causes was 202, he said.

"This year, it's going to be worse than that," McDonnell said.

Jay Bodner, natural resources director for Montana Stockgrowers Association, said the organization has been involved in the wolf discussion since the first wolves were released 14 years ago.

"We'd like to see the hunt go on," he said. "We don't want (the requested injunction) to interfere with control actions for depredation that the state Fish and Game indicated."

Cattle depredation has increased as the wolf territory has expanded, he said. Wolves were first released in 1995, and depredations began a noticeable growth in 1996.

There were three documented wolf kills of livestock in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming in 1995. That rose to 587 in 2008.

Staff writer Carol Ryan Dumas is based in Twin Falls. E-mail: crdumas@capitalpress.com.

By the numbers

As of close of day Monday, Aug. 31, Idaho Fish and Game had sold 10,908 wolf tags at a cost of $11.50 for residents, $186 for nonresidents. The hunt began Tuesday, Sept. 1. The hunt limit is 220 wolves across 12 zones, with one wolf per tag allowed.