IDFG
In walking the ever-so-shaky tightwire balancing act that is wildlife management, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game recently conducted a round of targeted wolf removals in the state's northern Panhandle region. Just last weekend, agency staff dropped three wolves from Unit 4 in the Panhandle Elk Zone, marking the first such action in this area. This decision, which is part of a bigger plan to help elk numbers grow, is part of the agency’s wolf management plan that, like many others, has fanned the flames of controversy for decades.
Brought to the brink of extinction in Idaho, gray wolves bounced back in the late 1990s after some Canadian imports decided to stay put. With about 10 breeding pairs on the scene by 1998, that number ballooned to about 1,000 animals by 2009.
IDFG
That explosive growth eventually led to their delisting just two years later, transferring authority to the state under the 2002 Idaho Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, adopted by the legislature. This shift allowed Idaho to manage wolves as big game animals, with regulated hunting and trapping seasons. The program's core goals, as outlined in the updated 2023-2028 Idaho Gray Wolf Management Plan, focus on maintaining a self-sustaining wolf population while minimizing conflicts with human activities, livestock, and ungulate populations like elk.
Critics, including environmental groups like Defenders of Wildlife, argue that Idaho's approach is overly aggressive, prioritizing persecution over science and potentially undermining long-term recovery. Supporters, on the other hand, which include hunters and ranchers, contend it's necessary to protect economic interests and big game herds, noting that human hunters harvest far more elk annually than wolves do.
Despite the controversy, the state’s data indicated a steady decline in elk numbers across Unit 4, with officials pointing to wolf predation on calves as a contributing factor. The primary goal of this month’s removals was to reduce predation pressure and improve elk survival rates in an underperforming population. A goal that strictly aligns with both the 2024–2030 Idaho Elk Management Plan and the 2023–2028 Idaho Gray Wolf Management Plan.
To address overall predation impacts in Unit 4, the agency has also offered expanded harvest opportunities for black bears, mountain lions, and wolves through extended seasons and additional tag availability. However, the 2024 federal court injunction has reduced trapping success statewide, including in this area, prompting the need for this targeted intervention.
Officials went on to state that the objective is not to eliminate wolves but to maintain a smaller, self-sustaining wolf population in Unit 4 that reduces predation risk on elk. Fish and Game has collaborated with the U.S. Forest Service for years on habitat improvements in the unit and, for now, plans to continue those efforts.
