F&G Wolf Tag Auction Update

In a drawing Monday, November 16, Jerry Hale of Nampa won Idaho Wolf Conservation Tag No. 7. The drawing was conducted by the Idaho chapter of Safari Club International, raising $725. It was one of 10 commemorative wolf tags sold at auction or lottery. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission authorized Fish and Game to offer the tags through six nonprofit groups. Idaho Wolf Conservation Tags from No.1 through No. 10, commemorate the first public wolf hunt in state history. Nine tags have been sold in auctions and lotteries across the country; the last one will be sold November 21 at a Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation banquet in Casper, Wyo. One tag brought $8,000 and one brought $350. To date the gross revenue is $20,480 - with net revenue of $19,456 after 5 percent in administrative fees are paid. The money goes into Idaho Fish and Game's general budget, where it will help pay for wolf management and ongoing predator-prey research. Auction and lottery sales have been handled by six nonprofit organizations:

• Tag No. 1 was sold October 14 by the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation in a live auction for $8,000 at the Wine, Wheels and Wildlife fundraising event in Lexington, North Carolina.
• Tag No. 3 and Tag No. 8 were sold September 30 by the Mule Deer Foundation in sealed Internet bids for $1,000 each.
Tag No. 4 and Tag No. 10 were sold October 1 at auction for $750 and $655 by Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife to individuals in New York and Nevada.
• Tag No. 5 was sold October 3 at auction for $350 at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's Mackay Banquet.
• Tag No. 6 was sold October 29 at auction $5,500 by Idaho Sportsmen's Caucuses Advisory Council at the National Assembly of Sportsmen's Caucuses in McCall, Idaho.
• Tag No. 2 was sold November 15 in an Internet auction by the Safari Club International, bringing in $2,500.
• Tag No. 7 was awarded Monday, November 16, in a lottery by the Safari Club International, bringing in $725. The drawing was at the Idaho Fish and Game headquarters in Boise.
• Tag No. 9 will be sold November 21 at a Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation banquet in Casper, Wyo.

The six organizations are allowed to keep up to 5 percent of the proceeds to cover their administrative costs. Buyers of the commemorative tags will get one tag, with a serial number between 000001 through 000010, suitable for display and a duplicate to use in a wolf hunt. State rules allow only one wolf tag per person per calendar year. Successful bidders may exchange their unused wolf tag for a Wolf Conservation Tag if they already purchased a tag. All wolf seasons, rules and bag limits apply. Winners must have a 2009 Idaho hunting license.