Idaho's First Depredation Action Takes Two Wolves

USDA Wildlife Services reports killing two wolves of the Buffalo Ridge pack last week as authorized by Idaho Fish and Game officials in response to a confirmed livestock depredation by wolves. Wolves killed one calf along the East Fork of the Salmon River in Custer County. Wildlife Services tried unsuccessfully to trap the wolves for four days before Fish and Game officials authorized Thursday's action. Two wolves, one male and one female, were shot from a small plane as they came from the carcass. It was the first lethal action taken under the authority granted to the state by a memorandum of agreement signed January 5 between Idaho and the federal Interior Department. The agreement gives Idaho most day-to-day wolf management authority, including the authority to authorize lethal control to resolve wolf-livestock conflicts. Before the agreement, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had responsibility to evaluate depredation complaints and authorize lethal control actions. Fish and Game officials use the same protocol to evaluate complaints and authorize control actions. In 2005, Wildlife Services killed 20 wolves in control actions based on 93 investigations related to wolf complaints.