Special Wolf Tags Auctioned

Wolf tag No. 1 brought $8,000 in an auction by the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation on October 14 The tag was sold at the foundation's Wine, Wheels and Wildlife event in Lexington, North Carolina. Jonny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops, bought the tag for his son who intends to hunt in Idaho this fall. Idaho Fish and Game, through six nonprofit groups, offered Idaho Wolf Conservation Tags from No.1 through No. 10, commemorating the first public wolf hunt in state history. In addition to tag No. 1, auction or lottery sales are being handled by five other nonprofit organizations:

• Tags No. 3 and 8 were auctioned September 30 by the Mule Deer Foundation brought in $1,700.
• Tags No. 4 and 10 were auctioned October 1 by Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife to individuals in New York and Nevada for $1,405.
• Tag No. 5 was auctioned October 3 for $350 by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation at its banquet in Mackay. Tag No. 9 will be auctioned at a foundation banquet in Casper, Wyoming on November 21.
• Tag No. 2 will be sold November 15 by inter auction by the Safari Club International, Treasure Valley Chapter.
• Tag No. 7 will be sold by the Safari Club in a lottery with the drawing to be at Fish and Game headquarters November 16.
• Tag No. 6 will be sold by the Idaho Sportsmen's Caucus Advisory Council in a live auction on October 29 at a National Assembly of Sportsmen's Caucuses event in McCall.

So far six tags have generated gross revenue of $11,455; net revenue is about $10,900 after 5 percent administrative fees are paid. Proceeds go into Idaho Fish and Game's general license fund. Fish and Game spent about $600,000 on wolf management in fiscal 2009.