ID Wolf Management Plan 2023 - 2028

[Mustangs Rule]

I'm not sure why this is in a thread which should be titled, " There are too many GD wolves in Idaho..." The thread is about the political ramifications of Idaho reducing wolf populations below 500.

Your post does prove the point that whenever there is a thread about predators, the usual suspects will post their usual convictions, myself included. More evidence that not one real problem has ever been solved on social media.

If you are going to wave the "studies" flag, please be a sport and actually cite the studies. Otherwise you are making gratuitous assertions.

I assume you mean this study comparing infection rates of lion killed deer to infection rates in human killed deer (including road killed). The authors make no claims regarding the effects, good or bad, on CWD transmission. They begin with the hypothesis that predators select for easier kills, collect data and make observations.

Mountain lions prey selectively on prion-infected mule deer

The possibility that predators choose prey selectively based on age or condition has been suggested but rarely tested. We examined whether mountain lions (Puma concolor) selectively prey upon mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) infected with chronic wasting ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

It seems (to me) you are projecting conclusions which the authors are careful NOT to make.

The paper's concluding paragraph notes: (emphasis added)

"We observed that mountain lions typically consumed greater than 85 percent of a deer carcass, often including brain tissue, and this may be beneficial in decreasing prion contamination at kill sites. However, the extent to which selective predation by mountain lions alters the dynamics of prion disease epidemics in natural mule deer populations remains unclear (Miller et al. 2008)."

Although the logistics would seem impossible, I would be interested in a follow-on study of prion prevalence in lion scat within x km radius of kill sites.

Thank you for such an in depth letter and requesting references. There is package of them i will collect from my files and post later today, maybe even tonight. Some going from this week to over a decade ago.
My file can be a bit overwhelming

I do not create theories myself, I just read/study a lot feeding my interests as both a life long hunter and retired biology educator.

Without question there is a split within the world of field biologists too.

Many have a lifetime invested in working for Fish and Game Departments where keeping the money flowing in from tags sales has been the general theme.

More recently there is a trend towards integrating Hunting, with health/disease issues that can effect both people and wildlife.

This is being reflected in who is being placed on fish and game commissions in different states depending on ideological leans

Later then

 

[idelkslayer]

I propose an earn a bull program for non-resident hunters. If you come to Idaho and kill a wolf you will be guaranteed an OTC elk tag in Idaho the following year. Kill 2 and we can talk about controlled hunts. I'm only half joking.

Something similar can be worked out for residents.

 

[flatcoat]

I propose an earn a bull program for non-resident hunters. If you come to Idaho and kill a wolf you will be guaranteed an OTC elk tag in Idaho the following year. Kill 2 and we can talk about controlled hunts. I'm only half joking.

Something similar can be worked out for residents.

Lock up your husky’s/malamutes…!

 

[Sytes]

Imagine the revenue this proposal can make for the cereal litigators without actually reducing wolf numbers.
The have to be excited about this one!

Sure. They make $$$ hand over fist from any over dramatized woof issue.

It's the nature of the business.

IMO, as a neighbor swapping woofs and involved in the same battle, 500 is 3x's the base qty USFWS requires to maintain State management.

If the anti-ESA woof lovers have a problem with 3x's the base qty, they're going to have a problem regardless the #...

Wait, FACTS already show they've had a problem, ever since...

They will always gripe - no matter the #. They will always raise $ no matter the #.

3x's is safe ground. This is of course my opinion, as I equally respect yours.

 

[Elkmagnet]

Sure. They make $$$ hand over fist from any over dramatized woof issue.

It's the nature of the business.

IMO, as a neighbor swapping woofs and involved in the same battle, 500 is 3x's the base qty USFWS requires to maintain State management.

If the anti-ESA woof lovers have a problem with 3x's the base qty, they're going to have a problem regardless the #...

Wait, FACTS already show they've had a problem, ever since...

They will always gripe - no matter the #. They will always raise $ no matter the #.

3x's is safe ground. This is of course my opinion, as I equally respect yours.

It's not about appeasing anti hunter sentiment it's about not giving them ammunition to use against you in court.
They will be trying to find a Judge that is scared by the optics and the proposed trajectory 1200 to 500 and claiming It as a slaughter. You will create funding and support for your opposition without even having the ability to reduce nubers to 500. If you actually thought 500 would be an achievable number in the next couple of years then you would have a good argument. I don't think 500 is something that would be done in the next few years without poison.
So why not propose a reduction to 900. Get a few years data to support a further reduction and lower it to 700 then repeat as needed. While simultaneously expanding trapping and hunting opertunity?
If the Esa wolf story has taught us anything it should be that states should use a strategic approach to state management of endangered wildlife.