Wildlife Populations Are At Risk

Idaho is in danger of losing its rich diversity and ample numbers of deer, elk, moose, and wild sheep.

The elk heard in the Lolo region numbered 16,000 animals in 1995, but recent counts show that same population at or below 1,000 animals.

The success of the wolf introduction surprised everyone. 150 wolves in Idaho is considered "fully recovered" by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Today Idaho's predator biologists have documentation for 1556 wolves in the state, although many estimate wolf populations to be triple that amount. And that is up from 1541 count the previous year, after a record breaking wolf harvest year... Left unchecked, wolf populations expand at 40% annually. Idaho wolves average between 6 and 7 per pack, having an average litter size of 7, with 30% of our Alphas breeding with more then 1 wolf leading to more then 1 litter in some packs each spring. Our wolf pack home territories encompass 250sq miles on average, but they are known to travel 10 to 20 miles in a single night. This travel behavior makes wolves extremely difficult to hunt. In fact Idaho wolf hunter success rate is less than 1%. Idaho has more liberal harvest seasons then Alaska, and we have still yet to ever harvest the number of wolves that are born in any given season. We need your help!​

Each wolf kills at least twenty big game animals each year, including healthy and thriving bulls, cows, and calves. That number does not account for surplus killings and spontaneous abortions caused by stress.​

Wolves have a place in nature. That is not being debated. But so do ungulate wildlife. The Idaho Fish and Game manages the wolf population, setting quotas on how many wolves to remove in order to help other wildlife populations recover, so future generations can enjoy all Idaho has to offer. F4WM offers Idaho Game Managers another tool in the toolbox, they can use to guide and specifically increase wolf harvest in areas negatively impacted by over abundant wolf predation.