Wolf Plan

At a recent meeting of the Idaho County Commissioners, the subject of an Idaho County Wolf Management Policy came up. This is something guaranteed to raise the hackles of nearly everyone in the county, about as surely as hearing a wolf howling at night near your hunting camp will. The first question that came to my mind was; why do we need a county plan, when we’ve already got all sorts of State and Federal plans on the books? A second thought came immediately after; yeah, all sorts of contradictory plans… emanating from the Federal Wildlife people, the EPA, State Fish and Game authorities, about a scadzillion rabid environmentalist’s, PETA, bleeding hearts, and the “experts” in the Federal Court System, but I haven’t noticed any community organizers or Je$$e Jackson being involved… yet. Unfortunately Canadian Grey Wolves have been introduced into our local ecosystem, and apparently we’re going to have to learn to live with ‘em, like it or not. Personally I really don’t see why we need more wolves anywhere in the country, after all don’t we already have more than enough politicians, bankers, lawyers, tax assessors, and bill collectors trying to eat us out of house and home?

None-the-less, I discussed the subject with Commission Chairman Skip Brandt, who said; “Back in 2003, I danced the dance with the Federal Government, in helping draft the ‘Idaho Wolf Management Plan’. A Plan they said they would accept, so to get the wolves delisted. Now they, via a Federal Judge, have gone back on the deal. This is just like Arizona and their immigration issue, a different issue but still a situation where a Federal Judge acting as a little god, steps in to override our legislative process. It is obvious that the Federal Government is not going to protect us, and the State is not going to step out and take on the Federal Judges, so it is time we (Idaho County) need to step up to the plate and put those on notice that we are going to prepare to protect our County.”

Wolves are the “apex predator” in nature, surpassed only by man. Found in all parts of the world, canis lupus irremotus consists of about 32 sub-species, 24 of which are found in North America, with the Canadian Grey Wolf being the largest and most aggressive. The wolf native to Idaho is described as the “Idaho Gray Wolf”, a smaller and somewhat less aggressive version of the Canadian wolf. These predators were purposely eliminated in Idaho decades ago due to severe depredations and a continuing threat to the safety of the early residents of this state. That elimination created an environment of security for humans, wildlife, and livestock that became a cornerstone of our local heritage, custom, and culture. Today, those threats are reappearing with the migration of wolves into our area.

It’s been widely claimed by activists that a healthy wild wolf has never attacked a human on this continent, although history states otherwise. Attacks on humans are uncommon, probably because with all the additives in our diet we taste bad to ‘em, but attacks have occurred, both in the early years of settlement and much more recently. (After a cursory search of the internet, I had gathered a list of eighteen such attacks before I quit bothering to collect them. Those stories are quite sickening.) One of the more heart rending newspaper reports from 1888 reads; “NEW ROCKFORD, DAK, March 7 - The news has just reached here that a father and son, living several miles northeast of this city, were destroyed by wolves yesterday. The two unfortunate men started to a haystack some ten rods from the house to shovel a path around the stack when they were surrounded by wolves and literally eaten alive. The horror-stricken mother was standing at the window with a babe in her arms, a spectator to the terrible death of her husband and son, but was unable to aid them. After they had devoured every flesh from the bones of the men, the denizens of the forest attacked the house, but retired to the hills in a short time. Investigation found nothing but the bones of the husband and son. The family name was Olson. Wolves are more numerous and dangerous now than ever before known in North Dakota." (Saint Paul Daily Globe) More recently, in March of this year, 32 year old Candice Berner, a special education teacher, was attacked and killed by wolves (confirmed), while jogging near the Alaskan village of Chignik Lake. Her body, partially eaten, was surrounded by wolf prints. Canada’s Algonquin Provincial Park was the scene of another attack. In August, 1996, the Delventhal family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were spending a family vacation in Algonquin and joined a group of Scouts in "howling" at the wolves. That night 11 year old Zach Delventhal decided to sleep out under the stars. Young Zach suddenly felt excruciating pain in his face, where a wolf had bit him and was dragging him from his sleeping bag. Zach screamed and his Mother, racing to his side, picked him up, saturating her thermal shirt with blood from his wounds. The wolf stood less than a yard away, so she yelled for her husband Thom, who charged the wolf. The wolf retreated and then charged repeatedly, until finally leaving. "The boy's face had been ripped open. His nose was crushed. Parts of his mouth and right cheek were torn and dangling. Blood gushed from puncture wounds below his eyes, and the lower part of his right ear was missing." Zach received more than 80 stitches to repair his face. There are many more similar reports.

We also hear that wolves only prey on old, sick, or injured animals, but wolves are opportunists that prey on anything they can catch, both killing to survive, and purely for the sake of killing. In Yellowstone National Park the elk population was considered overly high, and it was argued that wolves should be introduced to naturally cut back the overpopulation of elk. So, the Canadian Grey Wolf (an invasive species), was forcibly introduced into Yellowstone by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in order to curry favor with the tree hugging environuts. Well, more wolves do mean less elk as they depredate the herd, and this continues until the elk, and all other wildlife are eradicated, then the wolf population either dies off due to disease and starvation… or moves out of the area in search of more prey. Then the elk can increase in numbers due to fewer wolves. This is usually referred to as the “Teeter-Totter of Nature”, but where in this cycle do wolves become a problem to man and livestock, due to limited prey? According to an Idaho Fish and Game officer I spoke with recently, wolf packs have already decimated the Lolo deer and elk herds, and are now eating their way in our direction. What happens when those packs reach the Camas Prairie (as they already have in small numbers), with our numerous farms, livestock, and people? It is a documented fact that wolves often kill more than they require for food, somewhat similar to a blood thirsty weasel in the hen coop. Historically, many wolves were well-known for their extensive killing. The "Custer Wolf" was estimated to have killed $25,000 worth of livestock (figuring inflation from 1920 to today, that’s about $550,000 worth). The "Aquila Wolf" in Arizona was known to have killed 65 sheep in one night and 40 at another time. "Three Toes of Harding County" in South Dakota killed 66 sheep in two nights shortly before its capture. And these were not diseased or rabid animals as the treehuggers would have you believe.

The real question, and hazard, is the killing of people by wolves, and it’s bound to happen again. Humans continue to expand their range, and wildlife habitat continues to shrink, whether we like it or not. We can add in those people who believe wolves will sense their love and reciprocate, so they head off into the woods to lure their “majestic” spirit animal closer with a sandwich. Milton P. Skinner, in his book “The Yellowstone Nature Book” (published in 1924) wrote, "Most of the stories we hear of the ferocity of these animals... come from Europe. There, they are dangerous because they do not fear man, since they are seldom hunted except by the lords of the manor. In America, the wolves are the same kind, but they have found to their bitter cost that practically every man and boy carries a rifle..." Skinner was right, the areas of Asia where wolf attacks on humans commonly occur today are the same areas in which people have no effective means of predator control. India alone suffers about a hundred people killed by grey wolves, every year, and now the 9th Circuit Court wishes the same on American citizens! So now, we’ve got wolves in our area, where they, as a federally protected species, have absolutely no reason to fear us, as the courts won’t allow us to do anything in our own defense. Best keep the kids (and your pets) in the house nowdays, and teach them not to run out and pet the big doggie that’s suddenly wandering around the yard! You might also want to carry a gun when you go out hunting for firewood.

It appears that environmentalists rule in Washington DC, and our state legislature can’t or won’t stand up to them. It also seems that Federal Circuit Court Judges know more about wildlife management in here Idaho than do the trained and qualified wildlife biologists we employ. So… I guess we’re on our own to defend ourselves, our children, and our property. I don’t know what form a county wolf management policy will take, but it certainly looks like we need to do something before we’re up to our ears in these voracious killers!

Who knows, I just might ask the commissioners if we perhaps could send a few bus loads of environmentalists (and the black-robed deities that sit on the federal bench) out into the woods, where they too can enjoy the experience of dancing with wolves.