Idaho wolf tag sales brisk as judge considers hunt | Seattle Times Newspaper

By JOHN MILLERAssociated Press WriterBOISE, Idaho —Matt Yost has hunted elk, deer and antelope for years on a college buddy’s sheep ranch in Idaho’s Southern Mountains, not far from the resort region of Sun Valley.After a wolf pack killed 19 domestic rams there recently, Yost was at Idaho Department of Fish and Game offices in Boise on Monday adding the predator to his list of possible targets.It was the first day Idaho wolf tags went on sale for a hunt slated to start next Tuesday. By mid-afternoon, the state was reporting about 4,000 tags sold, as hunters motivated by curiosity, novelty – and in some cases frustration with predators’ impact on wildlife and livestock – shelled out $11.50 for a wolf tag.This year, Yost’s friend with the sheep ranch had made a special request.”He called me and said, ‘If you’re going to show up, you’d better have a wolf tag,” Yost said.The federal government lifted Endangered Species Act protections from most wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains in May and now Idaho and Montana are gearing up for first open gray wolf hunts in the lower 48 states since delisting. Idaho last week approved a 220-wolf hunt, about a quarter of the state’s estimated 1,000 wolves, with limited hunting due to begin on Sept. 1. Montana approved the shooting of up to 75 wolves starting in mid-September.It’s still uncertain if hunts will even proceed.Thirteen environmental groups that have sued to overturn the federal delisting will get a hearing next Monday – one day before Idaho’s hunt would begin – where U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula will hear their arguments on why a wolf hunt should be halted.  Click Link Below for Full Story!

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