The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that six members of the Copper Basin wolf pack, located near Hailey, Idaho, were lethally controlled on July 20 after repeated depredations on livestock.
The wolves killed two calves this past week on grazing allotments in the Challis National Forest between Mackay and Sun Valley, Idaho. Last summer, USDA Wildlife Services confirmed the pack was responsible for killing cattle. The Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery 2004 Annual Report noted that the Copper Basin pack was implicated in five depredations that resulted in four cattle confirmed killed by wolves, and 2 more calves confirmed injured. A large number of cattle were reported missing last year by livestock producers in this area, in addition to depredations confirmed by government personnel.
A Mackay rancher shot and killed one member of the Copper Basin pack earlier this year under the new ?10j? Endangered Species Act rule that allows private landowners to kill wolves that are chasing, harassing or killing livestock.
"We are hopeful that this control action will deter any future livestock depredations in this area," said Carter Niemeyer, the Services wolf recovery coordinator in Idaho. "If the depredations continue, the rest of the pack will be removed.?
Idaho Department of Fish and Game personnel were present observing the control action. The Service, Nez Perce Tribe, and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game are working closely to facilitate transition from federal to local management of gray wolves in Idaho.
So far in 2005, the Service in Idaho authorized the lethal control of two wolves that were preying on livestock, and conducted such action. Idaho has approximately 450 of the nearly 850 wolves in the three-state recovery area, which includes Montana and Wyoming.
