Today, Idaho closes the first-ever regulated wolf-hunting season in the lower 48 states, and state Fish & Game officials are calling it a success. "I'd be severely disappointed if we don't have a hunting season next year, because we played by the rules, we worked hard, it's been a long time coming, and I think we demonstrated that we did a good job with state-managed hunting," said Fish & Game Director Cal Groen. "We need a hunting season to manage the wolves just like our other big game animals."

So far, 185 wolves were taken, though that could change as the season runs through sunset today. In 2009, wolves were responsible for the deaths of 385 livestock in Idaho, up from 333 the year before and including cattle, sheep and stock dogs. "We don't want to take the wildness out of wolves," Groen said. "They shouldn't be around towns, they shouldn't be creating livestock problems and social problems."

Idaho's hunting season was divided into 12 zones with specific limits. But some, like the remote and rugged Lolo zone where wolf impacts on elk herds have been a big problem, proved tough hunting. "In the back country, it's rugged, they're cunning, they're smart," Groen said, "We'll be looking at other tools." Those might include changing bag limits to allow a hunter to take a second wolf in a year; partnering with outfitters; trapping; looking at zone boundaries; and possibly allowing the use of electronic wolf calls to give hunters an advantage. Groen said the Lolo zone was a premier elk hunting zone in North America with a herd of 16,000 elk, but it's dropped to just over 2,000. Many issues, including habitat, bears and mountain lions, were involved and are being addressed, he said. "Now we can finally manage wolves - they were unmanaged. They're the primary reason for mortality now."

A federal court will decide whether Idaho can have a wolf season again. For now, Groen and other Fish and Game officials said the wolf hunt has been good for Idaho and good for wolves, in many cases dissipating hunter anger over wolf impacts on game herds. Idaho's wolf population, which had been growing at 20 percent a year and is well beyond recovery target levels, has stabilized. "When you pursue something fair chase, and something very challenging, a respect develops," Groen said. "We've seen that with bears and lions. ... There's a hunting relationship there, very different, very challenging." He also noted that new legislation just passed this year will allow out-of-state deer and elk hunters to also take a wolf, which could help attract out-of-state hunters whose numbers have dropped since their fees were sharply hiked. The idea that a hunter could come to Idaho on an elk hunt and also go home with a wolf means "we're special, we're unique," Groen said.

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