Feds Reject Idaho Plan to Kill Wolves (AP)

[Eugene]

Feds Reject Idaho Plan to Kill Wolves
Feds nix Idaho plan to kill up to 43 wolves to boost elk numbers,
saying science isn't solid

BOISE, Idaho, Sep. 23, 2006
By JOHN MILLER Associated Press Writer
(AP) Federal officials have rejected Idaho's plan to kill up to 43 wolves
in north-central Idaho to boost elk numbers, saying scientific data gathered
by the state do not justify the action.

At a recent meeting, federal officials told Steve Nadeau, Idaho Fish and
Game Department's large carnivore manager, that state studies of elk declines
in the Lolo region didn't adequately demonstrate wolves are the primary cause.

"We agreed the wolves are playing an important role in limiting recovery.
The question comes down to whether or not there's an unacceptable impact,"
said Jeff Foss, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service field supervisor in Boise.
"Based on the information that was provided at the meeting, the service didn't
feel it had enough at that time to draw (that) conclusion."

-snip-

Last January when the state's proposal was unveiled, conservation groups came
to the same conclusion as the federal scientists. They argue that poor habitat,
not wolves, is the main reason Lolo elk now number less than a quarter of the
16,500 counted in the region north of the Lochsa River in 1989.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/23/ap/tech/mainD8KA8OKO0.shtml

[Waya]

1. That's good news............

[China_cat]

2. The elk decline

is most likely due to brucellosis, which not only kills but causes spontaneous abortions in those it doesn't kill. Nasty disease that can infect all ruminants but has been growing in the elk and bison populations.

[YankeyMCC]

3. I'm glad to hear this thanks n/t