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Is the wolf problem spred throughout Idaho? Or just in the Northern Part? Just curious.

From what I hear from other hunters, there's barley any area in Idaho that doesn't have wolves. You have to remember when they count breeding pairs from packs, the feds call nothing less than 8 wolves a pack!

I have cousins that have been logging in northern Stevens county Washigton for quite a few years now, and my Uncle, "One of their fathers" is a forester for a large timber company, and spends day in day out in the woods all over NE Washington and the panhandle of Idaho. And I can't count the number of friends and family that are hunters, loggers and snowmobilers. So far they have been unable to even guess how many wolves there are in northeast Washington.
We have given up trying to count them in Idaho, there's to damn many to even try, but somehow the state and feds think they know, even though they never leave a track, and can't count up here by air, because it way to thick to even count Moose!

We had wolves before the introduction, been seeing tracks for years, and we all had them in the past, but none of the areas we live in ever had Canadian greys. The wolves we had before were mostly solitary except for breeding season.

I have lived in SW Idaho for 36 year and hunted my dogs in SW Idaho for 15 years.

I see the writing on the wall. The wolves are taking over. Our sport of hound hunting is all but over in Idaho. Elk hunting in Idaho is completely over, the only reason elk hunting will continue is becuase the IDF&G will continue to sell tags to justify their job.

Idaho's elk herd is gone, or almost gone. I am glad that I am not an outfitter.

Guy's we have a serious problem here in Idaho, don't take this as someone trying to protect their "honey hole" - I am jus telling you what I am seeing everyday, everyday that I spend in the woods......

Yeah I work for an outfitter and its pretty hard to tell your hunter that you cant turn loose on this mornings fresh lion track cause you've got a pack of wolves running the road around the corner. and when you do tree a lion in a drainage the next day its covered in wolf tracks. The elk are now hiding in the rocks like their mt goats just to stay alive its a sad sight to see a deer pushed off the rocks and left to lay with a broken back.

Boys it is just as bad here in NW WY. the elk and deer pop. keeps going down and the state just keeps selling them tags. A guy can't ride a trail that is not covered in wolf tracks. How much longer can we keep going like this? The states need to take control of there wolf problem and tell them law writing feds to go back to DC!! This country was started by folks that were tierd of over governing and here we sit letting it happen aging.

Knock on wood I haven't lost a dog YET, but I know it's going to happen. I live smack dab in the Middle of the highest concentration of wolves in the lower 48. We have a estimated 3000-3500 timbers here with the majority of them in the northern half of the state,(rite where I live).
I have found there is no way for me to release a hound without there being wolves close. If I tried to do this I would only release 1 time a week.
I just try and stay as close to the dogs as possible, if I can get a sled or 4wheeler all the better for the noise.
Here is one of maybe 50 pictures I got off my bear baits LAST year.

Budd, that's exactly why I tell houndsmen that bait to quit using meats or grease. And running a bait anymore without a trail cam, like you do, is throwing them to the wolves.

onalimb wrote:Budd, that's exactly why I tell houndsmen that bait to quit using meats or grease. And running a bait anymore without a trail cam, like you do, is throwing them to the wolves.

Don't use meat, and very little grease. Mostly Granola this last year along with cookie dough. Wolves ruined a lot of my baits this year by running the bear off. Have had hunters setting on baits and wolves would come in and eat the bait, one hunter stood up and tried to scare them off but they just continued eating even after they saw him. Other hunters have had them follow them out of the woods.
We have between 3000-3500 that they admit to and we can't get a season on em, we have a wild herd of elk with 100 animals and we have a season every two years , can't figure that one out.

Budd, as I'm sure you know, we have the same problems on our baits over here in Wisconsin. We mostly use cookies and sugar cones. I hunt in central Wisconsin for training season and northern wisconsin for kill season. The wolves take over baits in both areas. They used to tell us to hunt where there isn't any wolves. THAT ISN'T POSSIBLE!!!!

If you read our game laws, for years it has read, Grizzly bears may be encountered in units bla, bla, bla. They have never been able to catch up to all the units the wolves are in so they say nothing about them!

There has been a collard wolf from Montana reported in Colorado this last week. It traveled over a thousand miles though Wyoming,Idaho,Utah and is in western Colo. now. looks like there going to be everywhere. This is not the first collard wolf here, hue knows how many are out there without collars. Is there any one using protective vest on there hounds? Will it save a hound or even make a difference? What is the most effective thing you can do other than quitting?


THANKS GUYS

I propose total erradication...

The wolves are all over Idaho from Canada to the Owahees and Oregon to Montana and Wyoming. I propose for everyone to not buy a hunting license or tag in idaho this year so the IDFG go broke and maybe somebody who could manage game would take over. But If your a nonresident I'd strongly suggest spending your money in a better state to hunt. The outfitters and hunters I know who hunted idaho the last several years have gone from 30 and 40% success to last years 11% success. Why waste the money when you can go to canada or alaska and hopefully get something. That is unless a guy wants to sit in a bait. YUK!!!!!!!!!

jasonmark, One of these Canadian Greys will take a dogs leg off. Not just break it, and they fight to kill, so they will keep fighting until a dog is dead. bells are a joke, I have friends that have lost equal numbers of dogs wearing bells, as dogs without. I don't think there's a damn thing we can do to protect our dogs once a wolf gets ahold of them. I have heard of very few survivors, and all I know of the guys were right there and saved them.

SSS