Idaho’s Lolo Wildlife Management Zones Devoid Of Elk
IDFG Director Cal Groen recently said "a study of elk mortality in the Lolo Zone show that 2 percent was from hunters taking elk, and 47 percent from wolves. “That concerns us, because we are trying to get a balance of populations that we can actively manage,” he said.
Recently the IDFG completed the aerial elk counts for the Lolo Wildlife Management Zones 10 and 12 in Idaho. Zone 10 counted 1,473 elk, while Zone 12 tallied 705. So how does this compare with previous years when aerial counts were done?
Zone 10:
1989 – 11,507
1992 – 7,745
1994 – 9,729
1998 – 5,079
2003 – 2,643
2006 – 3,452
2010 – 1,473
Zone 12:
1989 – 3,763
1992 – 3,452
1994 – 3,315
1995 – 3,832
1997 – 2,667
2002 – 2,048
2006 – 1,658
2010 – 705
Wolves were reintroduced in 1995. Any idiot can see there is an elk management problem……more like a wolf management problem.
What we hear perpetually from the wolf advocates and environmentalist is how the elk counts in Idaho show the number of elk growing or holding steady. What they refuse to tell you is that in those areas where the wolves are flourishing, we see numbers just as are shown above. When the wolves have eaten everything in sight in the Lolo Zone, they will move on to find more prey and destroy it as well. Only until they have completed that task will we see the “natural”management kick in where wolves will starve to death and/or die of disease and cannibalism.
Allowing wolves to grow in these numbers will ensure that they virtually wipe out elk herds and is not good wildlife management and contrary to what we all hear this is not the kind of Utopian “natural” wildlife management any of us should aspire for. It’s irresponsible.
We must encourage the Idaho Fish and Game to begin using the Federal 10J Rule to reduce wolf numbers before it is to late!
