July 19, 2012
By Niels Nokkentved, IDFG
The
Idaho Fish and Game Commission approved the limited use of legally salvaged
wildlife as bait for trapping wolves in Panhandle wolf management zone.
The rule
will apply only to units 1, 4, 4A, 5, 6, 7 and 9 in the Panhandle wolf
management zone, which are open to trapping during the 2012-2013 wolf trapping
season.
Fish and
Game staff had recommended holding the proposed rule while evaluating the
results of the first year of wolf trapping.
Commissioner Tony McDermott, however, expressed concern of hunters in the
Panhandle about the number of wolves in the region. Additional wolves are coming
in from Canada and from Montana.
Commissioners approved the proposal and an amendment to the 2012-2013 wolf
trapping season in the Panhandle seasons and rules approved in March. Wolf
trapping in the Panhandle will be open from
Salvaged
road kill is not allowed for use in hunting wolves or for trapping of other
animals. The commission allowed its use only in the Panhandle. Using salvaged
road kill as bait for hunting or trapping wolves in the rest of the state is
illegal.
Commissioners also approved a proposed rule that would allow the use of wolf
carcasses as bait for trapping in units open to trapping.
In other
action, the commission approved a list of proposed rule changes including rules
that would:
§
Allow trappers to use a
rimfire rifle or handgun or muzzle-loaded handgun to kill a gray wolf in a trap
or snare.
§
Allow trappers to dispatch a
wolf in a trap or snare outside big game hunting hours.
§
Clarify the kind of trap
sets legal for wolf trapping and snaring.
These are all temporary rules
that go into effect immediately, but they must be approved by the 2013
Legislature to remain in effect.