Challenges hunters will face

BOISE -- If all goes according to plan, gray wolves will be hunted in Idaho for the first time in decades.

It could be as early as this fall when hunters can set their sights on the gray wolf.

This after Idaho Fish and Game commissioners approved a plan to manage Idaho’s wolf population.

Dave Ratliff has hunted wolves before and says Idaho Fish and Game may sell several tags, but actually finding and shooting a wolf will be very difficult.

"They are very difficult to hunt. They're extremely wary. They're similar to cougars in that you know they are there, and wolves you hear, but you rarely see, they're very elusive," said Dave Ratliff, an outfitter at Cabela's in Boise.

That's the situation hunters will face now that the gray wolf will be off the endangered species list for the first time in 34 years.           

The gray wolf was reintroduced into Idaho in 1995 and has thrived to where there are now over 700 wolves in the Gem State.

Once the predators are removed from the endangered species list it's up to the state to determine how to manage the growing numbers.

Idaho Fish and Game held several meetings giving people the opportunity to voice their concerns for and against the population management plan.

"The state says we're going to have viable wolf populations and as managers that's what we're laying a plan out to do," said Cal Groen, Idaho Fish and Game director.

The Fish and Game Commission approved the plan Thursday.  Details surrounding the number of tags and when the hunt will take place will be decided later.

Dave Ratliff is a long time hunter and has on several occasions hunted the wolves in Alaska, but he believes hunting them here will be much more difficult.

"Here the country is steep, it's thick and it's rugged. Wolves can cover a lot of ground, and people can't," said Ratliff.

Ratliff says the gray wolf doesn't have a lot of practical uses, but people still travel long distances for the hunt.  But why?

"A lot of reasons.  A lot of people just don't like them. They are a true trophy game animal, and for a lot of people they represent true wild country," said Ratliff.

So how are wolves hunted?

Ratliff says wolves are typically hunted using bait or a wounded animal call.

But more often than not, he says wolves are where other animals are, and you generally run into them while hunting other species.