Wolves in Idaho aren’t packing their bags for federal protection just yet. Despite a recent court ruling that told the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take another look at its “no relisting” decision, Idaho Fish and Game says the state remains firmly in charge of managing its wolf population. In a press release earlier this month, IDFG Director Jim Fredericks reminded folks that Idaho has kept wolf numbers well above recovery goals for years—1,235 wolves at last count this spring, compared to the 150 needed for federal benchmarks. That’s not just a cushion; that’s a full-on memory foam mattress of wolves.
The fuss is that the judge wasn’t convinced by Fish and Wildlife’s argument that wolves in the Northern Rockies are just part of a larger Western wolf crowd. Idaho, for its part, argues the opposite—that Congress already carved out this population segment back in 2011 when wolves were delisted, and that should stick. For now, the court drama doesn’t change who’s calling the shots in Idaho, but Fish and Game made it clear: wolves are polarizing, management is tricky, and the state believes those decisions should stay closer to home rather than handed back to Washington, D.C.
