Around the world, wolves are a frequent occurrence in culture and folklore, be it their swiftness, intelligence, or simply their beauty that inspired people to create stories, gods, and monsters based upon these majestic animals. Even outside the imaginations of man, they remain a vital part of many ecosystems, often acting as stabilizers for preventing populations of certain animals from getting too large. The wilds of Idaho are no exception; however, a recently passed bill might change that.

For a bit of background, wolves used to be a very common sight in Idaho, particularly around Yellowstone in the middle of the 19th century. However, by the dawn of the 20th century, they were all but a rare sight, due to human encroachment in the region, particularly agricultural development in the area. By the 1940s, wolves went completely extinct in the state. Besides the occasional Bigfoot-esque sighting of a wolf or two, no wolves would live in these wilds for 50 years. However, efforts during the mid 1990s to reintroduce wolf populations into Yellowstone were a success, and they would later reach the wilds of neighboring areas in Idaho. After this reintroduction, the population of wolves in Idaho would gradually rise and on May 5, 2011 they were removed from the endangered species list in Idaho. 

Today, it estimated that the wolf population of Idaho is about 1,500. However, this may soon change.

The Idaho House of Representatives voted on a bill, SB 1211, backed by Governor Brad Little, that cut the population of wolves in the state by 90%.Although small scale wolf hunting in the state has been allowed for several years, this bill allows for advanced equipment to be used in the hunting of wolves and for the hiring of private contractors to kill wolves — not to mention the increase in funding to the Idaho Wolf Depredation Control. 

Regarding the bill, House Majority Leader Mike Moyle said, “We have areas of the state where the wolves are having a real detrimental impact on our wildlife”, elaborating on this, “They are hurting the herds, elk and deer. This allows the Wolf (Depredation) Control Board and others to control them, also, which we have not done in the past.”

Several groups criticized a bill in a statement, stating it represents a waste of money and an environmentally unacceptable position.

So what’s the truth about this bill?

One of these arguments for the bill is that the wolf population has harmed the population of the state’s elk population. However, this isn’t true based on data given from the Idaho Fish and Game agency. There are at least 120,000 elk. Not only is this number a healthy number, but the elk population has even increased by about 17,000 since 2010. In fact, this is a slightly higher population of elk than counted just before the reintroduction of wolves in 1995. Killing the vast majority of these wolves would increase the elk population to an unhealthy amount. Is it any wonder that hunters overwhelmingly support this bill?

The other group who argue in favor of the bill are ranchers. Specifically, they point to the many complaints of ranchers about wolves killing their livestock. Besides the fact that a number of complaints is never given, only anecdotal examples, wolves really aren’t killing that much livestock. In fact, wolves in general do not typically go after the livestock of ranchers. In 2020, there were 84 reported cases of wolves killing cows and sheep, and considering that there are 2.73 million cows and sheep in Idaho, this really shouldn’t be something that’s considered. In fact, that’s about .003% of livestock being killed per year. Considering the fact that 40,000 cows are killed from the likes of disease and weather, wolves should be the least of their problems

So, why does Idaho want to wipe out a majority of their wolf population? There are only two possible reasons: the bill was rushed and the facts weren’t all out, or the elected officials of Idaho were coerced into supporting the bill by groups like the Foundation for Wildlife Management, who place bounties on the heads of killed wolves.

It is up to the civil servants of Idaho to show to the rest of America if they care about wildlife or money?