I live in Lowman. I see wolfs about three times a week. I had to pull my horses out of here. Thats a cost i could do without. It's just a matter of time till some child at one of the camp grounds gats killed Fred Lawson Boise Co. Commissioner

It seems we have come a long way from considered discussion in this country to a point where only those that yell the loudest are heard. I remember a time when such behavior would draw scowls of disapproval. I even remember the common refrain, “Empty tin cans rattle.” These days rattling tin cans are all the rage- literally. I am an elk bow hunter and I hunt in an area which has a wolf pack present. The elk habits have changed since the wolves have come back. They are less vocal and don’t lounge around in the open areas as in the past. This does make elk hunting more difficult but if I had wanted it to be easy I’d purchase one of those canned hunts. Funny thing is, I never see any other hunters when I’m up on the mountain. The only I time I see other hunters is down on the roads on their ATV’s and motorcycles. Of course, these are probably the same people that complain they aren’t seeing elk. Maybe if we could train the wolves to drive the elk to the roads these guys would stop complaining. Probably not, as I said, “empty tin cans rattle.” You might be interested to know the last National Geographic magazine had an article on wildebeest and lions. These two have existed in balance for millions of years on the African plains. The lions never eat “all” the wildebeests as some claim the wolves will do to the elk. Interestingly, they state in the article that what limits the number of wildebeests isn’t the lions but the amount of grass available. They are both limited by the base resource that fuels the life cycle-grass production, just like the elk. It is all about the productivity of the habitat just as you alluded to in your piece. I am also tired of the comments that these wolves aren’t native to the northern Rockies. The Gray wolf is native to almost the entire northern hemisphere including Idaho. These wolves may have been transplanted from Canada but they are far more native than the guys that want them dead. Butch Otter should be ashamed of himself for degrading the office of Governor with a baseless stunt like that. I sincerely hope this is the low point of his term.

Dear Lawson of Lowman, For your information their has never been a wolf attack on a human- ever. Even if there is one sometime in the future it will still be a much less likely occurance than a lightning strike killing that same kid. Maybe we should outlaw lightning too. Sorry to hear you have to move your horse. Really, I am.

Big Gear, aren't you forgetting the young man in Canada that was attacked and eaten by wolves just about 1 year ago. I'm sure his parents and friends have not. Certainly the gov wasn't very politically correct, but maybe it is time to vent our frustration and speak out. This has reached the point of utter idiocy with the overwhelming wolf numbers. It will take a miracle to get any of us delisted. Minnesota has been waiting for years.

Thank you, Kevin Brown. It's nice to hear a voice of sanity operating off of facts, not emotion. The de-listing process needs to continue working towards a well-managed hunting season for wolves, and all this political posturing at the Capitol is no help. The wolves are here to stay. While there are different wolf subspecies in N. America, there is no difference between the ones reintroduced from BC and Alberta and the ones that have lived here IN PACKS and HUNTED ELK (and bison) for thousands of years. This is a critter that can wander for hundreds of miles, spreading its genes far and wide. (And even the Mexican wolves of the southwest, which really ARE smaller and live in smaller packs, prey primarily on NM and AZ elk.) A lot of folks have said they're afraid to go into the woods now. I say, HUH?! I'm a small woman who has spent countless hours working and hiking alone in wolf country. Seen a few, never had a reason to fear them. A few years ago in Alberta, a pack that had become accustomed to accepting food handouts at a local mining camp killed a college student. It's the only confirmed case of wolves killing a person in N.A.. So, okay, when I see wolves begging for doggie treats from humans down here, maybe I'll worry...till then, you have a better chance of dying by bee sting, falling tree, or tripping over your own feet in the woods than being killed by a wolf. It's time to de-list wolves in Idaho. But it's time to quit with the hysteria, too.

I think there’s a bigger issue than the wolf one here. We’ll be able to see what kind of integrity our governor has because of his statements. He comes, reportedly, from a rancher background, and it stands to reason that ranchers - whose livelihood is, oftener and oftener these days, being eaten by wolves – do not like canis lupis. Low and behold our new governor makes an un-PC, but seemingly heartfelt, comment about wolves. Well, good for him- he’s boldly being true to his roots in front of the Idaho that elected him for what he is and all that stuff- right in front of the TV cameras... if he goes through with his statement. But wait- he made this statement in front of the SFW ( a hunter group that is controversial itself in the world of hunters- maybe BW should take a look at them and their Utah roots vs. the Idaho grown Sportsmen’s Caucus-). Was our newbie governor just kissing up to a faction of his constituency? If he caves when he is in front of Idahoans who actually like wolves, his character is pretty much down the ramp, in my book. Judge his worth as a governor and how he will stand on other issues (education, health care, etc.) by how he maintains his stance on the wolf topic. I agree with the last post which looks forward to the delisting of wolves. I think it is only reasonable that wolves be maintained at the number they were expected to attain before delisting. That number was 30 breeding pairs distributed throughout Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. Presently, the Idaho Fish and Game’s conservative estimate of wolf packs (meaning those with a collared member) included 70 packs-and well, well over 30 breeding pairs- in Idaho alone. Population rates are projected to continue at a 20% increase rate until the prey base is exhausted (meaning ungulates and other critters- bears, cougars, and indigenous wolves included-). Couple these stats with wolf planting being the result of a Federal mandate that the majority of Idaho opposed- and the governor has pretty firm political and biological footing on this one. A reduction in wolf force will certainly not “re-endanger” them- but it will do elk calves a big favor. I can’t agree with you, BigGear. I’ve noticed more than just different elk habits in September- I’ve noticed missing elk. I don’t just play on the roads, either- I hoof it back there pretty far, and I’m just not seeing the amount of elk tracks, poop, antler-sheds, and other sign back there as I used to, and I'm not alone. I’m not sure where you’re going with the National geographic lion/wildebeest thing, either. Comparing cats in a large system like the African Plains to wolves in the comparatively smaller Idaho fishbowl doesn’t pass the logic test for me. However, if you want to extrapolate along lines of similar mammalian predator behavior, I might mention that cougars never ate joggers in Southern California back in the day when people were allowed to shoot at them now and again. As for the common pro-wolf assertion that wolves have “never attacked a human, ever,” this depends upon what you qualify as an attack. The requirements for a “documented attack” vary depending upon whom you are talking with, but generally, said requirements are stringent enough to require the attack-ee to walk into a fish and game office with his or her doctor and lawyer in tow, then keel over dead, all the while doing so with the wolf (which must be killed and certified to be healthy –not rabid or particularly lean and hungry-) still attached to his or her ass. This continent has seen plenty of “wolf aggression,” but those incidences, for whatever reason, don’t seem to “count.” To name a few accounts: • John James Audubon, for whom the Audubon Society is named, reported a wolf attack himself involving 2 men in 1830. One man died and one was wounded, though the men managed to kill three wolves of the large pack that attacked them. (Audubon, J.J., and Bachman, J.; The Quadrupeds of North America, 3 volumes. New York, 1851 - 1854). • The Saint Paul Daily Globe, March 8, 1888 reported the attack of a father and son with the surname of Olsen while working on a haystack within sight of their New Rockford, Dakota home in which both were killed. • A 1942 attack of a railroad man is chronicled by a conservation officer named Crichton in the August 1947 Journal of Mammalogy (Vol. 28, No. 3) • In the Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, a girl was attacked in 1988 while gathering wood by flashlight, and a boy was bitten in the face in his sleep after his family had spent the evening “howling with the wolves” in 1996 (Ron Tozer, Park Naturalist for Algonquin Provincial Park). I might also thow in the recent (this year) attacks of Idaho hunters- one was a houndsman who's dogs gave his life for him, and the archery shop owner who backpacked way back into the bush last November and was lucky to get out alive. These events are still under "assessment" I understand, so I will leave names out. These may become "documented attacks" pending investigation. I don’t think it’s too far fetched to be worried about the dingo taking someone’s baby one of these days if their population is left unchecked and they’re treated like Yellowstone bears, never hearing a threatening gunshot. We don’t get a free pass just because we walk on two legs. Anyway, I’m most interested in seeing how the governor’s character pans out. That will be a big deal for all of us no matter what side of the wolf debate we take.