Sides square off over wolves

SPOKANE, Wash. — During a public meeting, advocates for hunting of gray wolves squared off against people who support continued protection of the animals under the Endangered Species Act.

Well over 100 people packed a small hotel meeting room on Thursday, and extra security was hired for the public hearing because of the emotional nature of the argument, said Tom Buckley, spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The government has proposed delisting the gray wolves from protection under the Endangered Species Act in the northern Rocky Mountains and turning management of the animals over to the states, which would allow hunting to keep numbers low. The region where wolves would no longer have federal protections would include all of Idaho, Montana, eastern Washington and Oregon and a small sliver of northeastern Utah.

George Soetje of Sagle, Idaho, said the estimated 1,250 wolves in a vast part of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, cannot be considered a problem, and wolves should not be hunted.

"Twelve hundred fifty is nothing," said Soetje, wearing a jacket with a wolf on the back. He blamed ranchers and deer hunters for wanting wolf numbers reduced.

Wolf supporters said hunting the animals would drive them back toward extinction. Advocates for ranchers, however, said wolves are already preying on herds and are increasingly bold in encounters with humans.

Gary Macfarlane of Friends of the Clearwater said Idaho is lucky to have wolves.

"We strongly oppose delisting wolves in the northern Rockies," he said.

"Idaho's governor wants to kill about 85 percent of the wolves in the state," he said. "Idaho's government cannot be trusted."

Chris Norden of Lewiston, Idaho, also opposed delisting. He said there should be 500 breeding animals, far more than there are now.

"I have no confidence whatsoever that state management will be done responsibly," Norden said.

But Barbara Opdahl, whose family runs OOO Outfitters Inc., in the Clearwater National Forest, said elk populations have been decimated since wolves were reintroduced.

"The current population of wolves far exceeds the needed number for recovery," she said.

Duane Cocking, of the Inland Northwest chapter of Safari Club International, a hunting advocacy group, also said the number of wolves is far greater than is necessary.