August though November is the toughest time for wolves. Their prey are fleet and strong. Wolf pups are big, hungry, and no help in the hunt. Wolf packs are nutritionally stressed and are most likely then to sample mutton or beef. The hunting season, however, is a gift for wolves — gut piles and wounded deer and elk — just the thing hard-pressed wolves need.
The archery hunt begins in Idaho Aug. 30. One reason why Idaho has more wolves than any other Rocky Mountain State is very likely its huge backcountry where various hunts go from late August to December.
Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He has been a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and also its President. For many years he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of "Hiking Idaho." He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
