After numerous complaints that Idaho Fish and Game did not schedule an open house on their proposed wolf population management plan in the Wood River Valley (Ketchum, Hailey, Bellvue, Idaho), one has been set for December 17.
The open house will begin about 5:30 PM with an ID Fish and Game Powerpoint presentation. Then the Department will take questions for about an hour. At 7 PM, in a first, an actual public hearing will be held, not by Fish and Game, but the the Blaine County Commissioners. That will go for about an hour with each person getting 2 minutes or so to speak.
The meeting will be held at the Community Campus in Hailey.
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Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is President of the Western Watersheds Project.
The wolf meeting in Hailey will be chaired by Wendy Jaquet, Idaho House Minority Leader. (Minority = Democrat.) Apparently all three Democratic Blaine County Commissioners will be in attendance to listen to public testimony re. IDFG’s wolf population plan. Also expected is Donna Pence, State Representative (along with Wendy Jaquet) for Blaine County.
This is a good opportunity for wolf supporters to make their voices heard. The IDFG mgt plan calls for only 0-4 breeding pairs in the mountains around Ketchum, Sun Valley and Hailey. The mountains include the White Clouds, Boulders, Pioneers, Smokys, Lost Rivers and Pahsimerois — over 4 million acres or twice the size of Yellowstone Park. If you can’t believe the low figures that IDFG is setting for wolves here or elsewhere in the state, then you are not alone.
Information on how and where to comment will be forthcoming soon from Idaho groups working on the wolf issue.
I am going to try to make it……
Will comments by out of state residents be accepted?
Out-of-state residents’ comments should be accepted because they spend tens of millions of dollars, if not more, of tourist money every year in ID.
I hope to be there also supporting F&G population control program. We should get the word out so that the meeting isn’t dominated by the Blaine County wolf advocates. We need balanced feedback in order to insure a proactive management program for wolves just like we do for any other predator species.
out of state residents’ comments should be accepted because they’re going to use out of state resident’s money to execute the plan on federal land ~ nadeau mentioned funding via the president’s budget.
proactive management of wolves is only necessary when there is less-than active management of livestock
Western Watershed’s must-see video, “Resisting Delisting ~ Idaho’s Wolves & Livestock’s Influence”
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Mack P. Bray
My opinions are my own
wildlifewatchers@bresnan.net
http://wildlifewatchers.jottit.com/
My guess is that must have been Ron Gillette wearing the red shirt and white cowboy hat…….would sure love for him to try to leave foot prints up my back….what an idiot.
Chuck – you guessed right. On the video, that’s Ron Gillett shouting at the crowd at the anti-wolf gathering, saying he will leave foot prints up the back of any wolf supporter. Ranting, raving, shaking a fist – remind you of some historical figure?