Eight wolves released in central Idaho

1/26/96.

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Eight new wolves were released Jan. 25 on the
Middle Fork of the Salmon River in central Idaho.

According to biologists, the release consisted of
two adult males, one adult female, and five sub-
adult females. Unfortunately, one large male
wolf was shot before the release when it grabbed
a handler's thumb and wouldn't release it.

The handler was trying to put ice in the wolf's
cage when the bite took place. Laird Robinson,
public relations person for the release was
quoted as saying, "He got ahold of the thumb and
wouldn't let go. We're lucky he didn't bite off
a hand or arm. They have the power to do it in a
very short time."

The handler was reported in the Idaho Falls "Post
Register" as being "devastated" by the shooting.

The release took place at Boundary Creek near Dagger
Falls on the Middle Fork of the Salmon, a unit of
the national wild and scenic rivers system on the
edge of the 2.4-million acre Frank Church/River of
No Return Wilderness. Boundary Creek is a very
popular put-in for those who float the Middle Fork
during the summer months.

The wolves had to be snowmobiled into the area during
a blizzard with sub-zero temperatures. Early plans
were to fly them into Indian Creek -- a primitive
landing field 15 miles north of Boundary Creek.
Indian Creek is another popular put-in point for the
Middle Fork. Bad weather made it so that the wolves
had to be trucked to near Stanley, Idaho. A 20-mile
snowmobile trip through seven feet of snow followed.

Last year eleven wolves were released along the Middle
Fork. They were flown in. Earlier four wolves were
trucked to Corn Creek on the Main Fork of the Salmon
due to bad weather. Corn Creek is in Lemhi County.
It was reported to me that they didn't want to truck
them into Lemhi County again this year due to the
attitude toward the wolf held by local political
elites.

There are plans to bring in ten more wolves to Idaho
this weekend and six more to Yellowstone National
Park. If so, there will be 32 wolves in Idaho and
38 in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. The 38 in
the GYE includes 13 pups, eight of which were born
to last years' reintroduction.

I should point out that 32 wolves in Idaho is the
most optimistic figure because several wolves from
last year have not been located in aerial tracking
for a number of months. This does not mean they
are dead, but it is a possibility.