Timm Kaminski, Idaho Gray Wolf Project Leader, Nez Perce Tribal Wolf Recovery Team, has been fired by the Nez Perce Tribe. Kamminski was noted for his accurate and tireless tracking. He also worked well with officials in locales that don't like wolves.
According to a story in the Idaho Falls Post Register, even the Lemhi County (Salmon, Idaho) commissioners liked him. In the Post Register article Gene Fadness wrote: "Lemhi County Commission Chairman Heber Stokes said he liked Kaminski, just as he did Mike Jimenez, the first project manager, who left the job to return to school. 'He probably was too good about working on the ground with the people and not paying enough attention to the politics,' Stokes said of Kaminski. ' I'm afraid they'll hire someone who doesn't have the interpersonal skills it takes,' Stokes said. 'Confrontation can happen very easily, and so far we've been able to avoid that.' "
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is presently meeting with tribal officials to discuss the future of the program with the Tribe. The Nez Perce trube became co-managers of the Idaho wolves after JoAn Wood and Lenore Barrett, state legislators from the Lemhi Country area, helped convince the Idaho Legislature to block participation by Idaho Fish and Game Deparment. This happened back in 1995. Efforts since to get the legislature to reconsider state participation have, as in Wyoming, been unsuccessful.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it had no plans to discontinue its contract with the Tribe. The Tribe is looking for a replacement. Tribal wildlife biologist Kurt Mack will fill in temporarily for Kamminski.
Tribal secretary Carla High Eagle gave no reason for the firing. She indicated it was "confidential." She also said county officials had no reason to be concerned about the future management of the wolves.
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