costs $12.75 and an out-of-state license costs $154.75. Then, hunters must purchase an elk tag, which runs $30.75 for Idaho residents and $416.75 for out-of-state tags. But the ďŹ nancial effects go further. Hunters drop some serious cash for travel, food and lodging, often in small communities. While individual reasons for not hunting are many, Rachael said a department survey showed that high prices for out-of-state tags and the real or perceived impacts of wolves are the top reasons cited. Elk tags in the Lolo area have been capped at no more than 1,600, but that limit hasn’t been pushed in recent years, Crenshaw said. Only about 50 percent of the 1,008 residenthunter tags were used last year, only 35 percent of the allotted 236 outďŹ tter tags were bought and all of the 356 non-resident tags where purchased, he said, adding that while the non-resident numbers look good, hunters can purchase leftover outďŹ tter tags, but there has been no demand for that recently. To address the declining elk numbers, the Fish and Game Commission recently enacted further cuts to the number of tags in the Lolo area, cutting archery-season elk tags by 6.5 percent and ďŹ rearm tags by 14 percent. Some worry that those cuts could mean the end to more than one small outďŹ tter business. “We’re talking about small businesses that were small to begin with, [and now] there’s a deep question of whether they’ll be able to continue to operate in the area,â€? Simonds said. “There is a number of our outďŹ tters whose primary concern is being able to pass on their heritage to their sons and daughters, and that’s becoming almost a ďŹ gment of our imaginations at this point.â€? Craig is a long way from throwing in the towel, but he does worry about passing his business to his son. “We’re ďŹ ghters. No one’s going to close up shop,â€? he said. “We’re going to try everything we can to survive this.â€? But Craig added that he doubts the elk numbers will ever increase to past levels. Others living in the affected areas are feeling the pinch as well. Dennis Harper, public affairs chairman with the OroďŹ no Chamber of Commerce, said hunters bring in several million dollars to the community each year, much needed revenue in an area suffering roughly 20 percent unemployment. “Take a few million out of the economy, then the impact becomes huge,â€? he said. A 30-year resident of the area and an avid hunter, Harper said he’s witnessed the reduction of game and the loss of quality habitat, and that he personally feels there are too many wolves in the area. He stresses that he’s not a fanatic, just frustrated. “The bottom line is that it’s a very serious situation and, unfortunately, we’re dancing on politically correct rather than doing what needs to be done to ensure a quality of life in Idaho,â€? he said. While Harper said Fish and Game is taking action, he feels the department isn’t moving fast enough. “Someone needs to take it seriously, and it can’t be a warm, fuzzy approach.â€? He calls the court battles a nightmare. “Unfortunately, everyone needs to sit down at a table and use some common sense,â€? he said. “We’re stuck in the middle and we’re paying the price economically and in quality of life.â€? While Craig said he, too, hates the WWW. B OISEWEEKLY.C O M
litigation that has come with wolves, it might be the next step for outďŹ tters and hunters. “It’s the last thing you want to do, but it has to be considered because it’s going to put us out of business and push everyone out of the woods. We can have both, and we can do ďŹ ne with that, but it’s pretty one-sided right now.â€? While some believed the loss in elk tag sales would be offset by wolf tag sales, Simonds said the additional $186 for an out-of-state wolf tag is prohibitive for many hunters—a resident wolf tag costs $11.50. Last year, the state sold 25,744 resident wolf tags and 684 non-resident tags. Craig said of the 120 to 130 clients he guided last year, none bought a wolf tag, and he had only two or three inquiries about wolf hunts. That issue was addressed by Idaho House Bill 463, which was signed by Gov. C.L. “Butchâ€? Otter on March 25. The bill allows the Fish and Game Commission to basically bundle a non-resident elk or deer tag with a bear, wolf or mountain lion tag, allowing a hunter to kill one of the predators on the tag during an open season. According to the bill’s ďŹ scal impact statement, the change is anticipated to increase adult non-resident tag sales by at least 5 percent, adding an extra $336,900 to Fish and Game’s revenue.
WHAT IS BALANCE?
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Supporters on both sides of the issue use the term “natural balance,â€? but for many, that’s an impossibly nebulous term. Timberlake points to recent studies from Yellowstone National Park, showing habitat improvement due to wolves reducing elk numbers and forcing herds to move more, helping overgrazing. This habitat improvement helps an array of other species as the effects trickle down. “Everything is reshufing,â€? he said of the reintroduction of wolves. “Idaho is a very, very big state ... There’s plenty of game for both the carnivores and for the hunters.â€? “The truth is, there are all sorts of ways you can balance,â€? Rachael said. “Eventually, yes, we would like to reach some sort of balance over time, but it’s not likely to be the balance acceptable or desirable for those folks that, for the last 100 years, looked at deer and elk as a food source. “We could manage for a much larger number of deer and elk, but that would be a larger number of wolves to go with it,â€? he said. “We’re so far removed from a natural human-unaffected landscape that’s it’s just not realistic. We’re trying to balance the desires of an enormously diverse group of people. Some want that semblance of the Wild, Wild West, and those with more of a utilitarian-based background ... the social demands are enormous.â€? The idea of balance is one Craig said he understands, but added that as things stand, wolves aren’t in balance. “It’s not something that you can just ignore,â€? he said. Even with the substantial decline in the Lolo elk, Rachael said it’s not an elk apocalypse. “Populations are not going to disappear,â€? he said. “Is it reasonable to expect those to fully recover? No. But they’re not going to disappear.â€?
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