BLM approves permit for controversial Idaho predator hunt

E&E News
By Matt Herbert
November 14, 2014

The Bureau of Land Management yesterday approved a permit for a hunting competition targeting wolves, coyotes and other predators on its lands in east-central Idaho, sparking legal challenges from environmental groups.

"We are aware of the social controversy regarding the event," said Joe Kraayenbrink, BLM's district manager of the Idaho Falls District. "However, from our analysis, we could not find significant conflicts with other environmental resources that would prohibit the competitive event from occurring."

The BLM-approved permit allows up to 500 participants to hunt for coyotes, raccoons, skunks, jack rabbits, weasels, starlings and wolves on 3.1 million acres for three days each year for the next five years. The upcoming event would take place Jan. 2 to 4.

The so-called derby, organized by the pro-hunting group Idaho for Wildlife, also will take place on Forest Service, state and private lands, for a total 10 million acres, the group said.

The Western Watersheds Project, Center for Biological Diversity and Project Coyote immediately filed a lawsuit yesterday against BLM, asking an Idaho district court to halt the contest.

"Not only is the contest itself an embarrassment to the state of Idaho, but the BLM's process in enabling the contest is also a throwback to the bad old days," said Travis Bruner, executive director of Western Watersheds Project in Idaho. "The BLM basically walked the applicants through the process, worked to drum up support among the Idaho Fish and Game Department, and developed a communications plan to defend their choice to issue the permit -- long before the analysis was even complete."

Separately, WildEarth Guardians, the Western Environmental Law Center, Boulder-White Clouds Council and Cascadia Wildlands yesterday filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho Eastern Division, also challenging the BLM permit and asking for an injunction against the event.

But Steve Alder, executive director of Idaho for Wildlife, said the groups are "hypocritical" because they don't oppose big buck hunting and fishing contests.

"Most of the people against [the derby] are urbanites and city dwellers who have not been brought up in the West or in the country," said Alder. "They don't comprehend predator-prey relationship and don't understand what predators do. They need to go and research and study and find out what predators are capable of. Wolves do not balance the ecosystem."

Alder said the area has been "blindsided" by the delisting of gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act in 2011 in a handful of Western states.

In last year's inaugural derby, $1,000 prizes were available to the participant who killed the largest wolf and the participant who killed the most coyotes. Alder said similar prizes would probably be awarded this year.

Participants planning to shoot wolves in the derby would need to obtain a wolf tag from Idaho Fish and Game at a cost of $11.50 per tag.

Mike Keckler, spokesman for Idaho Fish and Game, said there is a healthy population of wolves in the Salmon area and in the adjacent wilderness areas. There were an estimated 659 wolves in Idaho at the end of 2013, according to a report by Idaho Fish and Game and the Nez Perce Tribe.

Keckler said Fish and Game officers plan to monitor the event to make sure rules are followed and participants seeking to bag a wolf have the proper tags. If a wolf is killed, officers will examine the animal and take DNA samples to "help population-monitoring responsibilities," said Keckler.

Some areas of the state have wolf harvesting limits, including a portion of the derby boundary, but Keckler said he didn't think those limits would be met. The other species targeted in the contest are unregulated.

Permitting process

Of the 40,000 public comments BLM received during its environmental assessment of the event, only 16 were in favor of it, according to Linda Price, the field manager at BLM's Salmon field office.

The comment period was extended a week past the original deadline of Oct. 16, after Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) sent a letter to BLM requesting more time. DeFazio followed up with an additional letter to BLM Director Neil Kornze, asking the agency to deny the permit.

DeFazio, a ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, said in the letter that "this proposed activity is clearly inconsistent with the BLM's mission 'to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of America's public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.'"

Bruner said the Western Watersheds Project, along with the Center for Biological Diversity, also requested a permit for a wildlife-viewing contest on the same dates and in the same location. Bruner said the request was denied by the agency, which said the dates must be changed.

But Price said the permit was not denied; rather, BLM requested that the groups move the date or location of the event because there was already an event taking place in the area during that time.

The environmental groups are contesting that decision, as well.

Controversy

Last year's inaugural derby attracted 125 hunters and bagged 21 coyotes -- and similar protests from environmental groups. As coverage of the event spread and the organization gained more attention, threats started coming in.

Members of Idaho for Wildlife and supporting businesses in the Salmon area received death threats, Alder said. The FBI investigated the death threats, and local authorities monitored the event, he said. Even with heightened security, Alder said some cars were keyed and a couple of tires were slashed.

Supporters of the derby cite the state's hunting heritage, multiple uses of public lands and predator hunts to manage big game populations.

But opponents assail the contest as unethical and outdated. In a letter posted to its website, Defenders of Wildlife expressed concerns over the hunt.

"Predator derbies are a 19th century practice that played a significant role in driving species to extirpation, creating the need for the ESA and the reintroduction and continued conservation of many predator species in North America," said the letter.