New Threat to Wood River Wolves!

Updated 10 am, Feb 11, 2025

Please attend and speak or submit written testimony

Tuesday, Feb 11
Blaine County Public Hearing
The Foundation for Wildlife Management has proposed expanding wolf trapping and snaring to public recreational land in Blaine County.  They also want authorization to chase wolves using hunting dogs, heat scope vision to target them at night, and to kill them from snowmobiles. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is hosting a public meeting on Tuesday, February 11th, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Hailey Community Campus. Please attend and speak or sign the petition below.

Dear Friends of the Wood River Wolf Project, 

The wolves in Blaine County face new threats to their survival. The Foundation for Wildlife Management (F4WM), the NGO that funds private bounties on wolves in Idaho and Montana, has again proposed expanding wolf trapping and snaring on our public lands in the Sawtooth National Forest. It is the only national forest in the state where wolf trapping and snaring are prohibited, thanks to our Blaine County Commissioners and residents' firm opposition to their past attempts. And for good reasons. Thousands of locals and tourists camp, hike, and play on these public land trails and campgrounds with our children and our pet dogs each year. These traps and snares threaten our use of these lands, especially our dogs, which can be severely injured or even killed by these unmarked traps and deadly snares. Hundreds of wolves have died in these lethal devices, many left to suffer for days only to be shot by bounty hunters.  In Idaho, bounties on wolves are worth thousands of dollars, even for newborn pups in their dens. Additionally, F4WM is seeking approval to kill wolves using hunting dogs, night heat scopes, and shooting them from snowmobiles and ATVs. 

As a community, Blaine County residents have chosen a different path: coexistence with wolves. In 2008, we formed Blaine County’s Wood River Wolf Project and invested our funding in nonlethal, proactive measures protecting our valley’s sheep herds and our wolves, bears, and coyotes. We were among the first ever to adopt this model, which has proven to be the most successful in achieving the lowest loss of livestock and wolves in Idaho on our public lands. It serves as a leading model of wolf and livestock coexistence worldwide today. 

If the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Commission expands wolf trapping and snaring to Units 48 and 49 next month at their March meeting in Boise, it will upend our 18 years of coexisting with wolves. These inhumane but highly lethal methods will break apart our resident wolf packs, which research shows leads to increased livestock losses as survivors struggle to adapt without their family structure. It will place our dogs at risk of injury or death on our public land trails and campgrounds, forcing us to leash our friends and carry wire cutters and crowbars to free them quickly or risk watching them die in front of our eyes, like former Blaine County Senator Michelle Stennett, who nearly lost her beloved dog to an illegally placed wolf trap on a county road.  

Please sign the petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/helpprotectthewoodriverwolves

We will deliver the signatures to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Commissioners at their March 25 meeting. You can also share this website link with others who care about coexisting with wildlife and our freedom to recreate safely on our public land. And please donate if you can help us place ads and raise awareness. We have so little time to stop this before the wolves have their new pups in April and become like sitting ducks for trappers if it passes.   — Wood River Wolf Project Donation Page.

County leaders oppose plan to reinstate wolf trapping | Environment | mtexpress.com 

IDFG: Wolf trapping proposal off the table for upcoming season | Environment | mtexpress.com

State senator's dog injured by illegal wolf trap | Freeaccess | idahostatejournal.com 

Wolf traps create winter hazard for dogs | Idaho Statesman 

Wolf held in trap for days before being killed. Idaho allows trappers to check their traps every three days.

End of 2024 Season Newsletter

The 17th year of the Wood River Wolf Project extended our record-breaking success with zero confirmed losses and only two possible sheep losses attributed to wolves among 18,000 sheep present during the summer grazing season. This achievement led to no wolves being culled by wildlife management agencies. Our project area is among the most difficult places to implement nonlethal methods such as livestock guardian dogs, Foxlights, sound alarms, and closely monitoring wolf activity. Our record of success is a testament to the coexistence of wolves and livestock operations, even in challenging landscapes like ours in Blaine County, Idaho.

Our success story has resonated across borders, reaching other states and European countries grappling with increasing livestock-wolf conflicts. Our team finished our 2024 field season by sharing our model across rural Colorado communities, the Pathways Europe Wildlife Conference in Spain, and the International Wildlife Coexistence Conference in Italy. We owe our accomplishments to you, our supporters. Your generosity fuels our peacekeeping work in the Valley between livestock and wildlife.

As we gear up for the next year's field season, we rely on your continued support. Every donation is valuable, contributing to our 2025 field season and ensuring we can carry on with this important mission. We cannot do this work without you, and every dollar helps! Click to donate to the Wood River Wolf Project , or see the mailing options below.

STUDENTS GAIN LIFE SKILLS AND LEARN ABOUT PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE

The Wood River Wolf Project pilot camera and tracking educational program began in 2021 and included students from the Sage School, the Community School and Hemingway STEAM School.

Students and their parents were so excited about the results, that the program continued this year.

During the month of May, Logan Miller, field supervisor for the Wolf Project and Francie St. Onge of Sun Valley Trekking and a member of the Wolf Project Steering committee, worked weekly with 10th and 11th graders from the Sage School to teach them about tracking wildlife, placing cameras in strategic locations, operating the cameras and ways to protect both livestock and wolves using nonlethal deterrents to achieve peaceful coexistence.

“It’s a perfect opportunity for students to learn life skills and gain hands-on experience that they might use for future career opportunities,” Francie said. “It also teaches students about the importance of supporting local nonprofits and community service. It’s a win-win project.”

Great new learning opportunity

Sawtooth Science Institute and BSU are teaming up to offer a great learning opportunity, Coexisting with Idaho Wildlife on June 16 and June 17, 2022. Credit is available For all the details and to enroll, here is the link:

https://www.boisestate.edu/k12pd/sawtooth-science-institute-courses/

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Successful Governor’s Grant for the. Wood River Wolf Project

On April 7, 2022, the Wood River Wolf Project was awarded a grant for $34,670 from the Idaho Governor's Office of Species Conservation as part of Idaho's Wolf Depredation Prevention Program.  "I am thrilled that the Governor's Office has awarded this grant which was significantly higher than 2021", stated Sarah Michael, Committee Chair of the Wood River Wolf Project.  "These funds will ensure that the Wood River Wolf Project will have the field staff and tools that we need to assist sheepherders in the use of nonlethal methods to prevent wolf/ livestock predation." 12,000-15,000 sheep graze on public lands in Blaine County in the summer. By keeping wolves away from them, both the sheep and wolves are safe.  

 The major part of the grant will be used to fund Logan Miller, our 2022 Field Manager. Logan will be back for his third season, and we credit his

relationship-building skills with sheepherders for much of their acceptance of nonlethal deterrents. He has a B.S. in Agricultural Sustainability and many years of experience in wolf conservation. 

Also, we use new equipment and technology - protected and light collars for the LGD and flashing ear tags for sheep.

The grant from the Governor's Office of Species Conservation are federal funds that states are eligible for to fund nonlethal deterrent efforts to reduce wolf and livestock conflicts.   The Wood River Wolf Project in Blaine County is Idaho's oldest and most successful wolf existence program, going on our15 summer field season. "We appreciate the support the Governor's Office has provided the Wood River Wolf Project over the years", Michael stated. 

 www.woodriverwolfproject.org

A journey through the Idaho backcountry to promote the coexistence of wolves and livestock

“A Wood River Valley non-profit is working to extend its outreach and promote the coexistence of livestock and wolves in their area. Their work continues to be conducted while legislation is being passed in Idaho to kill the majority of the state’s wolves…"

Idaho ranchers torn between hunting and deterrents for gray wolves harming their livestock

PBS highlighted Idaho ranchers who want wolves out of Idaho and those of us involved with the Wood River Wolf Project (Brian Bean and Kurt Holtzen, Lava Lake Land & Livestock) who have worked in coexistence with wolves for 14 years.

What One Advocate Says About A New Law That Could Kill 90% Of Idaho Wolves

Suzanne Stone, Co-founder of the Wood River Wolf Project, was featured on Boise State Public Radio discussing new Idaho legislation. Listen here.

No-Kill Coexistence Project Continues As Idaho Expands Wolf Hunting And Trapping

Logan Miller, our field manager, was recently featured on Boise State Public Radio, talking about the work he and the Wood River Wolf Project do.

Wood River Wolf Project to Share Season Highlights

Members of the Wood River Wolf Project hosted a virtual wrap-up for the 13th season of the project. Project members shared the project’s history, recent updates, the challenges and successes of the 13th season, plans for future coexistence efforts and training, and how residents can help.

Stories from the range: Cattle rancher Merrill Beyeler recounts wolf reintroduction, changing practices

Cattle farmer and former state representative Merrill Beyeler believes the reintroduction of wolves to Idaho has had a positive impact on Idaho’s ecosystem. However, Beleyer also points to the need for some wolf management to protect livestock and compensation for animals lost to wolves.

‘Retribution politics’: Inside Idaho’s crackdown on wolves

After wolves were delisted as an endangered species, wolf management shifted to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Lethal methods are still favored in Idaho today due to government agencies’ unwillingness to invest in nonlethal methods and lethal methods producing a more tangible “fix” to conflicts with wolves.

Idaho’s wild wolves: A look back at the history of wolf reintroduction

Wolves were once common in Idaho, but nearly all wolves in the lower 48 states were wiped out by the end of the Great Depression. Wolves were reintroduced to central Idaho in the 1990s, sparking a surge in wolf populations and the need for nonlethal deterrent methods to protect livestock.

A war on wolves

Wood River Wolf Project co-founder Suzanne Stone reflects on starting the project with the odds stacked against them. Stone said only 30 sheep were killed by wolves in Blaine County since the project’s inception, compared to 300 sheep killed in a neighboring district that did not employ nonlethal methods.

Wolf Project begins 13th season

The Wood River Wolf Project embarked on its 13th summer of providing ranchers with nonlethal predator deterrents. The project’s steering committee and the Lava Lake Institute for Science & Conservation announced that Logan Miller will join the team as field manager and bring in knowledge of the surrounding area and sustainability.

Wood River Wolf Project has successful season

Herders reported only one incident of wolf depredation and seven or eight sheep killed during the summer season. No wolves were killed by the federal wildlife services agency this season.

Data from the Wood River Wolf Project is published in the Journal of Mammalogy

We are excited to announce that a paper documenting the first seven years of the Wood River Wolf Project was just published in the Journal of Mammalogy! It appears in a special edition of the Journal on the Lethal Control of Predators.  See the article below.

Adaptive use of nonlethal strategies for minimizing wolf–sheep conflict in Idaho 

Suzanne A. Stone; Stewart W. Breck; Jesse Timberlake; Peter M. Haswell; Fernando Najera; Brian S. Bean; Daniel J. Thornhill

J Mammal (2017) 98 (1): 33-44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyw188

Published: 02 February 2017

Abstract

Worldwide, native predators are killed to protect livestock, an action that can undermine wildlife conservation efforts and create conflicts among stakeholders. An ongoing example is occurring in the western United States, where wolves (Canis lupus) were eradicated by the 1930s but are again present in parts of their historic range. While livestock losses to wolves represent a small fraction of overall livestock mortality, the response to these depredations has resulted in widespread conflicts including significant efforts at lethal wolf control to reduce impacts on livestock producers, especially those with large-scale grazing operations on public lands. A variety of nonlethal methods have proven effective in reducing livestock losses to wolves in small-scale operations but in large-scale, open-range grazing operations, nonlethal management strategies are often presumed ineffective or infeasible. To demonstrate that nonlethal techniques can be effective at large scales, we report a 7-year case study where we strategically applied nonlethal predator deterrents and animal husbandry techniques on an adaptive basis (i.e., based on terrain, proximity to den or rendezvous sites, avoiding overexposure to techniques such as certain lights or sound devices that could result in wolves losing their fear of that device, etc.) to protect sheep (Ovis aries) and wolves on public grazing lands in Idaho. We collected data on sheep depredation mortalities in the protected demonstration study area and compared these data to an adjacent wolf-occupied area where sheep were grazed without the added nonlethal protection measures. Over the 7-year period, sheep depredation losses to wolves were 3.5 times higher in the Nonprotected Area (NPA) than in the Protected Area (PA). Furthermore, no wolves were lethally controlled within the PA and sheep depredation losses to wolves were just 0.02% of the total number of sheep present, the lowest loss rate among sheep-grazing areas in wolf range statewide, whereas wolves were lethally controlled in the NPA. Our demonstration project provides evidence that proactive use of a variety of nonlethal techniques applied conditionally can help reduce depredation on large open-range operations.

Canis lupus, coexistence, human–wildlife conflict, livestock damage prevention, predator

For the full article, follow this link: https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/doi/10.1093/jmammal/gyw188/2977254/Adaptive-use-of-nonlethal-strategies-for