BREAKING: According to Wildlife Service’s’ Todd Grimm, the media blackout was intentional and a deliberate strategy in Idaho’s Lolo wolf massacre.

Per this morning’s post in The Spokesmans-Review, proceeding secretly with the highly contentious aerial gunning of wolves was done by the agency with intent. And they make no apologies. Environmental groups broke the story, blowing the lid off their clandestine mission, a massacre being conducted in what is supposed to be a self-willed designated wilderness area. And now agencies are scrambling to justify their actions. “At the time, we were trying to keep the Lolo operation under wraps,” Todd Grimm, state director of the USDA Wildlife Services Program for Idaho admitted to The Spokesman-Review on Tuesday.

It seems the shady character of Wildlife Services runs deep. According to the post, “When the head of an Idaho board charged with killing problem wolves was asked directly by a state senator on Monday how many wolves the board has had killed this year and how much it cost, he wouldn’t say. A day later, officials confirmed the reason for the reticence: An operation is now under way to kill more wolves in the Lolo region of North Idaho, and state and federal officials prefer to keep those operations secret until they’re done.”

While finally forced to admit it was going on, Fish and Game spokesman Mike Keckler claimed safety concerns. “There are strong feelings on both sides when it comes to these control actions. And in order to ensure that they are conducted as safely as possible, we feel it is best to conduct them and then report after the fact.” Really? After the fact? Don’t the American people have a right to know, and make decisions on, what is being conducted on our public lands and designated wilderness areas? Perhaps they feared a fierce backlash from wildlife advocates and conservation groups – Which is exactly what they will be getting.

From the latest reports no one even knows (or will confirm) how many wolves have already lost their lives, the cloak of secrecy having denied them protection from the millions of Americans who want our native predators to be left alone, especially in those rugged wild areas that have been set aside specifically to maintain fully functioning, biodiverse ecosystems. Now that the cat is out of the bag, advocacy groups such as The Center for Biological Diversity and the Friends of the Clearwater are condemning the action, and wolf supporters responding to the news released by Defenders of Wildlife have already been bombarding the agency with angry opposition to the killings. Said Grimm in this morning’s Jackson Hole News and Guide, “I’m not real happy with the way Defenders is putting this out instead of Fish and Game. We have already had one extremely violent phone call from somebody in Florida because of this press release,” he said. “People have very passionate views about wolves, and sometimes that drives them to make the wrong decision.”

Well, no surprise there. Wolves are beloved icons of American wilderness, and arguably the main attraction for tourists at Yellowstone and other national parks where wolves live deeply elemental lives, engaging with the total prism of ancient processes, and giving us much-needed glimpses of life at its most vital. So beloved are these charismatic creatures that families (called packs) often have ‘fan clubs’ and are followed by casual wildlife watchers, wolf lovers and science-minded ecologists alike. A wilderness area such as Lolo should be the one place, at least, that normal, healthy wolf packs can be observed, complete with all their natural behaviors, without interference from humans.

Not only is the ongoing slaughter unscientific and unsavory but it’s also outrageously expensive. The venture, undertaken over the last 3 years by the federal and state agencies as part of a five year plan, will cost plenty more. According to the Spokesman, “In addition to the $400,000 a year in state general funds, matching funds are provided by the livestock industry and Idaho Fish and Game, up to $110,000 each.” That’s a high price tag per wolf just to artificially inflate elk trophies for hunters. The Jackson Hole News and Guide reported that “Last year 19 wolves were killed in the area and 23 were shot in 2014. According to the state’s latest wolf population report, the Lolo zone had a minimum of 38 wolves, including six documented packs and five other wolf groups, at the end of 2014.” 38 wolves is not exactly an overpopulation in an area encompassing about a million acres. The slaughters being conducted were called “arrogant” as far back as 2014, in a MarchLetters from the West blog by Rocky Barker.

If nothing else, full disclosure from now on needs to be mandated. Activities and operations by government employees dealing with the country’s wildlife need to transparent, public and responsive to the concerns of science and ecology, not held hostage by consumptive interests like hunting and public-lands grazers. The stated objective of the aerial cull by Wildlife Services and Idaho Fish and Game is to boost declining elk populations for sportsmen. But rather than address environmental factors behind the decline they target a scapegoat and an ‘easy fix’.

Here’s the biggest rub: The Lolo/Clearwater region is not a game farm. Or a ranch. It is designated wilderness. There areplenty of elk in the state. In fact there is an overpopulation of elk in other areas that is causing property owners and ranchers problems. So one would think that natural wolf depredation would be welcomed to keep the herds healthy and within limits that the habitat can sustain. But despite comprising a tiny percentage of the US population, the hunting and ranching lobbies are disproportionately powerful, and for some reason the government continues to capitulate to them at the expense of native wildlife and wilderness systems. It does seem they have their priorities backwards. Because, surely, if sport hunting itself was halted for a couple years, those elk herds would stand a better chance of recovering.

Source: Update on Idaho secretly aerial-shooting wolves in wilderness area | Examiner.com