Wolves in Salmon, Idaho Decimate Elk Hunting

This is something I received from an Idaho outfitter regarding the impact on elk in the Salmon, Idaho area. Although it is about Idaho, the same things hold true for Wyoming. There are some in the G&F who like wolves and will go out of their way to skew their studies to let the wolves off the hook. On the other hand, there are some in our Wyoming G&F who hate the wolves for what they are doing to our big game herds. Name withheld.


I am a outfitter in Salmon for over 30 years and have seen the change!

In 1996 our Unit 28 opening week saw 10 hunters harvest 9 bull elk. 1-7x7, 6-6x6's and 2- 5x5's. All Mature bulls,all happy hunters! 11 years later after the wolves have been here, this season (2007) we harvested only 1 spike bull and 4 deer out of 20 total hunters. On my first 3 hunts I went 15 days horseback guiding and never saw an elk!! Almost all of the hunters never wanted to see Idaho again, yes very upset! I wonder what this is doing to the economy of our small towns in Idaho, I hear this from my friends,locals and pretty much everyone I talk to.

I have yet to run into anyone on the trails,dirt roads,paved roads or on Main street that came to our county to see a wolf! I guess most of them are in New York City watching them on TV as I have yet to meet one here, much less spend a dollar in our communities!

I know as a fact there are hundreds or maybe thousands of elk hunters that will not return! Wow, wolves really do impact the economy of small Idaho towns!

I have talked and pleaded with our Fish & Game Dept in Salmon, Region 7 to no avail. They say basically nothing can be done. A few wolves have been taken out by the Feds only because of Beef kills. Not one wolf that I know of has been taken out because of Elk kills.

About 5 - 8 years ago while lion hunting in my area in winter on snowmobile,I found 9 dead elk (8 cow elk & 1-6x6 bull) on Silver Creek road (a 14 mile stretch) all killed within a week in my opinion. All were killed by a pack of about 8 wolves in my opinion, by the tracks around the kills, the way the elk were killed, and the fact I lived with the pack in the area constantly. Wolf tracks everywhere,some of the elk eaten, some not, most had intestines pulled out some didn't. All typical wolf kills I was used to seeing. Not one was covered by snow or brush as lions do. Almost all had their noses pulled off, as usual for a wolf kill as I was used to seeing. A lion had never pulled a nose off an elk that I had ever found. Lions had never killed over 2 to 3 deer ( hardly ever an elk ) on the 14 mile stretch of Silver Creek road ever in a course of a winter the 20 + years I had been there! Also no lion tracks were found by me and my lion hunters over a 2 week period in the area when the elk were found. Obviously a case of binge killing by the wolf pack that was in there. I would swear to this on a stack of Bibles " then and today", they were killed by the pack in the area!

On my way out on snowmachines with my hunter that day I ran into Jason Husselman (now Idaho Fish & Game Wolf biologist in the Salmon office) " then a guy doing a wolf study" under Gary Power (now Idaho Fish & Game commissioner, Salmon area). I told Jason about the 9 dead elk on Silver Creek road and that in my opinion, they were all killed by the pack of 8 wolves in the area. He said he would check the kills, as he was doing the study on the impact of wolves on big game in the area.

On return a few days later, I ran into him on snowmachines again a few days later. I asked him if he saw the elk kills on Silver creek? He said that he did. I asked him what did he write down in his study reports? He said that he determined that all 9 elk were killed by lion! And that he wrote it down as such in his reports on the wolf study he was doing under Gary Power. I was floored, to say the least and asked him if he was for the wolves or against them. He told me he was for the introduction of wolves and wanted them in idaho.

The important thing to remember here is ; If the 9 wolf kills on Silver creek road that week were reported as lion kills, what about the rest of the study in the whole Salmon area that winter? Now both these guys are pulling good wages and have been for years working for the Idaho Fish & Game Dept. I hope that they are proud of their study. I just wanted them to know I didn't forget about that special moment. Believe me I never will.

Thanks for the opportunity to tell you my story. Feel free to send it to anyone you please.
Sincerely, Shane McAfee