BLM Reverses Idaho Wolf Predator Derby Permit

After initially giving approval for a wolf hunting competition on Idaho federally-owned public land near Salmon, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has reversed its decision. The reversal came after defendant lawsuits were filed, including three environmental groups that filed lawsuits against the U.S. BLM and U.S. Forest Service to halt the derby set for early January. Four other environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the BLM contending the permit is contrary to the federal government’s wolf  reintroduction efforts. In addition, tens of thousands of people expressed outrage and signed petitions protesting the appalling competition.

The group that sponsored the hunting derby is Idaho for Wildlife, a hunters’ rights organization, who said the competition’s goal was to make a competitive, commercialized sport of killing wolves and other predators. The derby may still go forward in January on private land or on federal lands in a different location in Idaho.