For Immediate Release
March 21, 2024
Contacts:
Dallas Gudgell, International Wildlife Coexistence Network, Dallas@wildlifecoexistence.org ; 208-914-5194
Josh Adler, International Wildlife Coexistence Network, Josh@wildlifecoexistence.org
Court Ruling Halts Wolf Trapping and Snaring in Idaho Grizzly Bear Habitat
Trapping and snaring will no longer be allowed during non-denning periods
Boise, ID – A summary judgment ruling in Idaho District Court yesterday will prevent the state of Idaho from authorizing wolf trapping and snaring in grizzly bear habitat during non-denning periods. The decision will stop trapping and snaring in Idaho’s Panhandle, Clearwater, Salmon, and Upper Snake regions between March 1 and November 30 on public and private lands to prevent the unlawful take of Endangered Species Act-protected grizzly bears.
Thirteen conservation groups
filed suit over the impacts of Idaho’s expanded wolf trapping and snaring to non-target grizzly bears in December 2021. Idaho’s challenged trapping and snaring rules, which have become more expansive in the past decade, allowed for year-round trapping and snaring on private land to help meet Idaho’s goal of killing up to 90% of the state’s gray wolf population. Grizzly bears have been captured in wolf traps and snares in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Canada, and the court found that Idaho’s trapping rules violate the Endangered Species Act because grizzlies are likely to be captured in these deadly traps in the future.
“Today’s ruling is good for grizzly bears in these key areas,” said Suzanne Asha Stone, director of the Idaho-based International Wildlife Coexistence Network. “Endangered Species Act protections have helped restore grizzly bears to their historic landscapes, where they once thrived for centuries. Today’s ruling recognizes the need for humans to actively coexist with these species and their natural habitat.”
Dallas Gudgell, Wildlife and Tribal policy director for the International Wildlife Coexistence Network, believes these court ordered trapping restrictions will benefit wolf and grizzly bear survival. “Judge Dale’s decision confirms the intrinsic value of both wolves and grizzly bears, entrusted to the public for non-consumptive benefit,” Gudgell said.
The required regulatory restriction adjustments to trapping in the identified grizzly bear habitat, include federal special use permits for trapping on public lands, which also has the potential to benefit both wolf and grizzly bear survival.
