Bear minimum or above and beyond?

Some conservation groups are accusing Idaho wildlife managers of misleading the public about wolf trapping seasons, but the state says it’s done everything by the book.

The minor controversy stems from a bigger one. In March, federal Judge Candy Dale ruled in favor of a coalition of conservation groups who argued the timing of the state’s wolf trapping seasons put grizzly bears at risk.

Prior to this year, wolf trapping seasons overlapped with the time grizzly bears are active, sometimes by as long as nine months. Dale ruled that trapping and snaring of wolves in areas where grizzlies may be present can’t start until after the bears den for the winter and must end before they emerge in the spring — roughly late November to early March.

The judge’s ruling came out at the same time the Idaho Department of Fish and Game was finishing its big game rule booklet, which includes wolf trapping and snaring seasons. The printed version of the booklet says wolf trapping, depending on location, starts as early as Sept. 10, which, in many areas, is contrary to Dale’s ruling.

But the printed booklet also included language saying the timing of seasons in areas frequented by grizzly bears may change based on litigation and trappers should check the online version of the rules for the latest information.

That isn’t good enough, according to the groups that include Center for Biological Diversity, Footloose Montana, Friends of the Clearwater, Gallatin Wildlife Association, Global Indigenous Council, the Humane Society of the United States, International Wildlife Coexistence Network, Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment, Sierra Club, Trap Free Montana, Western Watersheds Project, Wilderness Watch, and Wolves of the Rockies.

“Judge Dale’s decision isn’t a footnote; it is a final, binding legal order. IDFG is sending muddied information that may turn otherwise law-abiding trappers into poachers and could end with injured or dead grizzly bears,” said Ben Scrimshaw, an attorney for the environmental law firm Earthjustice that represented the groups.

Roger Phillips, a Fish and Game spokesperson, said the agency complied with Dale’s order. When the agency sent the booklet to press, Dale’s ruling had just come out. The Idaho Fish and Game Commission had not yet reacted and the agency’s legal team was still analyzing Dale’s order. Because of that, the booklet noted the dates may change.

Since that time, the online version of the booklet has been updated and the agency has worked to make sure trappers are aware of the changes.

“We sent direct mail to every trapper and sent emails in April to over 15,000 people,” he said. “We pretty much did a full-court press on this thing.”

The department’s hunting and fishing rules booklets always direct people to the website for the latest information and Phillips said it’s not unusual for changes, sometimes significant ones, to occur after they are printed. He noted when the Idaho Legislature greatly expanded wolf hunting and trapping seasons and rules in 2021, the changes were reflected in the online booklet in a timely manner, but the agency didn’t update the printed booklet until the next year.

“We always try to notify affected parties as quickly as possible and make changes online but we are not going to make them in the printed publications until we reprint those.”

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273.