Boundary County residents glimpse pack of 14 wolves

BONNERS FERRY - On a recent Sunday, Bob Vickaryous and Tom Davis stumbled across a pack of 14 wolves while hiking through the Panhandle National Forest's grazing area between Grass and Cow creeks. 

Two days later, they returned to the same area to find six.

"We assume the rest were out hunting," he said.

Vickaryous' interest in the wolves is vital to his livelihood. He has 180 of the 450 head of beef that graze on the 10,000-acres of public land.

"I went up to look for losses, but didn't find any," he said. "That doesn't mean there aren't any. It's very brushy and it's hard to cover."

Greg Johnson, senior conservation officer with Idaho Department of Fish and Game in Boundary County, said no loss of cattle has been reported. His agency manages the wildlife in the forest.

"It's not a surprise to us," Johnson said about the presence of the wolves.

"So far things have been relatively quiet. If there's 14 wolves in Cow Creek, we're not getting reports of loss of cattle. It can happen. That's the perils of grazing in the national forest and it can happen. Cougars get them. Bears get them and wolves can get them."

Vickaryous figures if there's wolves are around, wildlife is bound to turn up missing.

"There's very little game (there), which makes me kind of nervous about my cattle," he said. "They can go through an elk or moose in three to four days."

Johnson agrees.

"They live on wildlife," he said. "They're definitely eating deer and elk. We do not have a way of monitoring that at this point."

Idaho, Montana and Wyoming had planned to allow some wolves to be hunted this fall to reduce their numbers in the region.

That changed after U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula, Mont., granted a preliminary injunction on July 18, restoring protections for the wolves in the region. Molloy's injunction placed wolves back under federal management.

Idaho officials estimate there are from 500 to 700 wolves in the state.

Encountering the wolves was a little frightening, Vickaryous said. Davis, however, had a gun.

"If he hadn't been with me, it could've been really serious," Vickaryous said.

"They didn't want to leave. In fact, they wanted us to leave. They began howling at us. We didn't stay around too long."

If anyone else sees wolves, Vickaryous would appreciate a telephone call. He can be reached at 267-5742. Other contacts are Mike Ripatti at 267-5997 or Chris Amoth at 267-8963.