Deal pending in wolf shooting

SANDPOINT — A settlement offer is pending in the case of a Bonner County man charged with killing a gray wolf south of Priest Lake.

Russell Glen Frachiseur is charged with killing big game during a closed season, a misdemeanor. The shooting happened about 14 weeks before wolf hunting season opened in the Panhandle.

Frachiseur, 50, shot the adult male wolf outside his Squaw Valley home on June 12. He perceived the animal to be a threat to domestic animals and children in his rural neighborhood, according to an Idaho Department of Fish & Game report.

Frachiseur reported the killing to Fish & Game the following day, after having second thoughts over whether he acted appropriately or not, Senior Conservation Officer Rob Soumas said in his report.

Frachiseur told conservation officers the wolf had been pacing around the perimeter of his home and opted to dispatch it to protect his dogs, in addition to his neighbors’ children and their animals.

Fish & Game confirmed through University of Idaho lab analysis that the animal was pure wolf and not a hybrid, court records indicated. Frachiseur told Fish & Game he shot the wolf from about 170 yards with a .30-30 rifle.

Frachiseur’s Priest River attorney, Jennifer Fegert, entered a written plea of not guilty on Oct. 19.

Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Valerie Fenton’s settlement proposal offers a suspended jail term, a $1,000 fine with half the sum suspended, a $400 civil penalty and a three-year hunting license suspension. The state is also seeking $250 in restitution for the lab analysis, according to court documents.

The offer expires on Dec. 18, the date of Frachiseur’s pretrial conference in magistrate court. A jury trial is planned for early next year.