Fate of coyote-killing project uncertain

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — A Montana trapper awarded a contract to kill coyotes is not taking the job, in part because of the controversy surrounding the project, state Department of Fish and Game Director Steve Huffaker said.

John Graham, a veteran coyote hunter, was hired to kill the predators living east of Idaho Falls. Huffaker told the Idaho Fish and Game Commission on Thursday that Graham said there was too much public scrutiny of the project for him to do the job properly.

Graham also had problems with the two-year contract, said Huffaker. The contract calls for a trapper to use all legal means to trim 75 percent of the coyote population in the Willow Creek drainage.

The effort was created last year by the Legislature, and it authorizes Fish and Game to spend $300,000 to increase the number of deer in the famed hunting area.

Huffaker said the commission now has three options: to award the contract to remaining bidder Dave Morelli, to delay the project indefinitely or to rewrite the contract to appease Graham.

Morelli, who runs a business called Pesky Varmints, said he would come to eastern Idaho if asked.

``My plan all along was to do it,’’ he said. ``I suppose I would still do it, even if I was asked second.’’

During Graham’s first visit to the area to study the feasibility of the project, he shot a coyote while in the company of Fish and Game Commissioner Roy Moulton, even though he did not have a hunting license.

Graham said he was invited to the state to show off his talents, and he assumed Fish and Game had taken care of licenses and other requirements.

Five days after the incident was reported, Regional Supervisor Bob Saban issued a special permit to cover Graham’s actions. The move riled some hunters who believed Fish and Game was trying to cover up the incident.

The Idaho State Police investigated the shooting for Fish and Game, and no charges were pressed. Huffaker said there was no physical evidence a violation occurred.

Huffaker’s decision prompted Lemhi County Magistrate Judge Jerry Meyers to drop charges against a Washington man who was ticketed for fishing without a license. Meyers said he couldn’t penalize the angler because he believed Fish and Game officials were engaging in selective enforcement.

Some biologists and hunters also have challenged the claimed effectiveness of killing coyotes to help deer. They believe the $300,000 would be better spent on buying or restoring winter range for deer.