COEUR d'ALENE - Hunters killed 75 wolves in the Panhandle this season, but there are still plenty out there, according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

"We're nowhere near jeopardizing the population," said Phil Cooper, Fish and Game regional conservation officer.

The Panhandle population must remain above 150 and it is, he said.

Cooper said there are about 15 packs in the Panhandle, and each has about eight wolves. It's believed another eight "border packs" are spending time in Idaho, too.

"We're not going to take the risk of losing the opportunity for the state to manage them," Cooper said.

Wolf trapping seasons closed March 31 in all wolf management zones, and hunting seasons have closed in all but the Lolo and Selway zones where hunting seasons remain open through June 30.

As of April 2, hunters had killed 252 wolves, and trappers 123, for a total of 375 wolves. In the Panhandle, 33 wolves were shot, while 42 died in traps. IDFG sold about 43,300 wolf tags for the 2011-2012 season.

Cooper said the wolf hunting season went as expected.

Hunters found wolves "very difficult to hunt." They are wary, clever animals and tend to be "trap shy."

Even when people know wolves are in a particular area, it's hard to kill one with a firearm, Cooper said.

"It's difficult to be successful hunting them," Cooper said.

As the season progressed, trappers did better because they learned what worked and what didn't.

"Trappers made a lot of progress in learning how to trap them," he said.

Cooper said trapping will be an important means of keeping the wolf population under control.

"The harvest this year certainly put a dent in the growth," he said.

IDFG did not hear much in the way of objections to trapping and aerial shooting of wolves, Cooper said.

"There's been very limited controversy about the wolf reduction project," he said.

Ann Sydow, co-chairman of The Northern Idaho Wolf Alliance, said trapping wolves gives "them enormous pain and suffering and has no place in a civilized society."

Wolves "absolutely suffer no less when caught in a leg-hold trap or while choking to death in a snare than your dog would," Sydow wrote in an email.

Sydow said "the fact that wolves are shot from planes here is just one more reason why many people won't be visiting Idaho this year.

"With things like wolf trapping, aerial killing, and the recent near-passage of a bill that would allow ranchers to use dogs and other domestic animals as live bait, Idaho has earned quite the reputation for animal cruelty," she said.

For the remainder of the 2011-2012 season, hunters may use two 2012 tags, and they may take only one wolf per tag.

Wolf trapping seasons opened Nov. 15 in the Panhandle zone, except for units 2 and 3; in the Lolo zone; in the Dworshak-Elk City zone, except Unit 10A; in the Selway zone; and the Middle Fork zone. Unit 10A was opened to trapping on Feb. 1.

All trapping seasons ran through March 31.

The 2012-2013 wolf hunting season will open throughout the state on Aug. 30, and the trapping season will open Nov. 15 in some wolf zones.

The Panhandle season on wolves this year will be extended two months on private land.

Wolf seasons are any-weapon seasons, electronic calls may be used, and wolves may be taken incidentally during fall bear baiting.

Cooper said baiting is not permitted for wolf hunting, but if a person has a bear bait out and observes a wolf in the vicinity, the wolf may be taken incidentally to bear hunting during the open wolf season.

Bear baiting is most effective in the spring bear season (wolf season is closed) but people do bait bears in the fall when wolf season is open.

Trappers use scented lure and bait but hunters cannot bait for wolves.

Sydow said the wolf hunt in Idaho has become "like a witch hunt."

"It's based on fear, myths and misinformation," she said.

There are no laws against cruelty when it comes to wildlife in Idaho, she added.

"We've all seen the bumper stickers promoting wolf hate," but what most people don't realize is just how bad it's gotten, and the ugly things going on out there," she said.