Kootenai County letter alleges mass elk kill over subdivision flowers, sparks debate

A letter dated March 4, 2026 and signed by Susan Sindelar of Coeur d’ Alene alleges Idaho Fish & Game arranged a controlled shoot that killed an entire herd of 23 elk after the animals fed on roses in a new subdivision on the Rathdrum Prairie. Sindelar urges long-term locals to “stand up” and to contact Kootenai County Commissioners, writing, “Please, long-term locals, stand up with me now! Contact your local county official and say NO MORE!”

Sindelar identifies herself as a former county employee and writes, “I worked for the Kootenai County Assessor for 20 years.” She says an unnamed Fish & Game representative “came in one day and wanted a list of all property owners that were residents of a certain new subdivision on the Rathdrum Prairie,” and that she “supplied the ownerships for Fish & Game.” According to the letter, occupants then received mailed notification of “a controlled shoot day and time” and “Fish & Game shot and killed the entire elk herd of 23 that day.”

The letter connects that anecdote to recent debate over predator management, citing what Sindelar calls “The wolf control article” and contending it “admits that human growth and intrusion of massive new housing tracts is the problem with reduction in elk herds.” Sindelar contrasts that finding with the alleged agency action: “But yet, they did the control on the one wolf pack in Kootenai County for elk. Ridiculous!” She calls past Fish & Game actions “horrible” and urges residents to “Please reach out to Kootenai County Commissioners to stop this fake BS.”

Key details in the letter remain unverified in the text of Sindelar’s submission. The account offers no precise date or year for the alleged controlled shoot, no name of the Fish & Game official who requested owner names, and no specific subdivision name on Rathdrum Prairie. The letter contains no copies of mailed notices, no incident reports, and no contemporaneous Fish & Game statement; those records would be necessary to corroborate the claim that 23 elk were killed in a single operation.

The allegation raises two immediate public-policy questions for Kootenai County: whether state wildlife operations have relied on assessor-provided owner lists for neighborhood notifications, and how lethal removals were authorized historically in response to residential complaints on the Rathdrum Prairie. Records that would clarify the episode include assessor request logs, mailed-notice copies, and Fish & Game incident or depredation reports tied to a Rathdrum Prairie subdivision.

Sindelar’s letter has reignited local debate over growth-driven habitat loss versus lethal wildlife control as solutions for elk declines. Her direct call for action places the matter squarely with Kootenai County Commissioners and with Idaho Fish & Game; residents who recall the incident or who want more transparency are being asked by the author to contact county officials as the community weighs development, wildlife protections, and agency accountability.