The House Resources and Conservation Committee agreed Wednesday on a bill that would authorize the governor´s Office of Species Conservation to begin taking over management of protected gray wolves in Idaho from the federal government.
But before the vote, it was open season for rhetorical pot shots at both the animals and the feds.
Idaho has a vocal contingent of anti-wolf activists, especially in central Idaho and in the Clearwater region. Wolves prey on cattle owned by ranchers and wild elk and deer herds coveted by outfitters and hunters, their foes say.
Nezperce farmer Fred Riggers testified that he has shot at wolves, though he didn´t think he had killed any.
“I like wolves. They make great targets,” Riggers said. “At home, we go by the three S´s — ´shoot, shovel and shut up.´ ”
Since reintroduction in the mid-1990s, the wolf population in the Northern Rockies area of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana has grown dramatically, and federal officials are considering removing the wolves from federal protection.
But the three states must adopt acceptable state wolf management plans before that can happen.
Idaho´s plan is on its way. House Bill 294, passed by the committee 13-2, would begin the process of securing federal permission to begin managing Idaho´s wolf population even though the other two states are not ready to do so.
Greg Schildwachter of the Office of Species Conservation told committee members that the state hoped to shrink the wolf management areas currently contemplated by the federal Fish and Wildlife Service.
“This is a way that we can begin now protecting our interest at home while keeping faith with our neighbors on the larger, long-term process of delisting,” Schildwachter said.
Some House committee members have clearly resented the wolf reintroduction program, begun under the Clinton administration.
“I think if we want to manage them, we ought to just manage them and tell (the federal authorities) to take a flying leap,” Challis Republican Rep. Lenore Barrett said. “There are cheap ways to manage, but we won´t go into that.”
Idaho´s gray wolf population has grown to more than 200. They are protected as an endangered species but designated as an experimental, non-essential population, which means they can be killed under certain circumstances. The maximum penalty for illegally killing a wolf is a $100,000 fine and a year in jail.
Democrat Chuck Cuddy of Orofino joined in the sentiment before voting for the bill.
“The only thing wrong with this bill is that there´s no appropriation for ammunition,” Cuddy said.
The bill also was supported by the Idaho Conservation League, along with individual ranchers and outfitters.
Barrett and Rep. JoAn Wood of Rigby voted against it.
But before the vote, it was open season for rhetorical pot shots at both the animals and the feds.
Idaho has a vocal contingent of anti-wolf activists, especially in central Idaho and in the Clearwater region. Wolves prey on cattle owned by ranchers and wild elk and deer herds coveted by outfitters and hunters, their foes say.
Nezperce farmer Fred Riggers testified that he has shot at wolves, though he didn´t think he had killed any.
“I like wolves. They make great targets,” Riggers said. “At home, we go by the three S´s — ´shoot, shovel and shut up.´ ”
Since reintroduction in the mid-1990s, the wolf population in the Northern Rockies area of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana has grown dramatically, and federal officials are considering removing the wolves from federal protection.
But the three states must adopt acceptable state wolf management plans before that can happen.
Idaho´s plan is on its way. House Bill 294, passed by the committee 13-2, would begin the process of securing federal permission to begin managing Idaho´s wolf population even though the other two states are not ready to do so.
Greg Schildwachter of the Office of Species Conservation told committee members that the state hoped to shrink the wolf management areas currently contemplated by the federal Fish and Wildlife Service.
“This is a way that we can begin now protecting our interest at home while keeping faith with our neighbors on the larger, long-term process of delisting,” Schildwachter said.
Some House committee members have clearly resented the wolf reintroduction program, begun under the Clinton administration.
“I think if we want to manage them, we ought to just manage them and tell (the federal authorities) to take a flying leap,” Challis Republican Rep. Lenore Barrett said. “There are cheap ways to manage, but we won´t go into that.”
Idaho´s gray wolf population has grown to more than 200. They are protected as an endangered species but designated as an experimental, non-essential population, which means they can be killed under certain circumstances. The maximum penalty for illegally killing a wolf is a $100,000 fine and a year in jail.
Democrat Chuck Cuddy of Orofino joined in the sentiment before voting for the bill.
“The only thing wrong with this bill is that there´s no appropriation for ammunition,” Cuddy said.
The bill also was supported by the Idaho Conservation League, along with individual ranchers and outfitters.
Barrett and Rep. JoAn Wood of Rigby voted against it.
