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Collaring plan could bust wolf management budget
By WALT WILLIAMS, Chronicle Staff Writer
HELENA -- A legislative plan to put radio collars on gray wolves could bankrupt the state's fledging wolf management program, which is needed to delist wolves as an endangered species.
Senate Bill 461 would require one wolf from every wolf pack near a population or livestock center wear a radio collar so the pack could be tracked.
The bill easily passed the Senate, but once it hit the other chamber, the House Agriculture Committee amended it to require the state provide any landowner a free radio receiver to track wolves, as long as the person lives in an area frequented by wolves.
The amended version won the initial approval of the House Tuesday.
The amendment raised the bill's cost from $25,000 in 2006 to $385,000, which is about what the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks plans to spend on its recently created wolf management program in a single year.
The cost would drop to $47,500 in 2007, because many landowners would have receivers by that time. But that's still nearly twice what it would cost without the amendment, according to a state fiscal analysis.
Montana must have a wolf management plan before the species is delisted as an endangered species by the federal government. Delisting has been sought by ranchers and state officials for years.
"It's going to divert dollars and time and attention away from the real job of managing wolves and into purchasing and distributing radio receivers that at best are going to give landowners a false sense of security," FWP chief of staff Chris Smith said Tuesday.
That's because there is no guarantee that the collared wolf would be with the rest of the pack while hunting, he said.
FWP has no problem with the bill as long as it doesn't require the agency to give away receivers, which cost at least $900 per device.
But House Republicans pushed to include the language so property owners would have one more way to protect themselves from the predators.
"Look at it as a smoke detector or burglar alarm in your home," Rep. Debby Barrett, R-Dillon, said.
Rep. Paul Clark, D-Trout Creek, tried to remove the amendment when the bill came up for debate on the House floor. "As landowners apply for these receivers they will use up the funding" for wolf management, he said.
His motion failed.
Rep. Diane Rice, R-Harrison, defended the need for receivers, saying schools in Gardiner and Mammoth would probably be the first to apply for them because students in both places can't walk to school because of wolves.
However school officials in both communities said Tuesday there were no rules preventing their students from walking to school.
Rice also said wolves have thinned an elk herd of 7,000 animals to "little bunches of 30" in the Madison Valley.
House Republicans noted the bill requires FWP to pay for the program using federal funds. But Clark and other Democrats countered that once those funds dried up, FWP would have to dip into money it raises from licenses to meet the requirements of the bill.
The federal government brought the wolves to Montana, Rep. George Golie, D-Great Falls, said. "They should pay for it."
The bill still must pass a final vote in the House. Then, if the Senate doesn't agree with amendments the House made, the bill will be sent to a conference committee.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Donald Steinbeisser, R-Sidney
By WALT WILLIAMS, Chronicle Staff Writer
HELENA -- A legislative plan to put radio collars on gray wolves could bankrupt the state's fledging wolf management program, which is needed to delist wolves as an endangered species.
Senate Bill 461 would require one wolf from every wolf pack near a population or livestock center wear a radio collar so the pack could be tracked.
The bill easily passed the Senate, but once it hit the other chamber, the House Agriculture Committee amended it to require the state provide any landowner a free radio receiver to track wolves, as long as the person lives in an area frequented by wolves.
The amended version won the initial approval of the House Tuesday.
The amendment raised the bill's cost from $25,000 in 2006 to $385,000, which is about what the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks plans to spend on its recently created wolf management program in a single year.
The cost would drop to $47,500 in 2007, because many landowners would have receivers by that time. But that's still nearly twice what it would cost without the amendment, according to a state fiscal analysis.
Montana must have a wolf management plan before the species is delisted as an endangered species by the federal government. Delisting has been sought by ranchers and state officials for years.
"It's going to divert dollars and time and attention away from the real job of managing wolves and into purchasing and distributing radio receivers that at best are going to give landowners a false sense of security," FWP chief of staff Chris Smith said Tuesday.
That's because there is no guarantee that the collared wolf would be with the rest of the pack while hunting, he said.
FWP has no problem with the bill as long as it doesn't require the agency to give away receivers, which cost at least $900 per device.
But House Republicans pushed to include the language so property owners would have one more way to protect themselves from the predators.
"Look at it as a smoke detector or burglar alarm in your home," Rep. Debby Barrett, R-Dillon, said.
Rep. Paul Clark, D-Trout Creek, tried to remove the amendment when the bill came up for debate on the House floor. "As landowners apply for these receivers they will use up the funding" for wolf management, he said.
His motion failed.
Rep. Diane Rice, R-Harrison, defended the need for receivers, saying schools in Gardiner and Mammoth would probably be the first to apply for them because students in both places can't walk to school because of wolves.
However school officials in both communities said Tuesday there were no rules preventing their students from walking to school.
Rice also said wolves have thinned an elk herd of 7,000 animals to "little bunches of 30" in the Madison Valley.
House Republicans noted the bill requires FWP to pay for the program using federal funds. But Clark and other Democrats countered that once those funds dried up, FWP would have to dip into money it raises from licenses to meet the requirements of the bill.
The federal government brought the wolves to Montana, Rep. George Golie, D-Great Falls, said. "They should pay for it."
The bill still must pass a final vote in the House. Then, if the Senate doesn't agree with amendments the House made, the bill will be sent to a conference committee.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Donald Steinbeisser, R-Sidney
