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Wolves - predator or game? Idaho lawmakers debate classification
AP Slugline: w2186_BC_WY__WolfClassificatio_
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - A House Resources and Conservation subcommittee bickered over wolf designation before deciding it needed more information on an Idaho Fish and Game Commission recommendation to classify the animals as big game.
Fish and Game officials say big game classification would let the state manage wolves in the way it does bears and mountain lions. If wolves are removed from the Endangered Species Act list, the commission could allow them to be hunted or trapped. Livestock owners could kill wolves threatening their animals.
Subcommittee Chairwoman JoAn Wood, R-Rigby, said outfitters and guides prefer a fur-bearer classification to big game so they can sell wolf hunts and trap wolves to control the population.
But fur-bearer classification is not the quickest way to get wolves off the federal protection list, said Steve Huffaker, director of Idaho Department of Fish and Game. There is no difference between the two in regards to the flexibility it gives the state for setting hunting regulations, he said.
The debate over whether to classify wolves as predators was short lived.
''If you're not going to call it a predator, then I'm not happy,'' said Lenore Barrett, R-Challis.
Listing wolves as predators would send a message to the federal government and pro-wolf activists that Idaho is not serious about wolf recovery, Huffaker said.
''It's not in Idaho's best interest to call it a predator when we have the ability to call it big game and get the exact same management,'' said Huffaker.
The subcommittee plans to consult with James Caswell, administrator of the Idaho Office of Species Conservation, about other classification options. If the subcommittee cannot agree on a designation, it will send the issue to the full committee, Wood said.
AP-WS-01-26-05 0935EST
http://www.casperstartribune.net/news/wire/ap/?wire_num=188815
AP Slugline: w2186_BC_WY__WolfClassificatio_
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - A House Resources and Conservation subcommittee bickered over wolf designation before deciding it needed more information on an Idaho Fish and Game Commission recommendation to classify the animals as big game.
Fish and Game officials say big game classification would let the state manage wolves in the way it does bears and mountain lions. If wolves are removed from the Endangered Species Act list, the commission could allow them to be hunted or trapped. Livestock owners could kill wolves threatening their animals.
Subcommittee Chairwoman JoAn Wood, R-Rigby, said outfitters and guides prefer a fur-bearer classification to big game so they can sell wolf hunts and trap wolves to control the population.
But fur-bearer classification is not the quickest way to get wolves off the federal protection list, said Steve Huffaker, director of Idaho Department of Fish and Game. There is no difference between the two in regards to the flexibility it gives the state for setting hunting regulations, he said.
The debate over whether to classify wolves as predators was short lived.
''If you're not going to call it a predator, then I'm not happy,'' said Lenore Barrett, R-Challis.
Listing wolves as predators would send a message to the federal government and pro-wolf activists that Idaho is not serious about wolf recovery, Huffaker said.
''It's not in Idaho's best interest to call it a predator when we have the ability to call it big game and get the exact same management,'' said Huffaker.
The subcommittee plans to consult with James Caswell, administrator of the Idaho Office of Species Conservation, about other classification options. If the subcommittee cannot agree on a designation, it will send the issue to the full committee, Wood said.
AP-WS-01-26-05 0935EST
http://www.casperstartribune.net/news/wire/ap/?wire_num=188815
