PREDATORS – Idaho Farm Bureau Federation members have passed a proposal to raise the state brand renewal fee by $25 to increase funding for wolf-control efforts by Idaho Wildlife Services.
Idaho Wildlife Services has lost about $750,000 in funding since 2010, mostly because of federal budget cuts. That has reduced the agency’s total budget to $2.1 million.
The agency said the state in 2013 had at least 77 confirmed or probable wolf kills of cattle and 565 sheep kills, down about 25 percent from 2011.
“It’s slowly working its way down again,” said Idaho Wildlife Services State Director Todd Grimm, attributing some of the decrease to sport hunting seasons for wolves.
The minimum estimated wolf population in Idaho peaked in 2009 at 856 and has gradually decreased to 683, officials said.
The increase in the brand fee would raise about $100,000 a year. Sheep growers also have increased the wool assessment fee by 2 cents per pound to raise about $25,000.
Idaho Wildlife Services officials said that since 1995 there have been at least 1,064 confirmed wolf kills of livestock and 221 probable kills.
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