Idaho likely to ask feds for authority to kill wolves preying on elk
Associated Press
BOISE — Members of the Idaho Fish and Game Commission said today they will likely ask the federal government for permission to kill up to 43 gray wolves preying on elk in the Lolo Pass region on the state’s border with Montana.
A final decision on whether to submit the wolf-kill proposal to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was put off until Friday.
But at the commission’s meeting this afternoon in Boise, Chairman John Watts said he wanted to pursue the request despite overwhelming public comments opposing it.
Because the wolves are under Idaho management but still protected by the federal Endangered Species Act, Watts says the state has the responsibility to control the wolves but none of the power.