Idaho will oversee wolves before packs are delisted
By DAN GALLAGHER
Associated Press Writer
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Most of the management of Idaho’s thriving wolf
population will be transferred from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to
the state within months, and even before the animal is pulled from the
Endangered Species List, a federal wolf expert said Wednesday.
“The state will do everything we do now. Essentially, Fish and Wildlife
disappears,” said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery team leader. “It’s good news for
wolves and for wolf recovery.”
Oversight could be shifted by next spring.
The state of Montana will take the same approach.
Idaho and Montana have approved plans to manage the packs. Wyoming’s plan
was rejected by federal officials and is mired in lawsuits. Until that is
resolved, the wolf remains on the federal list in the Northern Rockies.
Fifteen wolves were released in Idaho in 1995. There now are more than 400
animals in more than 40 packs, said Steve Nadeau, Idaho Fish and Game
large-carnivore coordinator. By last winter, there were 761 across the
three states and that has likely grown to about 850, Bangs said.
“Idaho is the only place where they’re still growing because of that huge
core of wilderness in the center of the state,” Bangs said. “There are
about as many wolves as we’ll ever have. We did our job under the
Endangered Species Act.
“Delisting is still our goal. This is the second best thing,” he said.
The new rule would let ranchers shoot wolves they see chasing livestock on
private land. People with grazing permits on federal land would also get
more leeway.
The state Department of Fish and Game gains more flexibility to step in if
it is shown wolves are preventing a population of elk or deer from
reaching objectives, Nadeau said.
Currently, under federal standards, “the burden of proof is very high,” he
said.
The Nez Perce Tribe will continue the role it has had since 1995 in
monitoring the wolf numbers.
Recreational hunting and trapping of wolves would not be allowed until
they are delisted.
Nadeau said one high point about the state gaining oversight is that
instead of just Nadeau and two wolf biologists to run the program in the
West, there are about 300 or so Idaho Fish and Game officers available.
Once the wolves are delisted, the state is required to maintain a minimum
of 15 packs in perpetuity. They may ultimately be managed through
controlled hunts or open hunts like bears and cougars.