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Otter draws crowd to Boise wolf hearing 3/12/2007 BOISE – Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter’s now-famous comments on wolves drew a stream of opposition to wolf delisting at a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service public hearing March 6 in Boise. Otter’s desire for the first wolf tag in Idaho and his stated intention of a near 80 percent depopulation the wolves to 10 packs and 100 wolves has become the resounding battle cry for much of the opposition. It was repeatedly cited as the main reason to oppose the designation of the Northern Rocky Mountain population of gray wolf as a Distinct Population Segment (DPS) and the removal of that gray wolf population from the endangered and threatened wildlife list. “The delisting proposal was laced with hatred and will lead to a scorched earth policy on wolves,” testified Katie Fite of the Western Watersheds Project. She said Gov. Otter’s comments proved that this is the worst possible time to delist and that politics has entered the process at all levels. While emotions ran high at times, the testimony was subdued for most of the evening. USFWS is holding public hearings across the west as the proposal to delist wolves in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and parts of Oregon, Washington and Utah is finalized. The USFWS hopes to transfer wolf management to the states by the end of the year. Idaho officials say that the governor’s comments aside, they are ready to take on the task. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) director of large carnivore species, Steve Nedeau stated, “we have no intentions of managing them down to those numbers. Why would we flirt with re-listing?” Jim Unsworth, bureau chief of wildlife for IDFG, agreed: “I don’t know if we could even get to those numbers without very drastic measures, and we have no intention of doing so.” When asked by Wild Idaho News if it was the desire of IDFG to bring the numbers of wolves in Idaho to even 15 packs and 150 wolves, all of the IDFG commissioners and IDFG Director Cal Groen, answered no. Of 53 public comments offered at the Boise hearing, seven agencies and two Idaho Indian tribes spoke in favor of the delisting. Thirteen, mostly ranchers and hunters were for the delisting and subsequent transfer of control of Idaho’s wolf population from the oversight of the federal government to the Idaho IDFG. Thirty-three people stood and testified in opposition. The public testimony included support from the IDFG Commission, the Nez Perce tribe, the Shoshone-Bannock tribe, the Office of Species Conservation, the Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association and representatives of both houses of the Idaho State Legislature. Also supporting the proposal was the Farm Bureau of Idaho, Idaho Cattleman’s Association, and several others from the agricultural community seeking relief from the losses incurred from conflicts with wolves. The Nez Perce Tribe’s chairman of the Natural Resource Subcommittee spoke in favor of the delisting but with certain reservations, including the lack of commitment of federal funding which the tribal executive committee feels is a key to the continued wolf recovery success. Idaho only has funding commitments for fiscal year 2007 with a “promise of future funding” from the federal agencies. The estimated yearly cost for the IDFG was $700,000 for the last several years. Without continued federal funding, the financial burden would fall solely on the IDFG, thus on the backs of the license buying public. A concern shared by Mark Bell, President of the Idaho Sportsman’s Caucus Advisory Council (ISCAC). “Management of wolves is gonna cost a lot of money,” said Bell. “And we believe the IDFG is up for the task. We just want to make sure that the bill for that management doesn’t fall on the sportsmen of this state.” |
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