House approves call for disaster declaration for wolves but conservation groups disagree

House approves call for disaster declaration for wolves

By Dustin Hurst
April 5th, 2011

 

The measure will receive a Senate committee hearing Wednesday

The Idaho House has approved a measure that would call on Gov. Butch Otter to issue a disaster declaration due to the state’s population of wolves.

The measure, House Bill 343, passed 64-5.  The measure will be heard by a Senate committee Wednesday afternoon.  The bill is co-sponsored by 59 Republican lawmakers in the Legislature.

If the measure clears the Senate and is signed by the governor, it may permit the Idaho Office of Species Conservation to work to prevent danger caused by wolves.  The orders may even allow killing of the animals if necessary.  The measure outlines an emergency as a point in time in which the state has more than 100 gray wolves. Estimates project there are now 705 gray wolves in Idaho.

The presenter of the bill, Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, said the state has been “more than patient” in dealing with the animals since they were introduced in the state in 1995.

House Speaker Lawerence Denny, R-Midvale, who allowed Majority Leader Mike Moyle to run debate on the issue, said that wolves are massacring elk herds through the state.  “I don’t think we have the time to wait patiently while our wildlife is being eaten alive,” said Denney.  “Folks, there is an emergency.”


Rep. Lenore Hardy Barrett, R-Challis, said that Idaho should have the right to manage the animals within its borders.  “This is a state sovereignty issue,” she exclaimed.  “I will be in tears if you do not pass this bill and I may not go home.”

Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, told colleagues that wolves have terrorized families in north Idaho.  “This is changing the culture of Idaho … because of the fear,” said Harwood.

Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, objected to the bill, saying that it should have received a formal committee hearing.  The bill was introduced Friday with no public testimony.

Wolves are protected as an endangered species, though there is a deal in the works to delist them.  The deal, a compromise between several stakeholder groups, needs the approval of U.S. District  Judge Donald Malloy.

Note: The Idaho Freedom Foundation, which publishes IdahoReporter.com, helped craft the legislation. Photo courtesy of echiax
 Source of this article? The Idaho Reporter!
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April 5, 2011 at 5:31 AM

Groups ask Congress to steer clear on wolves

Conservation groups are asking Congress to hold off on pending legislation that would lift federal protections for endangered gray wolves.

The Associated Press

Related

BILLINGS, Mont. — Conservation groups are asking Congress to hold off on pending legislation that would lift federal protections for endangered gray wolves.

The groups sent a letter to lawmakers Monday asking them to give a proposed settlement agreement on the issue time to work.

The agreement was reached last month by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and ten conservation groups. Court approval is pending.

The deal would lift protections for about 1,250 of the predators in Montana and Idaho. Protections would remain at least temporarily for wolves in Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and Utah.

Some Western lawmakers say there is no guarantee the court will approve the deal. They are pushing legislation on wolves that does not include safeguards sought by conservationists.

Source