![]() Moreover, overpopulation of elk is a problem in several areas of Idaho where wolf numbers are lower. Research in Yellowstone National Park has clearly shown that wolves can help improve the health of elk herds by reducing disease and creating more resilient populations. For instance, elk numbers in Idaho are well above 120,000, according to state agencies-about what they were, or higher, than when wolves were first reintroduced to the state. ![]() It’s well known that since the wolves’ 1995 reintroduction to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which includes parts of Idaho, they’ve stabilized the ecosystem. Scientific studies of wolves and their impact on their ecosystem, however, reveal a very different reality. This is a needed bill.” A stabilizing force “We’re supposed to have 15 packs, 150 wolves. “These wolves, there’s too many in the state of Idaho now,” Republican Senator Mark Harris, a rancher and one of the bill’s sponsors, said last week during debates on the Senate floor. We’re going backward.”īut the bill is supported by most ranchers, who are generally hostile to wolves, Niemeyer says. “To me there’s just not the justification for it. “It’s senseless,” says Carter Niemeyer, a retired wildlife manager who spent much of his career in predator control. The bill was opposed by many organizations that traditionally support hunting, including the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the Idaho Sportsmen group. ( Is the gray wolf still endangered? Depends who you ask. Some of this money can be given to individuals as reimbursement for expenses accrued killing wolves, which many critics see as a return to the bounty-hunting system that led to the near-elimination of wolves from the Lower 48 in the early 20th century. This is an addition to more than $500,000 the state earmarks toward killing wolves that attack livestock. The act paves the way for $300,000 in state funds to go specifically toward killing wolves that prey on elk, an annual increase of $190,000. It allows trapping and snaring wolves on private property year-round, and each hunter can purchase an unlimited number of tags for killing the predators. Baiting and night hunting with spotlights will be permitted. The act will allow for wolves-animals which many in the state perceive as harmful to livestock and elk-to be hunted just about any way, including being shot from airplanes, helicopters, ATVs, and snow machines. In the State Senate, it passed on April 21 with a vote of 26 to seven and cleared the State House of Representatives on April 27 with a tally of 58 to 11. The bill passed along party lines, with an overwhelming majority of Republicans in support and Democrats mostly opposed. The move threatens to partially undo decades of intense efforts-costing tens of millions in taxpayer dollars-to recover wolves in the region. Endangered Species Act, though wolves in the Northern Rockies have been delisted since 2011. The decision comes just months after the species was removed from the U.S. It will allow hunters and private contractors to kill 90 percent or more of the state’s wolves, which number around 1,500 at last count. The act, SB1211, was signed into law on May 5 by Republican Governor Brad Little and will go into effect within months. It represents the most sweeping expansion of wolf hunting in the state, and has drawn outrage from scientists, conservationists, and even pro-hunting groups. Idaho lawmakers have passed a bill aimed at killing the majority of the state’s wolves, which gets rid of most limits on hunting the predators. ![]() Editor's note : This story was originally published April 29 but was updated May 7 to reflect the news that Idaho Governor Brad Little has signed SB1211. ![]()
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