The Senate has voted 29-5 in favor of spending another $400,000 in state tax funds next year to kill wolves, through the new state Wolf Depredation Control Board in the governor's office. Sen. Roy Lacey, D-Pocatello, noted that the first $400,000 allocated last year hasn’t all been spent, meaning more than $400,000 will be available for the effort next year. “This would’ve given them, in my calculations … close to $600,000 … for the fiscal year 2016,” Lacey said. “So I’ll be voting no on this.” In the joint budget committee, he proposed an alternative budget that would have devoted another $270,000 to the wolf board next year, bringing the balance back up to $400,000 in state general funds at the start of the next fiscal year July 1.

Sen. Steve Bair, R-Blackfoot, said the money is just to kill wolves that are threatening livestock or wildlife. “In my opinion, these are dollars well-spent,” he said.

Sen. Jeff Siddoway, R-Terreton, said he needed to disclose a conflict of interest under Senate rules. “I raise sheep. And the wolves kill sheep. My sheep,” he said. “And you know, good senators, this is the first year we’ve tried this. The program didn’t get off the ground until late in the summer, so the money hasn’t been allocated. But there are needs literally all around the state for this money, especially where we have forests, in northern Idaho, in central Idaho, eastern Idaho, western Idaho – we all have wolf problems. And until we can get this population under check, I think we better keep this program fully funded and going ahead full-bore.”

Sen. Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson, agreed. “This is the first year of this new fund that was set up,” he said. “Contrary to some concerns that were raised, it’s not a wolf extermination bill. It’s a management bill. And it’s to manage depredating wolves. And so far the program has been very successful, although it has not been in effect for a full cycle. I think it would be very premature to cut back on the funding from any source until we go through several cycles and we can fully assess the results. … It’d be premature to start cutting back on it at this point.”

The five “no” votes were all from Senate Democrats; new Democratic Sen. Maryanne Jordan of Boise voted yes, and Sen. Cherie Buckner-Webb, D-Boise, missed the vote. Twenty-eight of the 29 “yes” votes came from Senate Republicans.

The new Wolf Depredation Control Board was responsible for killing 31 wolves between July 1 and Jan. 1; all of those wolves were attacking livestock. In February, it funded the aerial killing of another 19 wolves in the Lolo zone in northern Idaho to ease pressure on elk herds in the area. The budget bill, SB 1160, now moves to the House.

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