Wolf Decision May Take Bite Out Of Grizzly Plan Craig Says Fish And Wildlife Will Be Under More Scrutiny Now
A judge’s decision that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service improperly transplanted wolves to central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park will make it harder for the agency to carry out grizzly bear transplants in North Idaho, Sen. Larry Craig says.
” … I think the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service got a clip on the chin and will have to back away from their approach on grizzlies,” Craig said.
He was interviewed on Wednesday for the weekend “Viewpoint” program on KTVB-TV.
On Dec. 12, U.S. District Judge William Downes sided with farm groups and directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the wolves that have been transplanted since 1995. He stayed action pending an appeal.
The judge agreed with critics that the service’s action and recovery plan could result in less protection for wolves that would have migrated to the area on their own.
The ruling addressed lawsuits filed by the Mountain States Legal Foundation on behalf of Farm Bureaus in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana and the American Farm Bureau Federation.
The service caught and relocated 66 Canadian wolves to central Idaho and Yellowstone in 1995 and 1996 to help endangered wolves. The population more than doubled to an estimated 155 animals. Downes ordered the agency to recapture all of transplanted wolves and their offspring.
Craig called that ruling “a double-edged sword” because it means the remaining wolves will fall under full Endangered Species Act protection.
“I think what this has done is that it probably has denied the Fish and Wildlife Service the politics to reintroduce the grizzly into central Idaho,” he said. “I think there is going to be a great deal more scrutiny as to their environmental impact statements.”
xxxx IN OTHER AREAS Other points of note from Sen. Larry Craig’s interview for “Viewpoint”: Craig favors a flat federal income tax and will work to reform the Internal Revenue Service. He called it “a rogue agency that in some instances was out of control.” But regardless of what happens with the IRS, Craig said it’s imperative to reform the cumbersome Tax Code. He will work equally for the election of Sen. Dirk Kempthorne as Idaho’s next governor, Rep. Michael Crapo to succeed Kempthorne in the U.S. Senate and to help Rep. Helen Chenoweth retain her seat. He predicted that Kempthorne and Crapo will handily win their elections. As to Chenoweth, he said, “Nobody counts her out, and they shouldn’t.” He will work hard to get changes authored by Kempthorne to the Endangered Species Act through Congress next year, while Kempthorne still is in office. “We could get it to the president’s desk this year. What Dirk has done deserves to become law.” - Associated Press