Panel Rejects Wolf Transplant Funds

A proposal to block funding for more wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho has cleared a Senate committee and drawn sharp criticism.

Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., said his proposal deals only with future wolf transplanting and that money for additional wolves should be spent to research a deadly fish disease instead.

“Whirling disease represents a real threat to Montana’s economy and environment, while wolf reintroduction is misguided and frivolous,” Burns said.

He wants $200,000 in wolf money to be diverted for whirling-disease research by Montana State University and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Whirling disease has killed fish in some popular Montana fishing streams.

But Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen said Burns’ effort to block money for wolf transplants shows “just how crazy the Congress can be in its attack on worthwhile environmental programs.”

“Bringing back the wolves to Yellowstone National Park is the most popular thing the Park Service has done in decades,” Schlickeisen said.

Burns’ proposal, introduced as an amendment to the Interior Department funding bill, passed the Senate Appropriations Committee.