Wolf Committee May Be Revived

Idaho’s Wolf Oversight Committee might be revived.

The committee, which was to work with counterparts in Montana and Wyoming on the federal wolf reintroduction program, was phased out last July 1.

On Monday, the House voted 70-0 and sent to the Senate legislation reauthorizing the committee through 1999.

Rep. Golden Linford, R-Rexburg, said the wolves transplanted into Idaho and Yellowstone National Park “are multiplying at a phenomenal rate” and soon might be deleted as a federally protected animal.

Linford said reviving the Wolf Oversight Committee allows the state Fish and Game Department to correspond with Montana and Wyoming on wolf issues. An earlier directive took the state completely out of wolf management, and federal agencies have contracted with the Nez Perce Indian Tribe to do the work. , DataTimes