Plan aims to help animals early on

IDAHO FALLS – State game officials are taking an active approach to keeping nongame animals off the Endangered Species Act.

The federal government and states are teaming up to help nongame populations stay healthy so they never need to be listed.

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game is creating a database of about 800 species that are not hunted, fished or trapped to determine which are vulnerable.

It will create a list of the species most of concern. It plans to manage habitats with public and private landowners to help the animals survive.

While the state has sought such a plan for a while, it finally has funding to help it meet a federal deadline, said Tracey Trent, Fish and Game chief of natural resource policy.

The agency has until October 2005 to create a plan, or it will lose its federal funding for nongame species, which amounts to about half of the $1.2 million the state spends each year on those species.

The department spends about $40 million on big game animals, huntable birds and fish, most of which is generated by the sale of fishing and hunting licenses.

Rita Dixon, a Fish and Game zoologist who coordinated the database development, estimates about 100 nongame species in Idaho are doing poorly enough to be of concern, meaning they could be listed if no one takes steps to prevent it.

Two examples are the pygmy rabbit and the sage grouse, which are being studied to determine how many are left, she said.

While most people see the benefit in developing a comprehensive plan for protecting animals, she said, one of the concerns she hears is that it will be used to create a state endangered species law, an idea she tries to dispel.

“This process is an opportunity to be responsible, so we can prevent the federal listing of species. There’s a lot at stake here – the future of Idaho’s wildlife,” Dixon said.