Wider wolf payout sought

BOISE – A group of Idaho lawmakers, including several from North Idaho, want pet and sporting dogs to be protected against wolves just as livestock and herding dogs are.

They’ve written a joint memorial, spearheaded by Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, that asks the Idaho congressional delegation to seek an increase in federal funding for wolf-related losses of all dogs, not just livestock and the dogs that protect them. The Senate Resources and Environment Committee introduced the measure Friday.

“Hunters should be able to defend themselves,” Schroeder told the committee, of which he is chairman.

He’s joined by nine other legislators in sponsoring the memorial. Among them are Reps. Dick Harwood of St. Maries and George Eskridge of Dover, and Sen. Skip Brandt of Kooskia, all Republicans.

Federal grants from Idaho’s Wolf Depredation Compensation Plan, which was established in 2003 to compensate people for livestock losses, haven’t been sufficient to meet every claim, the memorial says.