Idaho wolf control board seeks renewed funding

BOISE – A state board launched July 1 to reduce Idaho’s wolf population has so far spent $140,000 to kill 31 wolves.

The wolf control board was approved by lawmakers last year at the request of Gov. Butch Otter and given $400,000 to kill problem wolves. At its first budget hearing Tuesday, the board reported that it didn’t spend the full amount. But it did contract with USDA Wildlife Services to kill 31 wolves, all of which were attacking livestock. The board and Otter are requesting another $400,000 in state taxpayer funds for next year.

Rep. Van Burtenshaw, R-Terreton, said, “That’s $4,600 per wolf. As the wolf population grows, how are we going to sustain this type of expense?”

Board member Carl Rey said expenses included other activities, including helicopter time for monitoring. “So yes it is expensive, but there are many, many aspects to the control activities taking place,” he said.

Brad Compton, Idaho Fish and Game Department assistant wildlife bureau chief, said the state’s overall management of wolves is aimed at reducing, not increasing, both their population and conflicts with wildlife and livestock.

“All the information we have since we started implementing management, primarily hunting and trapping starting in 2009, is populations are declining slowly,” he said. “The intent in the future hopefully is one of needing less rather than needing more.”

Rey told the Legislature’s joint budget committee that there were fewer wolf attacks on livestock in Idaho than the state had seen since 2005.

The board has spent just over $140,000 so far, Rey reported. It’s currently contracted to spend another $235,000 through the end of the fiscal year on June 30. The board is projecting it will have a $130,000 year-end balance; in addition to the $400,000 state appropriation, it received money from livestock producers and matching funds from Idaho Fish and Game.

Todd Grimm, state director for Wildlife Services in Idaho, said the 31 wolves were killed between Aug. 7 and the end of December.