Protect The Wolves®reposting an old article showing recent individuals that it appears states do want to Slaughter Wolves. Protect The Wolves® has to Laugh when they see people claim that states dont want to Kill Wolves… Idaho Ranchers certainly have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt they dont want help with deterrent costs….
Due to lack of interest from ranchers, little has been spent from a $108,000 fund administered by the state of Idaho to prevent wolf depredation on livestock. Judging by public comments made during the Idaho Fish and Game Commission’s quarterly meeting at the Community Campus in Hailey last week, the issue is important to Wood River Valley residents. Fifteen people urged the commission to ask the state to pursue less aggressive methods of reducing depredation, while only two people emphasized the importance of lethal control. Many commenters suggested transferring part of the $620,000 in state money available this year for lethal control of wolves to preventive measures. Last year, the Legislature created a Wolf Depredation Control Board, and has allocated $400,000 in general fund money in each of the past two years to kill wolves. The new law also provides $110,000 annually from assessments made on livestock producers and another $110,000 from the Department of Fish and Game.
During a review of public comments Thursday, Nov. 19, Department of Fish and Game Director Virgil Moore said state law doesn’t allow for the kind of transfer suggested by Wood River Valley residents. The legislation requires all money in the wolf control fund, with the exception of the Fish and Game money, to be used for lethal control. Money raised through hunting license and tag sales must be spent on game-related activities.
However, in 2013 and 2014, the state received a total of $108,152 for depredation control measures through the federal Wolf Livestock Demonstration Project Grant Program. The grants, which are distributed to the states by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, pay for half the cost of enacting ranching improvements such as guard dogs, herders and wolf-scaring devices.
Jon Beals, project manager with the Idaho Governor’s Office of Species Conservation, which distributes the grant money to ranchers, said only $12,000 of that fund has been spent—on a couple of guard dogs, a lambing pen and a range rider for a cattle operation.
“We have just not received proposals,” Beals said. “It’s tough to get Idaho producers excited about prevention.”
This year the state received none of the $450,000 in prevention grants distributed to five states and one Indian tribe. Beals said he was told by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that it wanted to support projects in other states and that it had noted that Idaho had not spent all of its grant money.
Beals acknowledged that many ranchers probably don’t know the money is available.
But Blaine County Commissioner Larry Schoen faults the state for not making more effort to contact them. Schoen has been the county’s liaison on a multi-agency steering committee for the Wood River Wolf Project, which has used deterrent measures to help ranchers reduce wolf depredation.
“I’ve been in touch with the Office of Species Conservation over several years and have offered repeatedly for project participants or staff to assist them with outreach and education, and talked to several state agencies to encourage them to create curricula on this topic,” Schoen said. “I’m not aware of any project participants who have been contacted.”
In September, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Idaho Office of Species Conservation and the Idaho office of Wildlife Services, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, co-sponsored a workshop for livestock producers on nonlethal deterrence. Suzanne Stone, Idaho representative for the nonprofit group Defenders of Wildlife, called the meeting “disappointing.” Stone said much of the discussion was about killing wolves rather than preventing attacks.
“It was tough sitting there knowing that there was a lot of information missing that would have been helpful,” she said.
Several of the states surrounding Idaho—Oregon, Washington and Montana—have spent far more of their grant money. Montana, for example, has received $200,000 from two prevention grants since 2013 and has spent all of it.
“We could use triple that amount easily,” said George Edwards, executive secretary of the Montana Livestock Loss Board. “There’s a lot of interest.”
Beals said his office is putting together some more projects using the federal grants, including one with Lava Lake Lamb near Carey.
“I’d love to have producers get in touch with me and not be intimidated by the cost-share part. We can work around that,” he said.
Source: Money to deter wolf attacks goes unclaimed | Environment | mtexpress.com