Funding for Wolf Panel Moves through Idaho Legislature

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho's House will get to consider a measure seeking to shift $2 million in taxpayer money toward a panel that will oversee the killing of wolves that prey on livestock and elk herds. Republicans on the House Resources Committee voted Monday 14-4 for the disputed bill. It's being pushed by Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, over objections labeling this a "funding mechanism for a war on wolves." With this cash infusion, Otter wants to target wolf packs blamed for killing too many cattle, sheep and elk. Backers including the cattle and sheep industry pledged not to reduce Idaho's wolf population, now roughly 680 animals, to levels triggering a renewed federal Endangered Species Act listing. But foes branded it a "thinly veiled proposal aimed at the second extirpation of wolves in Idaho."