03/28/08 Wolf delisting

Its believed that 800 wolves are now part of the Idaho landscape. Today the wolves in Idaho and another 700 in the northern Rockies will come off the federal endangered species list. Mike Jimenez of the US Fish and Wildlife Service says wolf population control in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and parts of eastern Washington and Oregon is now under the guise of the individual states. JIMENEZ "And the states can then manage wolves keeping them above a minimum number and they can manage those populations and that includes public hunting, public harvest. That's a very appropriate way to manage wildlife populations and so the state gets to make those decisions now and address those issues." Jimenez says the federal portion of the wolf recovery program is over but he knows that the debate over wolves will go on for some time. JIMENEZ "One side is very much in favor of delisting wolves, having state managed wolves. There's other components to another point of view that say wolves should remain listed or they are concerned about other things and some of those groups have voiced a 60 day intent to sue and we'll see what they do." Some environmental groups plan to go to court next month because they say the management plans in Idaho and Wyoming are not adequate and could lead to large numbers of wolves being killed. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott