07/14/08 Wolf compensation; Brackett replaces Gannon

State Representative Bert Brackett will complete the last six months of the Idaho Senate term of Tom Gannon who died last month. Governor Butch Otter named Brackett to the District 23 seat after the Republican Legislative Committee named Brackett as the first of three choices to success Gannon who was the chairman of the Senate Ag Affairs Committee. Brackett is a 63 year old Twin Falls native, a University of Idaho graduate and past president of the Idaho Cattle Association. Brackett had been picked by the same GOP committee to run for Gannon's Senate seat in the November general election. Here's a case of 'you stuck us with them, now pay up.' Senator Larry Craig among others wants to provide federal money to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming livestock owners who sustain losses from gray wolf attacks. The White House says the state of Idaho now has management control over wolves, therefore its Idaho's problem. An opponent of wolf reintroduction in the mid-1990's Craig as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee has secured money for Idaho for wolf management including compensation for predatory losses. He's backing new legislation to require federal compensation to continue. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott