The Wolf Depredation Control Board will contract with two groups of producers through a new pilot program that will reimburse them for killing wolves preying on their livestock.
In October, the board approved five agreements with producers but three were later found out to not be valid. The denied applications appear to have submitted proposals that included the names of producers without coordinating with them.
At the quarterly meeting Thursday, the board said only the agreements with producers from Valley and Lehmi Counties would be moving forward. It did not provide further information on the rejected applications.
During public comments, Jeff Abrams from the Idaho Conservation League criticized the roll out of the project.
“By neglecting to set forth clear grant criteria, the board created confusion by all, resentment by many and Legitimate public scrutiny,” he said.
The three agreements originally approved by the board were slated to use helicopters to hunt down wolves and other predators, which drew the ire of wildlife advocates.
Abrams also advocated for the board to consider non-lethal methods.
“This board should only entertain proposals coming from the tiny fraction of producers in targeted areas experiencing the highest losses,” he added.
At the meeting, ranchers and producers commented in favor of the program. Rancher Jill Wright said her livestock was affected by the presence of wolves and asked the board to provide more help to hire private trappers.
“We need to create a funding system so that men and women can make a living to help us manage this and rebalance our ecosystem,” she said.
Board Director Chanel Tewalt praised commenters for their civility and acknowledged the subject of wolf depredation brought up a lot of emotions. This comes as wolf population has seen a decline for the first time in four years.
