Idaho sportsmen paid $558,000 for wolf management

Altogether the state spent $1.7 million during that span — license fees covered $558,000 while the federal government put in $1.2 million. ?The figures were presented to the commission of the Department of Fish and Game at a meeting in Jerome last week.

Most of the license money — $309,000 — paid for research of wolf predation of elk.?With Idaho no longer managing wolves on behalf of the federal government, “Idaho will refocus on protecting ungulates (hoofed animals) and ensure Idaho sportsmen dollars will not be spent on managing wolves until the species is delisted,” read a report prepared for commissioners by department wildlife chief Jeff Gould.

In his Oct. 18 letter to Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar announcing that Idaho would no longer manage wolves, Gov. Butch Otter said he doesn’t want license fees to pay for wolf management.

“My concern is that the Department of Interior will not fund the program at levels that completely eliminate the need to use sportsmen funds for any portion of wolf management,” wrote Otter.