LEWISTON (AP) - Idaho's wolf population is much larger than biologists had predicted and it is endangering the state's elk and deer, the director of the state's Office of Species Conservation said.
Jim Caswell spoke Thursday to the Concerned Sportsmen of Idaho group in Lewiston. Many of those in attendance voiced opposition to the predators.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this month changed the wolves' rating from "endangered" to "threatened," which gives the agency more flexibility in managing the packs.
That status change does not affect wolves currently listed as "experimental populations," which include those throughout the Yellowstone ecoysystem in Montana, Idaho and Wyo-ming. They already can be killed by ranchers if they see the predators attacking livestock on their private land.
But Caswell said the problem rests with depredation on deer and elk herds.
Under federal law, wolves preying on big-game herds cannot be killed. They only can be relocated. But Caswell said there is no place to put them.
Central Idaho's population was estimated earlier this year at no less than 285 wolves in 19 packs - nearly double the minimum number the federal government said would be required to begin removing the predator from federal protection.
As a solution to the big-game issue, Caswell touted Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's strategy to manage wolves. First, he has requested the federal Depart-ment of Interior grant the state management authority.
The state could use killing as a tool to protect big-game herds, Caswell said. The actual killing would be the responsibility of the federal government and would be paid for with federal money.
The governor also wants to reaffirm the three-state agreement between Idaho, Wyoming and Montana to finally delist the wolves, Caswell said. Idaho has a management plan to regulate its wolf population. How-ever, Montana and Wyoming still are working on theirs.
Wolves cannot be delisted until all three states have plans in place, Caswell said.
Caswell said another key element to the governor's wolf strategy was to support legislation to allow the Idaho Depart-ment of Fish and Game to be involved in the management.
Because the state opposed wolf reintroduction, it declined to play a role in managing wolves when they were released in Idaho in 1995 and 1996.
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