BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) is declining a request by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to contribute gray wolves for reintroduction in the Centennial State.
The denial was made in a letter sent to CPW on June 6. In it, IDFG Director Jim Fredericks says the decision was made after consideration and conferring with Governor Brad Little saying any problems with the wolves in Colorado would likely carry over into other states.
“In Idaho’s experience, the prolonged inability to delist wolves under the ESA (Endangered Species Act) and strong disagreements over how they should be managed have fostered mistrust and social conflict among our rural communities, hunters, trappers, other outdoor recreation users, agricultural interests, wolf advocates, conservation organizations, and government entities.” Fredericks goes on to say, “The result is a strain on many of the very relationships that are critical to future conservation efforts.”
Idaho Department of Fish and Game also cites the “enormous price to have wolves on the landscape” as a reason for the denied request, saying the costs associated with managing, monitoring, and controlling wolves, along with any lawsuits that come up associated with them are significant.
In 1995, 35 wolves were released into Idaho and 30 more into Yellowstone National Park as part of a federal wolf recovery program. Since then, the number of wolves has increased dramatically, and Idaho's gray wolf population was delisted from the endangered species list in 2015.
The state of Wyoming has also said no for similar reasons.
