First, Rep. Mike Simpson convinced his congressional colleagues and the White House to let states manage wolves.
Now, Idaho officials have proposed easing off on wolf hunting restrictions, a move that would drop kill quotas across much of the state.
This is what happens when the line is blurred between science and politics. And it weakens the case that the state is best suited to manage a population of roughly 1,000 wolves.
Advocates of state wolf management have pointed to those population numbers for nearly a year, since U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy returned wolves in Idaho and Montana to federal control, placing them under the restrictive auspices of the Endangered Species Act.
State leaders have argued, some 15 years after the release of 35 wolves in Central Idaho, that this population can no longer be considered “endangered.” They barely acknowledged that neighboring Wyoming had failed to come up with a responsible plan for maintaining a sustainable population— which is why Molloy put the northern Rockies’ wolves back under federal protection.
Instead, the advocates of state wolf management focused on the Idaho statistics and looked for a way around the ruling.
Enter Simpson.
A member of the House Appropriations Committee, Simpson found the perfect vehicle for political meddling: a fast-track agreement to set the 2010-11 federal budgets. Simpson inserted language to allow Idaho and Montana to again manage wolves and authorize hunting seasons.
This maneuver is likely to embolden other lawmakers who chafe at the restrictions of the Endangered Species Act — Simpson’s attempt at spin to the contrary.
He says Congress didn’t unilaterally “delist” a species; Congress simply overturned a court ruling. As if that’s better. Unconvincingly, Simpson says he hopes he has not established a precedent. “I don’t want the (Interior Department budget bill) to become a wholesale delisting bill.”
If it does, Simpson furnished the template.
Making matters worse, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission is supposed to decide later this month on regulations for the 2011 wolf hunt. One proposal could target wolf quotas.
The idea comes, perhaps not coincidentally, as wolf tag sales have tumbled. As of last week, 3,100 tags were sold, according to The Associated Press — a far cry from the 30,000 tags sold for the 2009 hunt. During that historic hunt, 188 wolves were killed.
No quotas? That’s one way to drum up business.
But it’s no way to manage the wolf — perhaps the most closely scrutinized predator in the West. It is incumbent upon Idaho officials to show that they can make judicious decisions that ensure a balance between wolf and big-game populations.
That’s good science and good politics. Two things we’d like to see more of.
“Our View” is the editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Statesman’s editorial board.
