Will Idaho's sheep bill mean the end of collaboration?

Gov. Butch Otter created a panel of sportsmen, ranchers, Indian tribes and environmentalists to find ways to keep wild sheep and domestic sheep from spreading disease.

But now the bighorn advocates say the effort won't be worth their time if Otter signs a bill that requires state agents to move or kill bighorn sheep that wander onto federal grazing lands.

They say lawmakers ignored their concerns and even the comments of Idaho Fish and Game officials and that Otter's decision on the bill will signal whether he was serious about seeking a collaborative solution.

"It flies totally in the face of what this group is doing," said Chad Colton, chief of fish and wildlife management for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.

Fish and Game officials say Senate Bill 1175 takes away their flexibility to manage wild sheep and other game species.

Several woolgrowers urged bighorn groups to stay on the panel, administered by Fish and Game and the Department of Agriculture, even if Otter allows the bill to become law. The group can still influence national forest reviews and potential court cases.

"There are processes going on outside these doors we can't influence," said Doug Pickett, an Oakley sheep rancher.

Republican Sen. Jeff Siddoway, the sheep rancher who wrote the bill, said the panel could come back with its own proposal if it reaches an agreement. And Stan Boyd, executive director of the Idaho Woolgrowers Association, said the wild sheep advocates and the ranchers can still reach separate agreements that would keep Fish and Game from having to move or kill bighorns.

"There was no malice intended," Boyd told the group.

But sportsmen and environmentalists on the panel were skeptical.

"This group has been turned into a dog and pony show by 1175," said Neil Thagard, director of the Wild Sheep Foundation.

Even one sheep rancher agreed.

"I do think that Senate Bill 1175 undermines the collaborative process," said Margaret Soulen-Hinson of Weiser. "It really binds Fish and Game's hands and could lead to lawsuits."

Otter has not made a decision on the bill, said spokesman Jon Hanian.

Rocky Barker: 377-6484