Bill to keep Idaho wolf control board running becomes law

Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed into law legislation to keep operating a state board that pays a federal agency to kill wolves that attack livestock and elk.

Little signed the legislation Wednesday to repeal a section of Idaho law that would have ended the five-year-run of the Idaho Wolf Depredation Control Board in the summer of 2020.

The board asked for the change and says Idaho has too many wolves that are harming ranching and farming families by killing livestock. Those who opposed the bill say it should include non-lethal methods of wolf control.

The board receives money from the state’s general fund as well as from the livestock industry that’s matched by the state Department of Fish and Game.

The board pays the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services to kill wolves that attack livestock and elk.