New laws affecting elk farms and wolf depredation to take effect July 1

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Several bills will take effect on July 1, some impacting the environment. One bill is a major first of the state of Idaho, the Idaho legislature, and the way we handle wolves and grizzly bears in the state. House Bill 731 in association with House Bill 592 appropriates funds which will in turn be used to reimburse ranchers who experience monetary losses due to wolves and grizzly bears.

“It was encouraging to see, whereas in the past we’ve really seen a focus on lethal control measures,” Government Relations Director for the Idaho Conservation League Jonathan Oppenheimer said. The lethal control measures were targeted toward wolves specifically as grizzly bears are on the endangered species list and cannot be hunted. Still, they will often be removed or relocated. The $75,000 is a small amount, but the conservation league is hopeful that this will open the door to more funding from the federal government in the future.

“That will hopefully attract some additional federal funds to help ensure that we can live alongside wolves, grizzly bears, and other wildlife species that are native to the state,” Mr. Oppenheimer explained.

Another bill that will take effect focuses on elk farms in the state. House Bill 591 weakens regulations around elk farm quarantines relating to Chronic Wasting Disease. The bill comes at a time when two elk farms in Eastern Idaho had Chronic Wasting Disease outbreaks.

“Under current rule, it was required that if you had elk that were imported from a facility that had Chronic Wasting Disease, which threatens both domestic and wild wildlife, that you had to have a double fence and that you had to restrict some of the movement of those potentially exposed animals,” Mr. Oppenheimer explained.

The new rules eliminate the double-fencing rule, primarily to protect wild elk, and allow elk with Chronic Wasting Disease to be transported into areas with other elks so long as it is approved by the ISDA director. Elk in the state of Idaho are farmed for meat, and velvet from their antlers which can be used in medicines.