LEWISTON – Idaho is not getting into the wolf export business any time soon.
Earlier this year, Director of Idaho Department of Fish and Game Cal Groen sent letters to each state to see if any was interested in taking some of Idaho’s wolves.
So far, Groen says 20 states have rejected the offer, and no takers are expected.
A bill approved by the 2009 Legislature required the department to offer Idaho’s wolves to other states.
The bill’s sponsor, Moscow Senator Gary Schroeder, says it was an attempt to protect the state against claims that could be made in lawsuits by environmentalists opposed to the federal government’s decision to take wolves off the endangered species list.
In May, the federal government delisted more than 1,300 wolves in Montana and Idaho. About 300 wolves in Wyoming are still listed as endangered.