House Bill 1219 “concerning large wild carnivore conflict management” was introduced today. This is agency requested/sponsored legislation. The bill is sponsored by Reps Kretz, Lytton, Klippert, Stanford, Orcutt, Blake, Wilcox, Warnick, Nealey, Buys. The bill does several things. Mainly deals with wolves on livestock damage. Here are the highlights:
- Classified wolves as a big game animal
- Max of $50K from the state wildlife account may be paid out per year for livestock damage (not just from wolves)
- A wolf license plate is created. Funds from this plate will be used solely for wolf management
http://dlr.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/default.aspx?Bill=1219&year=2013
