Senate bill would lift wolf protections in Montana, Idaho

Senate bill would lift wolf protections in MT, ID

MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press

BILLINGS — Gray wolves in Montana and Idaho would lose their Endangered Species Act protections and become fair game for hunters under a provision buried deep in a U.S. Senate budget bill introduced Friday.

The provision was included in a broad measure introduced by Democrats to fund the federal government through the end of the fiscal year.

The one-paragraph passage on wolves — which appears on page 253 of the bill and doesn't mention the animals by name — is identical to language in a budget measure th...