Posted on 02/26/2006 6:42:20 PM PST by george76
Some ranchers say the wolves in the Madison Valley have grown increasingly brazen and are apparently unafraid of people.
State wildlife officials say such behavior is to be expected, given the federal protection the predators have had in the decade since being reintroduced in the Yellowstone National Park.
Jack Atcheson Jr. said he was spooked on a recent hunting trip, when three men and three mules got within 47 yards of a wolf that was staring right at them.
The Butte hunting outfitter, who books international trips, said he had never seen wolves in Alaska, Asia or other places act so boldly around people.
"It was approaching us with the wind right in its face — we were standing around the animals, but he was focused on us," Atcheson, 55, said. "He was not afraid at all."
The wolf finally stopped when one of Atcheson's hunting partners chambered a rifle, while Atcheson snapped a photo. Even then, the wolf merely lay down and stared at the hunters before eventually walking away.
Sunny Smith, manager of the CB Ranch near the Madison Range, said the wolves are "just like domestic dogs."
And with calving season just weeks away, that lack of fear has ranchers worried about the prospect of the wolves attacking livestock.
Barb Durham, a rancher whose herding dog was killed by wolves in 2004, said if ranchers had had more leeway to shoot wolves when they were hanging around ranches that year, federal officials might have needed to kill only a couple wolves instead of eliminating the whole pack.
Wolves have already wandered around their bulls this year, although none of them attacked, she said.
"They have no fear and that's been our contention all along," Durham said. "We don't hate wolves; we just want them to be a natural, wild predator and to be afraid of humans.
"If you don't let us educate them, then there's always going to be conflicts."
Wolves in Montana remain protected under the Endangered Species Act, but their recovery has led the federal government to turn management of the animals over to the state.
State officials said stories such as Atcheson's are a major concern.
"It's totally inappropriate for wolves to be that close," said Carolyn Sime, wolf coordinator for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
But she added that it's not that surprising. Wolves in Alaska have been hunted, trapped and harassed for years. And if they spot a human, they immediately run away.
Montana wolves, however, have been protected under federal law for years. Most of them have never been shot at or harassed, and none of them have been hunted.
Sime said elk in the valley pastures are also attracting wolves to the area, and thus closer to homes and livestock.
"If you look at where wolves are setting up, it's not in the backcountry, it's in the valley bottoms and foothills where people live and raise livestock and where ungulates spend winter," she said.
Sime reminds ranchers that with state oversight of the wolves, they have more flexibility to kill or harass wolves that are causing problems. It doesn't allow wolves to be killed on sight, but ranchers don't need a special permit to shoot a wolf that's about to attack livestock.
She said officials hope people take more aggressive action when a wolf is acting brazenly. In Atcheson's incident, he could have fired a rifle shot over the wolf's head to scare it.
"If wolves have uncomfortable experiences around people and livestock, that would be a good thing," she said. "By harassing them now, we may prevent problems later."
They next steps are...
4. Make farming and ranching economically impossible.
5. Take over the bankrupt family farms at a cheap price.
6. Get the leased lands to be "Vacated" from grazing cattle or sheep on BLM and USFS land. Next get the government liberals to convert to these public lands to "wilderness."
7. Get the local zoning changed which will convert the neighboring private farms and ranches to "open space."
8. Open space means new roadless areas created, hiking, biking, and jeeping access is denied.
9. Open space also stops hunting by working folks who need to put food on the table, stops firewood collecting by working folks who use the wood to heat their homes and cook their food...
10. Then liberals like Ted Turner gain a huge financial windfall. He did it outside Las Vegas, New Mexico and elsewhere.
No one can enter the public lands without his permission; it is gated and fenced. He collects a big fee for the privilage.
Take no chances, just shoot them. And don't worry about the gubmint. Dead wolves don't talk. ;)
You must have some badass Kuvaszok there.
I thought this was an article about Democrats.
What will happen up there when old Bullwinkle is all gone? What's next on the food chain? Or would the wolves just fade away?
Liberals need wolves to raise their children.
To make italics you use one of these < and one of these > around the letter i, before what you want to italicize. Then place those brackets around /i to stop italicizing.
Remember, though, if you use this in a post you also have to use p in brackets whenever you want to paragraph.
When I'm lazy I just use >> to quote something, though italics do look better.
The trick at this time is to practice ariel/bounty wolf control. Wolf numbers then collapse and moose explode; cycle repeats. If you don't practice wolf management, then you end up with a stagnant land lacking hardly any moose or wolves. Thats the true balance of nature crap the wolf lovers talk about, where nature lives in harmony with the land. I just wonder why they don't just end their lives to bring humans back in balance with the land; pretty dumb logic.
Problem is wolf people don't want any wolf management and quite a few of them populate the ranks of park/F&G agencies. Also, too many politicals have their hands out for the wolf lovers money.
We have always had alot of wolves in alaska; just in times of wolf management, we also had great moose numbers too. More moose and also more wolves. I'm glad Murkowski has more self respect and common sense. He's expanding ariel wolf control.
Most Alaskans want wolves as they have always been; part of what alaska is and our environment. They also want bounties and effective control and game management for when the wolves grow out of balance.
I have friends that charge back east people good money to run a dogteam and set snares for wolves as a vacation. Same price that an elk hunt would cost, no joke. I also know that if there were bounties, locals & Indians would trap wolves and solve the problem on their own. Wolf control isn't an expensive proposition, its a political one. I guess I'm just glad Alaska still is what it once was wolves and all.
Yes, the Kommondore is also an excellent guard dog. Unfortunately the cattlemen don't seem to use working guard dogs.
LOL
I love the breed. Frequently wish I had gone with the breed instead of the German Shepherd. Actually love both of the breeds.
Kuvasz
The Turkish word is kawasz, which means "armed guard of the nobility." There is little doubt of the part that the Kuvasz played in the history of the kingdoms and empires which flourished throughout Europe five to eight centuries ago. Dogs of this breed were the constant companions of many rulers.
It was in Hungary that the Kuvasz developed into the form in which he is seen today. He is still a big dog but not the giant of ancient times. King Mathias I, who reigned from 1458 to 1490 had at least one Kuvasz with him at all times. He developed a large pack for hunting purposes. The scope of his breeding did much to perpetuate a strain of the breed. Surpluspuppies were presented only to the noblemen and to visiting dignitaries.
Eventually, long after King Marthias, members of the breed came into the hands of the commoners, shepherds found them suitable to work sheep and cattle. It was in this period the name was changed to its current spelling.
Extremely strong instinct to protect children. Polite to accepted strangers, but rather suspicious and very discriminating in making new friends. Unexcelled guard, possessing ability to act on his own initiative at just the right moment without instruction. Bold, courageous and fearless. Untiring ability to work and cover rough terrain for long periods of time. Has good scent and has been used to hunt game. A spirited dog of keen intelligence, determination, courage and curiosity. Very sensitive to praise and blame. Primarily a one-family dog. Devoted, gentle and patient without being overly demonstrative. Always ready to protect loved ones even to the point of self-sacrifice.
Unhappily, this is exactly what they have in mind, and a lot of them make no bones about wanting to be rid of our archaic way of life out here. One fellow on anohter chat site actually bragged that kids are becoming vegetarians because of the environmental speakers in schools.
I have no idea where they think they will get their veggies if they get rid fo the food producers. Take away what others have to eat?
talking about moslems? Seems to be about the same problem.
You betcha.
Increasingly, our meat is not free range. The feed lots will soon provide almost all of our meat.
Which, then, raises lots of chemical and drug issues in our food.
Instead of many small family farms, we will mostly have huge corporate farms.
"Do wolves have any natural predators?"
Bullets, it would seem.
Well most of the feeders go from the range to the feedlots, so the range is still needed.
You are absolutely right though that they are eliminating the small rancher, what they haven't brains enough to realize is that ranchers will have to either sell to a big corporate ranch or sell to a developer. Environmentalists aren't going to like either choice.
If it was so dang important to restore the "natural" ecosystem by bringing back the predator of the bison, elk, etc., why isn't it also important to turn loose the wolf's predator - man?
The eco-nuts have been raising open space money thru state lotteries and tax increases.
They spend this tax money buying ranches and farms for open space. The open spaces often do not allow cattle, sheep, roads, hunting, hiking, camping, biking...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.