Idaho Wolf Population Issues: was "Precious Idaho" (living in, cost of)

[Drainage Related]

Why do certain members of Idaho's hunters want to get rid of the wolves but allow porn mustached, eyeglass wearing, 10 gallon hat wearing yokels to speak about how happy they are to hunt wolves. Then they will guide some clown from "back east" on a domesticated elk hunt. Like Ronald Gillette (guide).

[jufrbo]

That would be the problem of the clowns back east. Most people are oppose to hunting on ranches around here. As long people come for it though, there will be ranches. And it isn't nearly as bad here as in Texas, that's not an Idaho problem, more of a Western problem. I think all those ranches will be banned in the near future though.

[boiseguy]

wolves are a natural predator of this area, until we decided to move out west and kill them all out of fear and ignorance. They have every right to live here, but i do think there is a balance. If wolves are really becoming a problem (killing livestock, etc) then certain other measures must be considered. I mean I'm a big leftist liberal, but I am realistic about the situation. I just think it comes down to mutual respect. If you want to set up shop in wolf territory then you are going to have to deal with the issues they bring. dealing with them means dealing with them responsibly and not just blasting the side of the mountain everytime one of your cows or sheep get killed. Many villagers in Africa and Asia just do not live or raise cattle anywhere near lion and tiger roaming grounds for various different reasons. One of course being that they kill off their livestock and present harm to people as well. And because those predators are only found in that part of the world and killing them off would render them extinct. I think if we can sit and put pressures on the rest of the world to protect their wildlife then we should own up to that same responsibility. Common Sense of course... its definetely not a black and white issue like many want to paint.

[Sage of Sagle]

There is an issue when the government "controls" an animal population by re-introducing it to an area though. So for ranchers who bought near Yellowstone, and THEN wolves are re-introduced, it's a bit more complex than the typical "sprawl/encroachment" issue. Certainly there must be a balance...and personally I'm not really sure where than line should be...

[mistyriver]

We raise sheep here in north Idaho and have horses and chickens as well. We also have a small wolf pack whose territory extends to just across the small river we live on.
We've never had a problem with the wolves or the occasional grizzly that wanders through and we've never lost a lamb even to cats. We do keep 2 livestock guardian dogs (Great Pyrenees) to protect our stock and they do a great job.
I love living in a place where we still have high end predators roaming free. If we do lose livestock we chalk it up to the cost of doing business and living in this incredibly beautiful place.
The wolves belong here and have an important place in the ecosystem. If it is an inconvenience to ranchers....so be it.

[esselcue]

The predators are necessary to any environment...keeps the nuisance critters in line. Here in AZ people are always wanting to kill off the coyotes, but without our coyotes we would be overrun with rats, mice and rabbits, etc. Sounds silly but it's true. The Yellowstone area was initially wolf country and they were an integral part of the ecosystem...as they were/are in most of the west. Everyone except the ranchers are happy to have them back... and unfortunately the wolves were there before the ranchers...long before. Re-introduced recently, yes...causing problems with livestock, yes, but prior to being hunted to near extinction they were part of the land.

And the best way to keep wolves or coyotes away from your sheep or cattle is to keep a couple of donkeys with the herd! Donkeys HATE wolves or dogs of any sort and will attack them and keep them at bay.

[mistyriver]

We prefer our dogs. They've been bred for guarding the sheep and they roam free on our place marking theior territory. In a confrontation they could lose, but the predators here get their scent and keep on moving. It's never come down to a confrontation.

[esselcue]

I doubt it will ever come down to a confrontation...wolves are very shy and would have to be starving to chance getting past dogs for a meal.

[Sage of Sagle]

Yup. It's always the lesser work. Like bears. Once we had dogs (several labs) the bears stay away now. I don't think they fear labs per se, but why hassle with dogs period when they can go somewhere else where the dogs aren't? For our alpacas we have a guard llama, and she's pretty fierce. A deer got near their pen and she herded the little guys back away, and then she went after the deer that ventured into their area, rearing up and spitting. Only 300'ish lbs, but those hooves would hurt..and the spit is nasty stuff...really nasty....

[LPerkins33]

Originally Posted by mistyriverranch

We raise sheep here in north Idaho and have horses and chickens as well. We also have a small wolf pack whose territory extends to just across the small river we live on.
We've never had a problem with the wolves or the occasional grizzly that wanders through and we've never lost a lamb even to cats. We do keep 2 livestock guardian dogs (Great Pyrenees) to protect our stock and they do a great job.
I love living in a place where we still have high end predators roaming free. If we do lose livestock we chalk it up to the cost of doing business and living in this incredibly beautiful place.
The wolves belong here and have an important place in the ecosystem. If it is an inconvenience to ranchers....so be it.

you are awesome.