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As the ranchers in the OP have been there for over fifty years forgive me if I might take their word for it.
Sure. They may have been there 50 years, but I doubt very seriously that they've allowed their stock to graze in the high country for very long. I'm just willing to bet that they just got their permit to graze BLM land too.
I'll bet the FWP is laughing their asses off over this one ...
Late 19th early 20th century saw the end of the wolf in the places you mention. They were shot out by cattleman and government hunters, mainly government hunters. Where the wolf was once king, the coyote now reigns supreme. There will NEVER , and I mean never, be an eradication of the coyote, anywhere. I find wolves to be fascinating. They are beautiful examples of an apex predatory canine. I look at coyotes the same way. If I see a yote in a field, I don't shoot it out of hand, if he ain't botherin' me, he lives to kill another gopher or jack rabbit. He pesters my stock, he stops a bullet. There has been much made , by a couple posters about the natural order of things. Those of us who have lived all our lives in proximity to predators understand this order, all to well. We don't need fancy science talk and terms like 'homeostatic' etc, to understand what makes critters tick. I have been on the trail of stock killing yotes and cats, that made a habit out of taking stock. That's the rub. They made a habit of it. We take losing a calf or foal, or two or three, but at this point, enough is enough. Time to explain the rules. A slaughter kill, such as the OP describes, war has been declared. We poor uneducated cowboys get it, all to well. We know how things work. We tend to have an agreement with the preds. Hey, a guys gotta eat. But there ain't no free lunch either. I'll overlook a calf or two in the course of a season, but when things start looking like a free buffet, a message needs sent.
Such blatant hypocracy and backward thinking is exactly why the problems of the modern West are so dire.
I also live in Wolf and Bear country, and in the past, have kept livestock (beef cattle). If you're gonna do that you run a SLIGHT risk of predations due to both species, but very slight.
But I'd never runs heep for that would be sheer lunacy.
And if predation does happpen, AND it can be proven to have come via wolf activity then the owner will be reinbursed by the State/Feds.
Such blatant hypocracy and backward thinking is exactly why the problems of the modern West are so dire.
I also live in Wolf and Bear country, and in the past, have kept livestock (beef cattle). If you're gonna do that you run a SLIGHT risk of predations due to both species, but very slight.
But I'd never runs heep for that would be sheer lunacy.
And if predation does happpen, AND it can be proven to have come via wolf activity then the owner will be reinbursed by the State/Feds.
Hypocracy and backward thinking? Whatever, I don't live in wolf or bear country, I live in coyote and cat country, and predation of stock is a common occurance. Feral dogs are a problem as well. Slight risk my aching a$$. Ride a mile in my saddle before you hurl insults my way. I don't personally care a whit what you think of my methods of dealing with predators. I do things the same way my Dad did, and it works. We lose stock, we accept it to a point. There are limits. Call it what you will.
Hypocracy and backward thinking? Whatever, I don't live in wolf or bear country, I live in coyote and cat country, and predation of stock is a common occurance. Feral dogs are a problem as well. Slight risk my aching a$$. Ride a mile in my saddle before you hurl insults my way. I don't personally care a whit what you think of my methods of dealing with predators. I do things the same way my Dad did, and it works. We lose stock, we accept it to a point. There are limits. Call it what you will.
I can understand someone for not knowing a term like "Homeostasis", but for a rancher to not understand/buy into the concept is an admission of not understanding ranching.
How many acres do you need for one cow/calf unit, assuming you free range?
What happens if you overgraze?
Homeostasis, you see.
As far as your "self made" cowpoke diatribe, how far would a ranch (especially in Nevada) get without cheap subsidized (by the Gov't ) water?
Or roads?
Those thoughts were the motive behind my original post to you.
Reports of livestock and dog kills aren't new to the area. Fish and Game reports wolves killed 11 dogs between January and august of this year while last year wolves killed 14 dogs. Wolves are something Greenlee and Melson try and avoid when they're out looking for game.
"If we go in there and find a wolf track, we go the other way," Greenlee said.
Now Bill Greenlee's plan is to invest in new hounds but replacing them won't come cheap or easy. The dogs he lost were like family.
"It's hard, oh yeah. I'm trying to keep from crying ... it's hard."
It would seem that the threat to the wolf popluation is greatly exaggerated. In fact, the preferred harvest seems unlikely to happen, so the population is liable to grow until the prey population tanks further.
From another forum:
the dead sheep were found on the Rebish/Konen Livestock Ranch, Dillon Montana.
the Rebish & Konen livestock operation received [URL="http://farm.ewg.org/farm/persondetail.php?custnumber=009372314"]$235,922 in federal subsidies from 1995-2006[/URL].
Interestingly, another “Rebish” ranch – the Rebish & Helle operation, received [URL="http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X1342&site=wolves.wordpress.com&url=http%3A %2F%2Ffarm.ewg.org%2Ffarm%2Fpersondetail.php%3Fcus tnumber%3D009374948"]$844,912 from 1995-2006[/URL] making it the [URL="http://farm.ewg.org/farm/top_recips.php?fips=30000&progcode=wool"]largest recipient of wool[/URL] & other subsidies in the state.
These guys aren’t hurtin’. Konen is quoted in the article :[INDENT]“I had tears in my eyes, not only for myself but for what my stock had to go through,”
[/INDENT]I’ve got tears in my eyes for the children in this country who can’t afford healthcare while it appears this guy is gobbling at the public teet for 6 figures.
this guy that you talk about has put three children through college and has had to work his whole life to survive this economy. Next time you put on a wool shirt, eat a lamb chop, sit in a leather chair, eat jello, or have anything to do with animals think about this guy. He is the one who gets up in the middle of the night to night lamb and calve, he is the one who puts in endless hours of back breaking work to make a living. I doubt you could do his job for one day! Those subsides don't go into anyone's pockets sir they go back into the ranch that his father inlaw started in 1938. It goes back into buying feed, fixing tractors, and restocking his livestock that were killed by wolves. This man is a man and you have no right to judge him based on how he feels regarding the loss of his livestock.
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