Carelessness and two grizzly bears dead near Ronan, MT

Unprotected chicken coops becoming a source of  bears deaths on Flathead Reservation-

Two grizzlies were shot dead last weekend near the base of the bear-heavy Mission Mountains in NW Montana.

An elk antler gatherer stumbled into a griz on the Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife area and shot the bear. Not far away on the Flathead Indian Reservation a grizzly bear was shot near a chicken coop. Raising chickens in unprotected pens and sheds is a rapidly growing economic activity on the reservation.

These dead bears were number 3 and 4 for the year in general area.

Grizzlies killed on Flathead Reservation, at Blackfoot-Clearwater Wildlife Management Area. By Rob Chaney and Vince Devlin of the Missoulian

Hunt quota likely 220 wolves this fall . . . Montana FWP Commission

Montana’s second hunt to be much larger than the 2009 hunt-

Montana’s wildlife commissioners have tentatively approved a wolf hunt this fall of 220 wolves, compared to their 2009 hunt of 79. There was no hunt in 210. At the end of 2010, the official wolf population estimate for Montana was 566 wolves.  This quota, if filled, is predicted to drop the state’s wolf population by 25% at the end of 2011, although there are competing computer models.

Idaho has an estimated 705 wolves, well down from its peak in 2009. Idaho’s Fish and Game Commission is expected to approve a big hunt quota, although their quota in 2009 was not reached.

Montana FWP tentatively approves 220-wolf quota for fall hunt. By Matt Volz. AP

Local judge stifles free roaming bison reforms

Park County, Montana judge issues a temporary restraining order to prevent bison from roaming Gardiner Basin

This means trouble for the bison just released from the pens on the north boundary of Yellowstone Park. I see they are still playing the brucellosis card and the new Old West favorite, We’re scared of the animals!!

Park County judge halts bison changes. AP

Bison ‘managers’ kill calf

Montana Bison ‘managers’ kill calf north of West Yellowstone-

Bison are now allowed to leave the Park to the west in the winter at Horse Butte, but they are supposed to be back in the Park at an abnormally early time.

This year the Park is still under snow. The brutal Montana Department of Livestock hazed the bison toward the Park until the calf died. From the Island Park [Idaho] News- Bison ‘managers’ kill calf

Hundreds of bison were also held at the North Entrance of the Park. They have/had no grass to eat. There was talk about slaughtering a hundred of them, but that was forestalled.  Many of them were released in early May, but they went north out of the Park instead of back into it. They were recaptured. Yellowstone hopes to release bison back into park for summer.  by Adam Bell. KBZK

Meanwhile, cold and rain/snowy days continue well into May. The Park will be green when the snow finally melts and it finally warms.


Montana proposes 220-wolf hunting quota for 2011 season

If filled, the quota will result in estimated 25% reduction in state wolf population-

Montana’s wolf hunt is expected to be easier on the state’s wolf population than Idaho’s. With the congressional delisting of the wolf in the Northern Rockies, Montana and Idaho can pretty do what they want in terms of wolf quotas.

State wildlife officials propose 220-wolf quota for 2011 season. By Eve Byron Helena Independent Record.

Also, Obama administration takes wolves off endangered species list. AP.  They are also delisting the Great Lakes population, which is certainly ready. Unfortunately, all three states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan have fallen to tea party governors. Michigan’s seems as bad as Wisconsin’s notorious Scott Walker.

FWP considers new bighorn herd in headwater area of the Bitterroot River

Sticking point is probably domestic sheep-

If there are domestic sheep, they probably shouldn’t risk it.

Montana FWP considers new bighorn herd in Bitterroot. By Perry Backus. Ravalli Republic

Bozeman Earth Day speaker: Beef is bad for the planet

4th generation Montana rancher turned against cattle-

Bozeman Earth Day speaker: Beef is bad for the planet. By Gail Schontzler. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer

Montana probes killing of Yellowstone buffalo

Park bison killed by small arms fire-

It is redundant to call this sad and dangerous. Small arms are used not primarily to cause suffering, but to avoid a loud report from the gun attracting attention. Rural neighbors who are out to settle scores kill each others livestock this way.

Montana probes killing of Yellowstone buffalo. Laura Zuckerman. Reuters US Online Report Domestic News

Addition. Here is the story in the Island Park, Idaho newspaper. Bison haters attack roam-free policy.

4/23. More. Story makes it the U. K. Hunt for the Yellowstone bison serial killer after beasts shot in protected national park. The Daily Mail.

Montana judge halts the building of megaload turnouts in Western Montana

Another roadblock to the use of Idaho Highway 12 and Montana highways as corridors for moving Alberta bound tar sand equipment-

This is good news, although likely temporary.

The turnouts constructed on the Montana side of Lolo Pass appear to be larger than the oil giant said and closer to Lolo Creek which already suffers from highway runoff.

Judge stops construction of big-rig turnouts in western Montana
.  By Kim Briggeman of the Missoulian

Montana Wildlife Federation is going to sue over the oil megaloads

Idaho landowners and conservationists to get help from Montana allies-

National Wildlife Federation Prepared to Sue Montana Over Mega-loads. By George Prentice. Boise Weekly.

Exxon is now getting ready to test taking the megaloads up Highway 12 and through Montana. There could be as many as 200 gigantic loads from Exxon sent to Alberta. Some, however, are being broken down into smaller loads so they don’t have to travel on beautiful Highway 12.

– – – – – –
Here is some good news on the struggle fighting the tar sand oil. Ottawa fights EU’s dirty fuel label on oil sands. Climate Connections. The EU is going to label it as a dirty fuel.

Poll Finds Strong Public Support for Bison Restoration in Montana

Buffalo Bull © Ken Cole

In February the National Wildlife Federation conducted a poll of 400 Montana voters and found that they are strongly in support of bison recovery in Montana.  Particularly, 70% say they support recovery in areas such as the Spotted Dog WMA near Deer Lodge and the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge which covers 1.1 million acres in central Montana.

These results run contrary to the measures that the Montana Legislature has been to trying to push through which would make reintroduction of bison illegal or subject to the approval of county commissioners.

Among other findings, the poll showed that:

  • 63% of Montanans believe that it is possible to manage wild bison in much same ways as other wildlife species such as deer and elk.
  • 70% of Montanans favor having the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and parks investigate where wild bison populations could be restored.
  • 70% of Montanans favor allowing hunters to hunt wild bison
  • 72% s of Montanans support establishing a bison population at the 26,000 acre Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area, near Deerlodge
  • 70% of Montanans support establishing a population of wild bison in and around the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in north-central Montana.

Press Release.

Poll Results.

Wolf settlement hearing today.

The hearing on the “wolf settlement” begins in just a few minutes.  I won’t guess what the outcome will be but I think the case against the settlement is pretty strong. It also appears that the backlash against the settling parties has been strong among wolf supporters with many stating that they have removed their support.

What’s worse, letting the legislature gut the ESA or doing it yourself?

Wolf settlement puts ball in judge’s court.
By EVE BYRON – Helena Independent Record

If wolves are de-listed, Balyeat wants spring hunt

Right wing radical Montana state legislator wants to kill wolves during denning season-

Here’s the story. If wolves are de-listed, Balyeat wants spring hunt. Bozeman Chronicle.

About Balyeat . . . when this glassy-eyed extremist first showed up in the wolf news, I knew there was an element of the anti-wolf folks that had another agenda. Wolves were just a way of leading people down a path of ideological blindness.

Project Vote Smart. Senator Joe Balyeat (MT). More from Vote Smart.

The guy has a long time record of religious nuttery. Montana Profile. Joe Balyeat. Church, State & the Ayatollah

Tester’s wolf rider is bad policy

Op ed. Tester’s ban on judicial review violates our First Amendment rights-

No doubt Senator Jon Tester faces stiff competition from one of most loathsome politicians of The West — a poser who claims to be a cattle and goat rancher but somehow became the 14th most wealthy member of Congress, Dennis Rehberg.

Keeping Tester in the Senate seems to trump all other concerns for Senate Democrats. Tester was the only senator who got a rider attached to the defeated Senate Democrat’s continuing resolution. His anti-wolf rider is now in temporary limbo, but will probably be back.

The author of the op-ed below argues that in addition to delisting wolves without so much as a hearing, by preventing any court from reviewing its legally, he is violating the First Amendment right that “Congress shall make no law” that restricts the right of American citizens “to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

My view, if Rehberg gets elected, he will sell himself to the international corporations full time. We expect today’s Republicans to do that; but is Tester standing up? Is he speaking up for the teachers, fire fighters, unionized workers, the unemployed – people who Rehberg loves like he loves wolves?  What has Tester done besides crumble when a noisy band of right wingers tell us the elk are eaten and we will all soon have dog tapeworms?  In my view Montana, needs Democrats who will fight like they are in Wisconsin. I gave money to Tester in his last election, but now I send 5 or 10 dollars to the Wisconsin Democrats every day or so. It makes me feel much better.

Tester’s wolf rider is bad policy. By Michael Garrity. Helena Independent Record.

2010 Northern Rockies Wolf Report released.

NRM population estimate down from 1731 to 1651. Minimum population estimate down significantly in Idaho from 870 to 705.

The 2010 Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Reports are out and they show a decrease in the overall wolf population. Wyoming and Montana saw slight increases while Idaho accounted the decline seen in the overall population.  It has long been predicted that wolf populations would level out and possibly decrease as seen in Yellowstone but it is hard to attribute the declines to any particular cause.  It could partly be attributable to last year’s hunt which occurred partially during the wolf breeding season and afterwards, a reduced elk population , increased poaching, difficulty in monitoring, and other factors could play a role as well.

Keep in mind that these estimates are minimum population estimates and that the actual population is higher.  All of the discussions I have had with the people who do these counts indicate that they feel that while these counts are not complete, they are within 20% of the actual counts and are probably accurate with regard to the trends that they show.

Wolves of the Northern Rocky Mountains: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Report: Wolf Pack Numbers Remain Steady, Livestock Losses Down
NBC Montana

And from this article:

Sen. Benjamin Cardin, a Maryland Democrat who blocked efforts to take wolves off the list in the last Congress, issued a statement this week to The Associated Press saying he remained opposed to a legislative solution to the issue.

Wolf population dips in Northern Rockies
By MATTHEW BROWN – Associated Press

Read the rest of this entry »

Update on the oil megaloads on Highway 12

One megaload reaches Lolo; one stuck on Highway 12-

We haven’t covered this for a while, but as many predicted the movement is not going smoothly.

1 megaload reaches Lolo; 1 stuck on Highway 12. By Jamie Kelly. Missoulian.

Herds of desperate ungulates dying on Montana railroads, highways

Severe winter in Eastern Montana is taking huge toll on pronghorn, other ungulates-

In deep snow, antelope often seek out railroad tracks and highways so they can move.  When a train comes, and fences on both sides, hundreds can die; and they are, right now.

Herds of desperate ungulates dying on Montana railroads, highways.Written by Kim Skornogoski. Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer.

Update: Trains kill more than 800 antelope and deer on Montana tracks this winter. AP

Bison Abuse Merits Harsh Criticism

Guest editorial by Dr. Brian L. Horejsi-

Bison Abuse Merits Harsh Criticism

Harsh criticism is increasingly justified in todays world of National Park and public land management, a world in which regulatory retreat from principles and regulation is the new norm and “gut and grab” politics seem to be an every day threat. One such issue deserving of harsh review is the continuous persecution of bison in the Yellowstone ecosystem. What is happening on Yellowstone’s borders is no less offensive than the corralling and clubbing of dolphins in Japan, the clubbing of seal pups off Canada’s coast, or the indiscriminate slaughter of African elephants that eventually led to massive population declines barely a decade ago.

Read the rest of this entry »

Montana Governor changes direction on wolves

May be violating federal law

Today Governor Brian Schweitzer has sent a letter to the Department of Interior stating that Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks will no longer prosecute killing of wolves by landowners defending livestock in northwest Montana, they will kill entire packs upon any livestock depredation, and they will kill entire packs of wolves in the Bitterroot to protect elk herds.

This would appear to violate federal law.

The letter is here and copied below : Read the rest of this entry »

Montana governor blocks shipments of Yellowstone bison to slaughter, suggests Park feed the bison

This is a strange turn of events.

Montana gov blocks shipments of Yellowstone bison to slaughter, suggests park feed animals.
Matthew Brown – Associated Press

Here is the actual executive order signed by Brian Schweitzer:
Governor Schweitzer Stops Importation of Bison into Montana for 90 Days

Feb. 16. Schweitzer halts bison slaughter. Bozeman Chronicle. By Carly Flandro. (added by Maughan)

Read the rest of this entry »

The effort to protect the livestock industry of Montana expands to elk.

Helicopter netting of elk as part of a brucellosis study

Yesterday the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks was out using a helicopter to capture elk with nets so that they could test them for brucellosis, attach radio collars, and implant vaginal devices intended to drop out when the elk give birth or abort a fetus. This is another example of how the livestock industry turns the table against wildlife so that they carry no burden.

Disease testing: Elk study aims to measure spread of brucellosis
By Nick Gevock of The Montana Standard.

Bison Slaughter A Smoke Screen for Livestock Industry

George Wuerthner gives us the facts on the brucellosis fraud-

Bison Slaughter A Smoke Screen for Livestock Industry. “The on-going slaughter of Yellowstone National Park bison is justified on the basis of disease control—namely trying to prevent transmission of brucellosis from bison to cattle. While the potential economic impact brucellosis is real, the likelihood is extremely rare.” Unfiltered By George Wuerthner, Unfiltered in New West.

Tester, Baucus renew effort to protect Flathead River Basin

More good news, and just a few years ago every day seemed to bring bad news for the North Fork of the Flathead River-

Tester, Baucus renew effort to protect Flathead River Basin. By Rob Chaney. Missoulian.

Posted in politics. Tags: , , . Comments Off on Tester, Baucus renew effort to protect Flathead River Basin

Winter takes toll on northeastern Montana wildlife

Pronghorn and mule deer hit hard-

Winter takes a toll on northeastern Montana wildlife. By Brett French. Billings Gazette.

I posted a news release from ID Fish and Game the other day about winter conditions and wildlife in Eastern Idaho, but hardly anyone read it.  I took it down. I’ll watch this one to see if there is a true lack of  interest in the subject.

Denny Rehberg introduces wolf legislation.

Denny Rehberg (R-MT) has introduced the first wolf bill of the new congress into the House of Representatives which would hand over management authority of wolves to the states of Montana and Idaho.

Here is the bill

Update 1/27/11: Apparently there are two bills.  The second one would remove all protections from wolves nationwide.

Here is the other bill

The impending bison slaughter.

National Park Service hazing buffalo inside Yellowstone National Park © Ken Cole

National Park Service hazing buffalo inside Yellowstone National Park © Ken Cole

The snow is deep, in fact it’s 130% of average in Yellowstone this year. That makes for a bad situation if you are a buffalo there. Do you try to stay in the Park where you can’t get to the food that you know is under all of that snow or do you follow your instincts and move to lower elevation where there is less snow? Either way, you’re screwed if you’re a buffalo.

This year, with an estimated population of 3,900 buffalo in Yellowstone, things are reaching a tipping point and a mass exodus of buffalo is likely to ensue.

What will await them when they leave the Park? Well, this year, there have been over 100 bison killed outside the Park, mostly by tribal treaty and sport hunters according to the Buffalo Field Campaign (full disclosure, I am a long time volunteer and board member of BFC), one was hit on the road as a result of being orphaned during the hunt and unable to trudge through the deep snow on its own, and another one was shot by Montana officials after it left the Royal Teton Ranch after being captured, tested and marked in an obscenely expensive program which is vaunted by the government and “conservation” groups for its greater “tolerance” towards bison outside of Yellowstone National Park.

That experiment hasn’t gone too well. The buffalo aren’t behaving the way, or staying where the government wants them to so they have been chasing them around on horseback trying to keep them on the RTR.

Read the rest of this entry »

Judge upholds ban on motorized travel in Badger-Two Medicine roadless area

Motorbikes, ATV interests rebuffed for large roadless area between Glacier N.P. and Bob Marshall Wildlerness-

Judge upholds ban on motorized travel in Badger-Two Med. By Karl Puckett.  Great Falls  Tribune Staff Writer.

I’ve only been there twice, and just into it a little way.  My impression is that it isn’t quite as rugged as the country to the north (Glacier N.P.) and the Great Bear and Bob Marshall Wildernesses to the south. It is very much full of wildlife.

The oil and gas industry has lusted after it for a long time. It has religious significance to the Blackfeet Nation (an issue in this failed lawsuit).

First four oil megaloads get “go ahead” by Idaho Dept. of Transportation

If first four loads don’t go up and over smoothly, battle will likely last for a generation-

The megaloads for the Billings, MT oil refinery now have a go ahead from Idaho, and will probably get one quickly from Montana. Highway 12 itself has been slippery to very slippery except in its lower portion.  Parts of it have also been briefly closed to reduced to one lane due to rockslides.

Idaho official signs off on Highway 12 megaload permits. By Kim Briggeman of the Missoulian missoulian.com

Imperial Oil/Exxon big rigs EA gets unfriendly reception at meeting

A University of Montana economist and others tear EA apart-

It’s amazing to me that they think they can get approval by doing a mere environmental analysis report (EA) for over 200 megaloads on Montana’s highways.*

At any rate, University of Montana economist Steve Seninger and others showed the huge defect in the EA’s claim that the megaloads would give a $67.8 million benefit to Montana’s economy. There was no discussion of monetary and other costs.  In other words, the EA writes of gross benefits, when it is net benefits (if there are any) that matters.

The costs are  revenue losses in the travel/outdoor recreation industry, costs to taxpayers from accidents, traffic delays and disruptions of emergency services, premature wear of Montana’s highways and harm to wildlife, water, agriculture and timber in Western Montana.

In Idaho, Butch Otter, the Farm Bureau and others, and in Montana, a similar bunch of people speak of the job benefits, but “What you end up with is basically something less than 82 jobs for the ExxonMobil transportation project, and those jobs are primarily lower wage, lower skilled jobs in terms of flagholders and driving some of the advance cars and rear cars,”[economist] Seninger said. “In my mind, you don’t have to be an economist to say that’s really not an employment machine.”

The fact that these are low wage, low skill jobs to move sophisticated oil equipment from the far east to Alberta is why I have been calling them “jobs for peasants.”

Story: Imperial Oil/Exxon big rigs EA draws ire. By Kim Briggeman. The Missoulian.

– – – – –

*To understand the controversy, folks need to mentally separate the first, 4 megaloads that are bound for the oil refinery in Billings, Montana from the 200+ bound for Alberta’s tar sand pits.

Latest Wyoming (federal) wolf update- Jan. 7, 2011

Federal wolf update is only official wolf news out there now-

Here is the latest update from Ed Bangs office, the only government folks in the West who seem to be regularly producing data now.  It says it’s for Wyoming, but it also gives Yellowstone Park news, Oregon news and other wolf news. There is a link to Montana FWP and they do have an Oct. 2010 update.  Interesting it shows the estimated wolf population in Montana for 2010 to be only 400 wolves, compared to the final 2009 count of 524 wolves. The number of 400 will probably go up a bit before the final report is issued, but preliminary data absolutely and flat out fails to show any explosion in wolf population even though the 2010 wolf hunt was canceled.

wyoming news-Jan7-2011. pdf file

MT Fish, Wildlife Parks aerial survey shows increase in Bitterroot mule deer

Result might be due to change in hunting rules-

Eyes in the sky: FWP aerial survey counts Bitterroot deer on the ground. By Perry Backus. Ravalli Republic.

The figures look good.

Eleven convicted of poaching Montana elk

Yet another story of two-legged wolves taking down elk-

2010 seems to have been quite a year for elk poachers in the Rocky Mountains.  Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks issued this news release.  Versions of it are circulating in the media.

News release: Elk Poaching Case Nets Nearly $40,000 in Fines & Restitution. Monday, January 3, 2011.

The story has a bit about each poacher. Most of them were not from Montana.

Western Washington’s bighorns slammed by disease

Another 2010-was-a-deadly-year-for-bighorn story-

The culprit is almost entirely pneumonia, and almost all of it, maybe all of it, comes from domestic sheep and goats.  The Western Watersheds Project, and closely related groups like Advocates for the West, are  just about the only organizations that are willing to step forward, tell the truth, and go after the offending herds of livestock.  I hope folks will consider and give WWP and Advocates a donation if the appalling death tool of bighorn sheep in the West bothers you. Ralph Maughan

Western Washington’s bighorns slammed by disease. Outdoors Blog. The Spokesman Review.

– – – – –

Related Dec. 31. Bighorn sheep killed on Montana highway one. AP (in Great Falls Tribune).  I remember posting an almost identical story for the same place a couple years ago.  Some money needs to be spent at this location.    “a state wildlife biologist says between four to 15 of the animals are killed every year [at this location]*

Greater Yellowstone Coalition proposes protections for Absaroka-Beartooth Front

Plan might copy relatively successful effort to conserve Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front-

Given the very scenic nature of much of the A-B Front, in a way it is surprising this proposal didn’t emerge earlier. Personally, I think it is a great idea.

Story in the Billings Gazette on plans to conserve the Absaroka/Beartooth Front.

Beartooth Front. Toward the two forks of the Rosebud River. copyright Ralph Maughan

 

Carter Niemeyer strongly questions Wildlife Services report.

Calls recent Montana report “misleading”.

Carter Niemeyer’s recent book “Wolfer” described, in great detail, the inner workings of Wildlife Services for whom he worked as their Montana western supervisor from 1975-1990 and as their Montana wolf specialist for the following 10 years until he took a post in Idaho as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s wolf recovery coordinator. In the book he describes how the incestuous relationship between the livestock industry and Wildlife Services works to maintain hegemony over how predators are blamed for livestock deaths so that they can be managed and killed and so that the taxpayer funds flow freely. He goes on to describe how the reporting of livestock depredations is routinely influenced by the higher ups in the department so that blame could be squarely placed on any number of predators instead of what usually boils down to poor animal husbandry practices.

Often times he was called to the scene of a “wolf depredation” only to find out, upon investigation, that the animal had died from other causes or that dogs had been behind the incident. When he would write up his report he would skin the animal out to look for hemorrhaging caused by the bites of a wolf or other predator, he would take pictures, he would look for tracks. This was frowned upon by his superiors and he was told to use only the small space on the investigation report form to describe whether the livestock had been killed by predators or not. Read the rest of this entry »

Elk numbers said to be down . . . is it really wolves?

How about slob hunters?

The story below has been getting a lot of attention.

Wolves, Elk, and Slob-Hunting. What’s a bigger threat to elk: wolves or slob-hunters? By Matt Skoglund, Guest Writer in New West. 12-17-10

With in the condition of the economy and the traditional lack of wildlife ethics in some areas, I think we have to also add flat-out poaching.  For example, when they say “elk numbers have plunged in the West Fork of the Bitteroot, it must wolves,” how about an investigation of the number of convicted poachers in the Bitterroot Valley too.  Before you settle on an answer, a smart person considers all the possible reasonable answers.

– – – –

And here is a related story from Montana’s Madison Valley. In the Hunt: (Slob) Hunters play wolf blame game. by Nick Gevock.  mtstandard.com |

Swiss philanthropist buys $35M in Plum Creek Timber land in western Montana

This is not the first land protection buy-up in the Rockies by the Swiss billionaire-

This purchase seems to be a very good thing for conservation of the Montana landscape, but I’d bet this post will stir up a lot of debate about billionaires buying land (or maybe just about billionaires and why there are so many of them all of a sudden).

Swiss philanthropist buys $35M in Plum Creek Timber land in western Montana.  By Matthew Brown. Associated Press

Montana says wolf deal is dead

Schweitzer says talks have broken down, probably for good!

According to the story, Idaho and Wyoming would not go along with a deal for a wolf hunt and delisting in Idaho and Montana because they wanted a legislative fix in addition.

Montana governor says wolf deal dead. AP in the Bozeman Chronicle.

More on close wolf encounters

What does wolves close up mean?

If a wolf approaches you, you should certainly not assume it wants to eat you.  On the other hand, watch it closely, it isn’t necessary benign.

Some people can “read” dogs, cats, horses, and other animals.  People who can’t fill in the blanks with their hopes, fears, and generalizations from other animals.

This last month we witnessed the fearful reaction of two Montana hunters to a pack of wolves nearby. Flathead Valley hunters shoot wolf, say they were surrounded. By Tristan Scott of the Missoulian. Over the years, we have posted a number of other accounts where people had “scary,” close wolf encounters.  Some folks will recall the humorous story of the Forest Service employees (from Utah) who encountered howling wolves in the middle of the Sawtooth Wilderness in Idaho (I don’t recall if they even saw one of the wolves), but they were so frightened by the howls they had a Forest Service helicopter fly into the designated Wilderness area to be evacuated.

I have heard no “scary” stories from people except from those already hateful or frightened of wolves, and who had a close encounter.

I’ve had two close encounters.  With the first (1997) I was so overconfident, I was just stupid. We (five of us) repeatedly approached the Rose Creek Pack on Specimen Ridge in Yellowstone when they had about 18 members.  The wolves kept trotting 50 to 100 yards ahead, stopping and bark howling. At the time I didn’t know a bark howl is a much different message than a howl.

I have posted the story how being circled by wolves was thought to be a wonderful experience.

Here is another interesting close encounter. Ken Cole posted this story today too.  It ended just fine, but it’s hard to know what the wolf was doing. Calm of the wild. Living with wolves takes some practice by Tim Lydon. Writers on the Range in the  Missoula IndependentKen also posts his own experiences.

I think if people have a scary wolf experience it is probably because they interpret most wolf behavior as something to be frightened of.  To take it step farther, a frightened person might look like prey to an otherwise uninterested wolf.

Maybe some people are natural prey.

Proposed bill would strip feds of wolf authority within Montana

Another temper tantrum from the reactionaries in Montana.

State Sen. Joe Balyeat, R-Bozeman is planning on reintroducing a bill which claims that the Federal government has no right to manage wolves in Montana. This contradicts numerous court rulings and would most certainly cause the state its present ability to manage wolves and further put any delisting effort out of reach for the region.

Of course it puts in place a few ridiculous sanctions against wolf supporters who may be “party to a lawsuit with the purpose of preventing or delaying the implementation of state management of wolves.”

Another overreach by the reactionary right who want to distract people away from the issues that their ideology fails to solve. This won’t solve joblessness or any of the other problems faced by many in this poor economic climate. It might make a few people happy but the only thing that is really clear is that more jumping up and down and screaming about how unfair things are doesn’t solve the problem that they have identified.

Go ahead Joe. The wolves will thank you.

Proposed bill would strip feds of wolf authority within Montana.
Rob Chaney Missoulian

Harry Reid gets surprisingly easy victory. Dems keep Senate. GOP wins House big.

Otter reelected Idaho governor-

One tidbit on the wolf issue.  Chet Edwards, a Blue Dog Democrat from Texas, author of the most anti-wolf bill in Congress lost big.  It is doubtful his bill was much of a factor.

– – – –

Misc.

Montana ballot initiative I-161 which we discussed for a long time here, passed. It prohibits the current system of outfitter-controlled non-resident hunting licenses.

Bitterroot: Where have all the elk gone?

Elk pop. of West Fork of Bitterroot has dropped 21 % in four years. Wolves live there too. Therefore wolves must be responsible?

This seems to be the current argument of Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks. They used to have other explanations.  More properly this new logic would be one hypothesis (one of a number of possible explanations*). They want the federal government to give authority to kill 12 wolves. If granted, would this be a good test of the hypothesis?

Story on the issue: Bitterroot: Where have all the elk gone? by Alex Sakariassen. Missoula Independent

– – – – – –

*Of course, there are the ideologically driven. They don’t need a test. Wolves did it. They always do.

Reminder: Re-Wilding Montana is TONIGHT

An Event in Missoula, Montana on October 25, 2010

It never fails. Every time I find myself driving across the immense open space and undulating landscape of the front range in Montana, I puzzle myself over the absence of bison. And each time I hear about the threat posed to livestock by wolves, I wonder how different it would be if bison were out there. Just today, I was speaking to Chief Jimmy St. Goddard of the Blackfeet Nation about restoring balance to nature (versus plopping species down onto landscapes), and he stated “wolves will go where the bison are.” Humans, being lazy by nature, tend to think that given the choice between cows and bison, wolves would favor the slow, dumb ones. But we’ve never given them that choice. Since wolves co-evolved with bison, I tend to think Chief Jimmy knows what he is talking about.

Last year, WWP’s Montana office premiered “Lords of Nature” in Montana, a film documenting the importance of top predators like wolves to healthy ecosystems. Scientists were surprised to learn after reintroducing wolves into Yellowstone that there was a dramatic improvement in riparian ecosystems, benefitting fish and birds and creating a cascading beneficial effect on the food chain. Then we had a lively panel discussion that included Montana Wolf Coordinator Carolyn Syme. In arguing for management authority in federal court, Montana emphasized how “all species fit together”, with the wolf being an “integral part” of the ecosystem. But when asked why bison should not then be welcomed back to Montana, Syme refused to answer, pretending the question was a matter of opinion, not science.

Read the rest of this entry »

Idaho officials deny Rehberg claim state will ignore wolf protections

He can always hope

It seems that some of the most vocal wolf opponents just keep digging themselves deeper and deeper into a hole. At a recent event Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg claimed that Idaho officials were not going to uphold protections for wolves. Presumably he came to this conclusion based on public statements by IDFG commissioners who questioned whether they should enforce those protections without federal funds to do so. Or, he heard the claim that an IDFG conservation officer told a camp of hunters that the rules wouldn’t be enforced.

Even if the claims aren’t true, Rehberg sounds like he supports such a policy for Montana.

That kind of attitude isn’t going to help secure management authority over wolves to the states. It seems that I’m not the only one who thinks this either.

Ben Lamb of the Montana Wildlife Federation:

“It kind of makes us look like mouth-breathing rednecks here,” Lamb said. “And it gives credence to everything the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and Defenders of Wildlife say about the hunting community. It really polarizes the issue.”

Idaho officials deny Rehberg claim state will ignore wolf protections.
Missoulian

Re-Wilding Montana

An Event in Missoula, Montana on October 25, 2010

It never fails. Every time I find myself driving across the immense open space and undulating landscape of the front range in Montana, I puzzle myself over the absence of bison. And each time I hear about the threat posed to livestock by wolves, I wonder how different it would be if bison were out there. Just today, I was speaking to Chief Jimmy St. Goddard of the Blackfeet Nation about restoring balance to nature (versus plopping species down onto landscapes), and he stated “wolves will go where the bison are.” Humans, being lazy by nature, tend to think that given the choice between cows and bison, wolves would favor the slow, dumb ones. But we’ve never given them that choice. Since wolves co-evolved with bison, I tend to think Chief Jimmy knows what he is talking about.

Last year, WWP’s Montana office premiered “Lords of Nature” in Montana, a film documenting the importance of top predators like wolves to healthy ecosystems. Scientists were surprised to learn after reintroducing wolves into Yellowstone that there was a dramatic improvement in riparian ecosystems, benefitting fish and birds and creating a cascading beneficial effect on the food chain. Then we had a lively panel discussion that included Montana Wolf Coordinator Carolyn Syme. In arguing for management authority in federal court, Montana emphasized how “all species fit together”, with the wolf being an “integral part” of the ecosystem. But when asked why bison should not then be welcomed back to Montana, Syme refused to answer, pretending the question was a matter of opinion, not science.

This year, we are presenting two films with a panel discussion. We’re excited to show the new High Plains Films documentary on bison, “Facing the Storm.” According to the filmmakers, the film shows that “the American bison is not just an icon of a lost world, but may very well show us the path to the future.” In a second theatre, we will be showing a film that premiered at the Wildlife Film Festival last year, “The Wolf that Changed America.” It’s a remarkable story about a wolf bounty hunter named Ernest Seton who was hired in 1893 to kill America’s last wolf, a notoriously crafty and elusive wolf named Lobo, and was so changed by the ordeal that he became a global advocate for wolves and helped spearhead America’s wilderness movement. Afterward, there will be a panel discussion with George Wuerthner, author of “Welfare Ranching”, Richard Manning, author of “Rewilding the West”, FWP Commissioner Ron Moody, and Chief Jimmy. Buffalo Field Campaign Spokesperson Stephany Seay will moderate the discussion.

According to recent scientific studies by independent experts, wild bison present almost no risk whatsoever of transmitting brucellosis to livestock. So the kind of balanced wildlife management approach we intend to discuss in this public forum is socially feasible, scientifically justified, morally compelling, and economically smart. Please join the dialogue.

Tom Woodbury, Montana Director, Western Watersheds Project.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sheep link to bighorn illness adds to grazing controversy

BLM reviewing sheep allotments within 30 miles of bighorn populations.

Bighorn Sheep © Ken Cole

This is another exposé about the fallout of the Payette bighorn viability decision and the latest science which conclusively shows that domestic sheep diseases kill bighorn sheep. What jumps out at me is the information contained near the bottom of the article which says that the BLM is evaluating its policy regarding the two species in Idaho.

“BLM spokeswoman Jessica Gardetto said her agency is working statewide with agencies and grazing permittees on regional separation response plans, but has no timeline for their completion. Biologists are using a 30-mile separation as a guide and will review grazing allotments within that distance first.”

The bigger question here regards what is happening elsewhere. Are the BLM and Forest Service reviewing their sheep grazing permits in other states? I should hope so because, in places like Nevada, where sheep grazing routinely occurs extremely close to, or within, occupied bighorn habitat, the risk of exposure is extremely high and underestimated by the agencies in favor of the “custom and culture” of the elite ranchers who often turn out to be big corporations like Barrick Gold or the Southern Nevada Water Authority.
Read the rest of this entry »

Montana Denied Permission to Hunt Gray Wolves

No Montana “conservation hunt” on wolves-

It looks like the USFWS saw through Montana’s notion of having a sport hunt on wolves under the guise of a “conservation hunt”. They said no.

Montana – Permission Denied to Hunt Gray Wolves. Associated Press in the New York Times

Longer version:

Federal officials deny Montana request to hold a ‘conservation hunt’ for endangered wolves.
Canadian Business Online

Even longer version:

Federal officials deny Montana wolf hunt request.
BusinessWeek

Posted in Montana wolves, wolf hunt, Wolves. Tags: , , . Comments Off on Montana Denied Permission to Hunt Gray Wolves

Congressman Denny Rehberg holding “Wolf Impact Hearings” in Montana

Don’t expect facts, just politics and ranting.

Do you want to speak your mind and tell Denny Rehberg what you think about wolves? Here’s your chance. Of course these “hearings” are just grandstanding and are being held only in areas where anti-wolf sentiment is strong but you can attend and let your voice be heard.

Issues like this are just a distraction from other real problems in Montana. Jobs, education, and other concerns are subservient to those of ranchers and the noble landed elite.

Don’t expect much factual information at these hearings. Oh, and while you are there you can meet Toby Bridger…. or is that Toby Bridges of LoboWatch fame.

Congressman Denny Rehberg : YOU`RE INVITED: Wolf Impact Hearings in Dillon, Hamilton, Kalispell.

Wildlife use of Highway 93 crossing tunnels increases

Wildlife teach their young about tunnels under U.S. 93 on the Flathead Reservation-

Cameras show wildlife use Highway 93 North overpass and tunnel. By Vince Devlin. Missoulian

Not the first time we have posted a story on these tunnels, but their use keeps growing.

Scientists: Wolf Hunts More Deadly Than Previously Thought

Proposed Montana wolf hunt, now on hold, would have significantly reduced state’s wolf population-

Scientists: Wolf Hunts More Deadly Than Previously Thought. By Virginia Morell. Science Insider. Link is now fixed!

Here is the actual scientific paper. Meta-Analysis of Relationships between Human Offtake, Total Mortality and Population Dynamics of Gray Wolves (Canis lupus). By Scott Creel*, Jay J. Rotella
Department of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana.

We have been discussing this all day under another thread, but it is important to post this story.

– – – – – – – – –
It’s unreasonable to except that there won’t be future wolf hunts in the Northern Rockies, despite the current count imposed relisting of the gray wolf.  However, this article demonstrates that Montana and Idaho’s wolf hunting plants for 2010 (which would have already been underway) would have significantly reduced the wolf population. Idaho was honest about their intention to reduce the population. Montana argued that a hunt of that size was needed merely to keep the current population from growing, and that was about all it would really do.

Baucus, Tester introduce bill to return wolf management to Montana [and Idaho]

Rancher senators move to amend Endangered Species Act-

Although most of the grass roots activity against wolves has come from elk and deer hunters, it has always been the ranchers at the core of wolf hatred.  The reason is that the large ranchers have always believed it is their right to govern the rest of us. The were very insulted when something like wolf reintroduction happened over their objections . . . makes them think they are losing their grip.

We certainly see it in Montana. Max Baucus has always been a prime example of man born to ranch privilege and power. Jon Tester is a rancher/farmer.  The state’s lone Republican, House member Denny Rehberg is a rancher, and so is his Democratic opponent in the upcoming election.

This issue has always been about the privilege and power of a tiny elite in the West. That’s what wolves are so controversial in the Northern Rockies, but not in Minnesota, Wisconsin or Michigan where social and economic justice has always been more important.

I don’t know if this legislation will move or not, but I do know what it is not about. It’s not about wildlife or wolves.  It’s clear now Congress won’t take this up before the elections.  They want to go campaign.
Temporary Spending Bill Passed: Congress Punts On Budget, Controversial Issues. Huffington Post.

Baucus, Tester introduce bill to return wolf management to Montana. By Rob Chaney. Missoulian. Note that the bill doesn’t do anything regarding wolves in Wyoming. It is kind of a “damn you Wyoming” bill.


Montana bighorn just keep dying of pneumonia

Twenty-one more dead bighorn-

Pneumonia persists in Anaconda bighorns. Montana Standard.

Seems to me like Western Watersheds Project is about the only private organization doing anything to stop the spread of this disease that is taking such an awful toll.

Who is Judge Don Molloy?

Best known for ruling on the wolf, judge is concerned about the disappearance of concern for the common good-

This is a interesting and lengthy bio of Montana’s best known federal judge.

Who is Judge Don Molloy? By Daniel Person. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer

I certainly agree with the Judge on his greatest concern. It seems to me that today it is my ideology and political party first, my community and country last.

There were wolves in Montana before the reintroduction

Latest “shocker” from anti-wolf is no shock at all-

The anti-wolf folks are always coming up with new charges, which generally just show they haven’t been paying attention.

The latest is that there were wolves in Montana prior to the reintroduction in Idaho and Yellowstone!!!!

This is true, but it is not some hidden conspiracy. The fact has been discussed in numerous books and articles, and USFWS duly reported the number of Montana wolves and location of these wolves each year in its annual reports.

Here are the figures taken from their annual reports:

1979 = 2 wolves; 1980 = 1; 1981 = 2; 1982 = 8; 1983 = 6 1984 = 6; 1985 = 13; 1986 =15; 1987 = 10; 1988 = 14; 1989 = 12; 1990 = 33; 1991 = 29 1992= 41; 1993 = 55; 1994 = 48;   reintroduction 1995 = 66

Oddly enough after reintroduction, the numbers stagnated for quite a while. For example, there were only 64 wolves in 2000.

It’s reasonable to assume that without reintroduction, wolves would have naturally reestablished themselves in most of Montana, but migration would have been slow with a lot of wolves up north before they made it to Yellowstone and Wyoming. Because these wolves were fully “endangered,” rules governing them would have been a lot more strict than with those that were finally reintroduced in 1995.

Hearing on bison hazing set for Tuesday

Grazing and slaughter threaten the viability of bison and other sensitive species-

The US Forest Service and the National Park Service are violating the law by not allowing bison the use of public lands. The grazing allotments provide the excuse the Montana Department of Livestock wants for their annual abuse of buffalo inside and outside of Yellowstone National Park.

Keep in mind, this issue has nothing to do with brucellosis, it is about political control of western lands and wildlife and about who gets to use the grass. It has always been about the noble landed elite showing the rest of us who is boss.

In the winter and spring of 2007-2008, the National Park Service “oversaw and carried out the slaughter of approximately 1,434 bison from (Yellowstone National Park), which represented approximately one third of the existing population of wild bison in the (Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem),” the group wrote in their complaint. “Such management, and ongoing commitment of NPS resources, severely restricts wild bison migrations, impacts their natural behaviors, maintains bison populations at artificially low numbers and negatively influences the evolutionary potential of bison as a wildlife species in the ecosystem.”

Hearing over hazing set for Tuesday.
Eve Byron – Helena Independent Record

Supervisors of Lolo, Clearwater national forests oppose big rigs on Highway 12

This is a significant move of new support against the use of the highway to move giant tar sands modules-

Supervisors of Lolo, Clearwater national forests oppose big rigs on Highway 12. AP in the Missoulian.

Highway 12 winds along between these two national forests.

– – – – – –
Other recent news about the Highway 12 controversy-

Proposed industrial route through scenic Idaho raises alarm.
“Residents say a two-lane highway along the Clearwater River is no place for oversize oil-field equipment headed for Canada.”
September 15, 2010. By Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times

Man threatens to sue FWP over wolf-ruling coalition

Tired of one-sided wolf management

Jerry Black, a frequent commentator on this site, is challenging Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks for its attempt at building a coalition with hunters, outfitters, and livestock interests for the purposes of overturning Malloy’s wolf decision.

He’s tired of the one-sided state management which benefits only those special interests who want wolf management to have a heavy handed approach. It also looks like the FWP’s meeting violated state’s open meeting laws because it did not invite everyone in a timely manner.

Man threatens to sue FWP over wolf-ruling coalition.
Great Falls Tribune

Defenders ends wolf depredation payments

All Defenders payments for dead livestock ends in September-

It really seemed like a good idea.  Wolves will kill some livestock, but a public spirited conservation group will pay generously for all verified losses and even 50% for unverified, but probable losses to wolves.

Defenders has been paying these claims for well over 15 years now. In my opinion, however, the program did not work if their intent was to generate public support or prevent opposition to wolf restoration. Defenders own studies showed that the program did not build support for wolves among livestock owners.

In retrospect, it is easy to see why it failed.  Livestock owners hatred of wolves is not based on the economic value of their losses.  If the losses were heavier, it might have been welcomed, but in most cases the person who lost stock could pretty easily afford to absorb the loss.  As a result, they could turn down the compensation, or maybe even accept it, but vent their spleen anyway. In a few cases it is clear that owners who welcomed a payment were pressured not to apply for one.

Defender’s program will be replaced by a federal/state compensation program recently set up by law by Senators Tester of Montana and John Barrasso of Wyoming. It is less generous, however. Under the new program there has to be a proven loss and states have to pay 50%. The later won’t be hard to achieve at least in Idaho, the legislature will be happy to cut the benefits of blind old people or those tax-sucking school children to pay for the livestock.

Conservation group ends wolf predation payments. Associated Press (as printed in the Seattle PI)

School bus-sized boulder hits Madison Dam. Ennis Lake to be drained

About the “boulder.” Story by Lauren Russell, Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer

Update Sept. 4. Road closed due to damaged dam to open for Labor Day weekend. Bozeman Chronicle.

Montana’s Plan to Haul Gold on the Chief Joe Highway Riles Wyoming Officials

Giant oil machinery on U.S. Highway 12 not the only such issue in the northern rockies-

Folks will recognize that Cody Coyote has posted a number of comments here about this Montana and by geography, Wyoming, issue. Now there is a full length article.

Montana’s Plan to Haul Gold on the Chief Joe Highway Riles Wyoming Officials. By Dewey Vanderhoff and Rone Tempest, Wyofile, Guest Writer, reproduced in New West.

– – – – –

Note that this was originally from Wyofile, a web site with perhaps the most excellent news writing in Wyoming.

Forest Service decision to delay the oil giants on U.S. 12 (Lochsa, Lolo)?

Decision on powerline burial could hold up the movement of the 207 super-sized oil modules-

Lolo National Forest rescinds power line burial decision for big rig route. By Kim Briggeman. Missoulian

Judge Molloy: FWS plan excluded possible lynx habitat

USFWS arbitrarily failed to include vast acreage of lynx habitat as “critical habitat”

This is a very important decision for the future of the lynx, which had been added to ESA protection.

Molloy rules lynx plan arbitrarily excluded possible ‘critical habitat‘. By Michael Jamison. Missoulian.

This is the second go round on the size of the lynx habitat . Politics played a critical and unlawful role in keep the designation of habitat smaller than needed.

Bear mauling. One said to be dead, 2 injured at Cooke City campground

Reports show one dead after bear mauling at Cooke City campground. Reports  are still sketchy of a

Update on attack. Bear attack leaves one dead near Yellowstone. By Laura Zuckerman. Reuters

Update no 2. (July 29). Male dies in bear attack at campground near Yellowstone. By Brett French. Billings Gazette.
It is still not clear if this was a black bear or grizzly attack and if more than one bear.  The tents appear not to have had bear attractants.

Update  no. 3 (July 29). Grizzly bear and cubs captured after fatal campground attack near Yellowstone. LA Times.

Update no. 4 (August 2). Montana grizzly attack cubs malnourished. Matt Brown. Associated Press.

Why have elk declined in the Bitterroot River area?

There have been many large scale changes to the land in recent years, including wolf restoration , but not just wolves-

Predator puzzle. Study raises questions over what’s killing Bitterroot elk. By Alex Sakariassen. Missoula Independent.

People tend to approach these questions with their minds made up.  What I see when I visit compared to 20 years ago is the effects of vast forest fires.

Wildlife officials respond to flurry of calls about problem bears around Missoula

Up to 30 calls a day about “bruin problems”

Wildlife officials respond to flurry of calls about problem bears around Missoula. By Rob Chaney. Missoulian

Abundant spring rains served to keep bears down low where vegetation was thick and nutritious rather than up in the mountains where summer sustenance is.

Grizzly bear that ate hens euthanized

Grizzly that wandered the Montana plains commits a final unpardonable sin-

Yes, and a year ago it ate some sheep. Two chickens this year were two too many.

It makes me sad because it reminds me that no matter what we fantasize, the bears and us are stuck in a depressed, overpopulated, bureaucratized world with little chance of change.

Grizzly bear that ate hens euthanized. Missoulian. AP

Montana FWP more than doubles wolf hunt quota for 2010

186 allowed to be taken in an attempt to reduce MT wolf population to between 411 and 488.

This has been in the news for a while but we didn’t report it here because we all have been traveling.

Montana wants to reduce the population of wolves to between 411 and 488. They have decided to allow hunters to kill up to 186 wolves of which 111 could be taken from northwest Montana, 34 in western Montana, and 34 in southwest Montana.

It’s still a very hot debate as was pointed out by the commissioners:

Commissioner Ron Moody of Lewistown described many of the comments as expressing a “narrow, culturally bigoted point of view which expresses an inflexible ideological” contempt for people with other viewpoints.

Montana FWP more than doubles wolf hunt quota for 2010.
By JENNIFER McKEE Missoulian State Bureau

Gulf oil spill threatens birds migrating south from Montana

The effects of the continuing oil gusher have been localized so far. It will not remain that way-

This from the Missoulian. Gulf oil spill threatens birds migrating south from Montana. By Rob Chaney

It seems like the Texas coast is the most important for migrating birds from Montana.

Plans are being made to try to quickly create some artificial wetlands to attract wintering birds.

Alternate habitats for migrating birds considered. By Amy Wold  Advocate (Louisiana) staff writer

NW Montana black bear bites through tent, into sleeping man’s ear near St. Regis

Injured man had a clean camp, but previous campers nearby clearly had not-

I think most of us keep a clean camp, but I worry precisely about this.  What went on at a camping spot in the past?

Of course, if there is obvious past food and trash it’s best not to camp there.

Story in the Missoulian.

– – – – –

Update 6-23: Man recalls nearly losing ear after black bear chomped through tent at campsite near St. Regis. By Jamie Kelly of the Missoulian
Update 6-25. FWP kills bear that bit man’s ear through tent; cub also euthanized. By Rob Cheney. Missoulian

NW Montana grizzlies are again way out on the Plains

Last year one grizzly almost made it to the Missouri River-

FWP to trap grizzlies on prairie. By Karl Puckett. Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer

– – – – –

Update: Plains grizzlies not seen since June 8. Great Falls Tribune.
High water on the Missouri River expected to deter them from swimming it.

As oil gushes in Gulf, eyes are on sands to north in Alberta

Tar sands said to be solution from reliance on “petro-dictators”-

Of course, this is all at the cost of another huge insult to the planet as well as the northern Rockies.

One of the things that few seem to understand is that the worst environmental degradation comes from exploiting marginal (actually submarginal) resources. Drilling in deep water, polar regions, and production of energy from sources where net energy (actual new energy) is relatively small such as tar sands, show a very depleted resource and a horrible future.

As oil gushes in Gulf, eyes are on sands to north in Alberta. By Kim Briggeman of the Missoulian

Posted in oil and gas. Tags: , , , , . Comments Off on As oil gushes in Gulf, eyes are on sands to north in Alberta

Stop Alberta oil expansion

Stop the slow motion “gulf disaster” of Alberta tar sands oil-

Stop Alberta oil expansion. Guest column by Tom Woodbury. Western Watersheds Project. Montana Office.

It’s bad news for Idaho and Montana highways, but much more for Montana the world at large.

Posted in oil and gas, Wildlife Habitat. Tags: , , , , . Comments Off on Stop Alberta oil expansion

Big Oil wants a permanent corridor through the Lolo

More on the attempt to make U.S. Highway 12 an oil industry corridor-

This from the new group, the Rural People of Highway 12.
U.S. Highway 12: Idaho’s Northwest Passage Scenic Byway and All-American Road

• • •

Big Oil: One-Time Deal or Permanent Takeover?

Promoters of turning Idaho’s Northwest Passage Scenic Byway and All-American Road into an industrial truck route for gargantuan loads argue that currently planned and pending ConocoPhillips and Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil Canada mega-load shipments are a “one-off deal;” a one time event. Actually, the ExxonMobil Canada shipments alone number 207, and for successive 15+ minute segments, will close the highway to all traffic five nights a week for an estimated 9 months. But the truth about the oil companies’ intentions lies well beyond those 207 loads……

• The Port of Lewiston, both on their website and in grant applications for port expansion with taxpayer money, states, “If one oil company is successful with this alternative transportation route, many other companies will follow their lead.”

• The CEO of Sungjin Geotec, the Korean company that manufactured the 207 ExxonMobil Canada modules, told a Korean news agency his company expects to receive future orders for additional modules from Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil Canada totaling $1.5 billion. The 207 loads now scheduled for U. S. 12 cost $250 million, suggesting that $1.5 billion would pay for about 1200 modules. The Edmonton Journal of Alberta, Canada, recently reported that a Sungjin representative in Calgary confirmed that his company expects to build hundreds of additional modules.

Read the rest of this entry »

Missoulans protest Alberta-bound tar sands equipment trucking

Over 200 trips of these giant oil equipment pieces to go through U.S. 12 in Idaho and NW Montana-


I think perhaps there has been too much attention in this forum on elk in Lolo.  Elk are important, but fishing, scenery, wilderness, and property of local people are more important. U.S.Highway 12 is one of Idaho’s most scenic highways. It goes through scenic canyon and between wild country following the Clearwater River, then the Lochsa River up and over Lolo Pass into Montana.

The exploitation of Alberta’s tar sands are well known as perhaps the single most environmentally destructive project on the planet (at least until the Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico). Now that destruction has spread to Idaho and Montana with these massive loads which require “improving” Highway 12 and other highways in Montana.

Some of the good folks in Missoula are fed up with oil company damages and protested. Protest rally. By Rob Chaney. Missoulian.

We will be following this more from now on.

Norm Bishop’s comments at Montana wolf meeting

There will be media stories, good comments, and ignorant angry comments, but here’s one from a person who knows-

Without commenting specifically on numbers or distribution of hunting quotas, I offer just these notes for your consideration.

Aldo Leopold; forester, wildlife ecologist, conservationist, father of game management in America, lived from 1887 to 1948.  In 1944, he reviewed Young and Goldman’s Wolves of North America, which chronicled the extirpation of wolves.  In his review, Leopold  asked, “Are we really better off without wolves in the wilder parts of our forests and ranges?”  He also asked, “Why, in the necessary process of extirpating wolves from the livestock ranges of Wyoming and Montana, were not some of the uninjured animals used to restock the Yellowstone?”  Thirty years later, in 1974, the planning began, and in 1995, twenty years later, wolves were restored to Yellowstone.

Leopold’s thinking about deer, wolves, and forests is epitomized by his essay, “Thinking Like a Mountain.”  In brief, he shot a wolf.  In later years he came to “suspect that just as a deer herd lives in mortal fear of its wolves, so does a mountain (and its plants) live in mortal fear of its deer.”  To deer, we could add elk.  In Yellowstone, the lack of wolves led to woody species like willow and aspen being suppressed by elk browsing.  With the return of wolves, willows are growing, once-rare birds are nesting in them, beavers are building dams from the willows, and the wolves are feeding a couple of dozen species of scavengers, including eagles and grizzly bears.

I’m far more concerned about disease than about predators on our large game.

Chronic wasting disease could wipe out our elk and deer.  Wolves test elk and deer, looking for vulnerable animals all day, 365 days a year.  You and I can’t do that.   N. Thompson Hobbs (2006) evaluated the potential for selective predation by wolves to reduce or eradicate chronic wasting disease (CWD) in populations of elk in Rocky Mountain National Park.  If it works, can we afford to throw away our only means of controlling CWD?

Read the rest of this entry »

June 2. Wolf hearings in Montana.

Montana could double or triple wolf quota. Please attend-

Montana, Fish, Wildlife and Parks will be holding them.  The meetings will be held at the following locations on June 2 from 7-9 p.m.:

* Billings—FWP Headquarters; 2300 Lake Elmo Dr.
* Bozeman—Holiday Inn; 5 E. Baxter Lane
* Glasgow—Valley County Court House; 501 Court Square
* Great Falls—FWP Headquarters; 4600 Giant Springs Rd.
* Kalispell—FWP Headquarters; 490 N. Meridian Rd.
* Miles City—FWP Headquarters; 352 I-94 Business Loop
* Missoula—Double Tree Hotel Missoula Edgewater; 100 Madison

Proposed Wolf Hunting Season for 2010—major changes from last year:

  • This year FWP is proposing to at least double or triple the number of wolves that can be shot by hunters. There are 3 “quota” options for public comment and consideration: 153, 186, or 216 wolves. (Last year’s hunting quota was 75 wolves.)
  • The proposal Wolf Hunting Units—14 smaller units proposed with several sub-units (last year’s structure was comprised of 3 large units statewide).
  • Extended season length—the season will run until December 31, 2010 unless the quota is met sooner. A new archery-only season beginning Sept. 4. A new backcountry rifle season beginning Sept. 15.
  • Only one wolf license per hunter.

There are 3 proposed rules that tighten hunting regulations that may help reduce illegal wolf killing, and which can be supported:

  • Any illegal take (poaching) will be subtracted from the hunting quota.
  • Any “over-run” of the quota in an individual sub-unit will be subtracted from the quota in the larger area.
  • A new 5-day waiting period—wolf hunting licenses will not be valid until 5 days from the date of purchase.

You may comment on any of the proposed regulations above, as well as the quota numbers.

You could also ask FWP Commissioners to ban hunting within 10 miles of Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks to protect core populations.

FWP Commissioners will read public comment until June 14, and then vote to select one of the three quotas, and vote to approve or disapprove individual regulations at their July 8 meeting.

For more details on the proposed wolf hunting regulations, see: http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/default.html

Montana wolf weekly, May 15-21

Here is the latest official news on wolves from the State of Montana-

There is quite a bit of news on their next hunting season, and I think it is still open for comment.

Montana Wolf Weekly-2010-05-21

Mangy Druid wolf shot south of Butte, MT

Druid 690F shot by rancher south of Butte-

She was sick and beaten up by attacks from other wolves. She was trying for some livestock.

Butte, of course, is quite a distance from Yellowstone Park.

Yellowstone Park wolf killed near Butte. By Nick Gevock. Montana Standard

Buffalo Field Campaign – A Buffalo’s Trail Of Tears

Here is a presentation on the annual hazing of the last wild and free buffalo.

Buffalo Field Campaign – A Buffalo’s Trail Of Tears.

Official disagreement whether Interagency Bison Management Plan is worthwhile

In fact, the Montana state veterinarian and MT Dept. of Livestock are the only ones who think it has worked-

Interagency Bison Management Plan or IBMP is the controversial bison management plan adopted in 2000 to keep brucellosis from spreading from Yellowstone Park bison to cattle outside the Park.   No brucellosis has spread from bison, so a few Montana state officials say that means it has worked. However, there are almost no cattle in the area that the bison would occupy if they were allowed to leave the Park.  It is a great irony that the disease itself has spread from the area’s wide ranging elk to cattle on several occasions.

The IBMP has cost over $20-million and taken a huge toll on what could be free roaming bison.  It has also been a great cost by generating public resentment and conflict and violations of local people’s private property rights, civil liberties and the wild integrity of Yellowstone Park itself.

The plan should be abandoned.

Hazy results: Officials disagree on whether program to keep park’s bison from spreading brucellosis has been successful. By Eve Bryon, Helena Independent Record.

Montana deals with worries over worms

The msm Media just aren’t buying the scare tactics-

“I believe that there are some who wish it … to be the silver bullet to remove the wolf,” said state Sen. Bruce Tutvedt, R-Kalispell. “And it isn’t going to work.” Read the rest in “State deals with worries over worms” in the Daily InterLake. By Jim Mann.

These folks should face it, aside from their own group of wolf haters, the newspapers, TV and regular people just aren’t buying their scare about tapeworms.

Last Wild Buffalo Tormented by DOL, Park Service

The myth continues. You can show the livestock thugs all the evidence in the world that they are wrong and inhumane but they will forever lie.

Here is this week’s update from the Buffalo Field Campaign. There is a very interesting video showing the birth of a buffalo calf where the mother consumes the entire afterbirth. This seems to contradict the myth that livestock industry perpetrates on the taxpayer. They want you to believe that the risk is so high as to justify this B.S.

For the third year in a row the Montana Department of Livestock has violated the private property rights of the Galanis’ on Horse Butte with their helicopters. The arrogance and the hypocrisy of the livestock industry is astounding. They continually cry that private property is sacred but it must only mean their private property.

Buffalo Field Campaign
Yellowstone Bison
Update from the Field
May 20, 2010

——————————
——————————
* Update from the Field
* New! Two Video Clips from BFC
* BFC Looking for Summer Outreach Volunteers
* Buffalo in the News
* Last Words
* Kill Tally
* Useful Links
Read the rest of this entry »

Firsthand witness account of Tuesay’s Buffalo haze

Jim McDonald’s Account of Montana’s DOL pushing bison into Yellowstone Park-

This is the time of year when Montana’s Department of Livestock pushes bison back into the Park for no real reason except to demonstrate that they run things in the area. Activist Jim McDonald has written a long essay on a blog describing the disgusting event from his perspective on the ground.

Buffalo torture 2010: Firsthand witness account of Monday’s haze. Buffalo haze 2010: Firsthand witness account of Tuesday’s haze. by Jim Macdonald. Jim’s Eclectic World

Montana Legislature Environmental Quality Council holds hearing on the tapeworm and more

Dr. Norman Bishop reports on the testimony-

I think the recent controversy over one kind of tapeworm that infests wolves and other canids and which can cause a secondary infection in other animals, including people, is mostly hot air meant to scare. However, in response to the controversy the Montana Environmental Quality Council held a hearing a few days ago. Dr. Norman Bishop of Bozeman, a naturalist with long experience with wolves and other wild animals testfied.

I also asked him to write up an account of the testimony given by the other participants in the hearing. I’m glad he took the time to do it rather than simply rely on media reports. Here is his report. I want to thank him for his testimony and time-consuming note-taking and write-up.

– – – – – – –

Notes by Dr. Norman Bishop

I attended the Montana Legislature Environmental Quality Council’s session at the Capitol in Helena Friday May 7, 2010. Their agenda was Agency Oversight: FWP – Wolf Management.

On the topic of Echinococcus granulosis, (E.g.), Dr. Valerius Geist, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science, University of Calgary, gave a ten-minute talk via conference phone to the Council. He had emailed a 4-page statement to them. He said there was a chance of transmission of E.g. from deer and elk wintering where family dogs may be. He proposed a number of draconian preventive measures against E.g. spreading into family dogs: promote deworming, reduce straying and scavenging by dogs, medicate dogs after hunting. He would reduce wolves and coyotes; wolves, to prevent infections of humans when fearful elk seek refuge near buildings. He recommended hunting big game on their summer ranges, and targeting wolves there as well. He would reduce hydatid disease in wolves by using airborne baits with worming agents. He said to trap coyotes, and to burn grasslands to eliminate E.g. eggs. He warned against touching freshly skinned canids, cleaning the skins, and soaking them in helminthic. He said not to poke around scats, don’t pick berries or mushrooms, and eat with clean hands; cook liver and lungs of game over a campfire to kill cysts. Read the rest of this entry »

Yellowstone bison drive planned through this week

To hell with private property rights, to hell with wildlife, we must protect cattle that aren’t even here.

Hazing bison inside Yellowstone National Park © Ken Cole

Hazing bison inside Yellowstone National Park on Madison River ©Ken Cole

The ridiculous annual event of hazing bison during their calving season is underway even though this year the bison are likely to come back out of the Park because the green-up of grass hasn’t started there due to late season snowstorms.

Each year the residents of the West Yellowstone area have to endure this fiasco on behalf of a few ranchers who whine and cry that their cattle might get brucellosis from bison when they don’t even bring them to the area a until after the buffalo have all calved. This year, due to the late green-up, it will likely be even later.

On numerous occasions I have witnessed Montana’s helicopters chasing buffalo deep into the Park even beyond the border of Wyoming in front of bewildered tourists. Last year, while hazing herds of newborn calves and their mothers off of private property where there never will be cattle again, Buffalo Field Campaign filmed a calf that had broken its leg in the malay of the hazing operation. These kinds of incidents are a common occurrence and there is no justification for it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Update 5/6/10: Two Bulls Shot, Hazing Begins in Earnest

2 bulls shot after being agitated by drugs used in “study”

Below is today’s Buffalo Field Campaign weekly update. Of note is the shooting deaths of two bull bison that were involved in the recent APHIS tests which involved using a vibrating anal probe so that they can test their ejaculate for brucellosis. The bulls had been drugged to immobilize them then once the samples had been taken they were given a drug to wake them up again. The drug caused them to be very agitated and they started moving north of the Park towards Yankee Jim Canyon along the Yellowstone River. Because the Park Service was unable to haze them back towards the Park agents from the Montana Department of Livestock shot them.

I’ll say it again, this study is useless and has put people at risk. They are just trying to rationalize hazing and killing bull buffalo which will not transmit brucellosis to cattle.

———————————————————

Buffalo Field Campaign
Yellowstone Bison
Update from the Field
May 6, 2010

——————————
——————————
* Perseverance Despite Overwhelming Odds ~ Roman Sanchez
* Update from the Field: Two Bulls Shot, Hazing Begins
NEW VIDEO & TAKE ACTION:  APHIS Torture Testing Bull Bison
* BFC Looking for Summer Education Volunteers
* Last Words
* Kill Tally
* Useful Links
——————————
Read the rest of this entry »

Wolf recovery target has changed, feds acknowledge

Bangs says recovery population goal for wolves in the Northern Rockies was changed-

Anti-wolf folks argue that a population goal deal (or promise) was violated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service when it did not delist wolves in the Idaho, Montana and Wyoming as soon as the states had 300 wolves in total.  Project leader, Ed Bangs, however, said agency changed the goal to keep up with the best available science.

The 1987 goal (years before the wolf reintroduction actually took place) was 30 breeding pairs of wolves spread out over the three states. After reintroduction this was changed to 15 breeding pairs in each of the states and a population of at least 150 wolves in each state.  Bangs said that science showed the 1987 goal was too lean. He said understood that as soon as he took the job he now holds.

Read the rest of this entry »

Initiative instigators

Montanans for Trap Free Public Lands working to gather signatures for a Montana Ballot Initiative.

Montanans for Trap Free Public Lands is out pounding the street to get signatures for its ballot initiative to ban trapping on public lands. They have gathered 6000+ signatures and they need 25,000 by June to get it on the ballot.

Initiative instigators.
Martin Kidston – Helena Independent Record

APHIS on Horse Butte

APHIS putting residents of Horse Butte at risk for a pointless study

From yesterday’s Buffalo Field Campaign Weekly Update [emphasis is mine]:

Along Yellowstone’s western boundary, the Duck Creek, Cougar Creek and Madison River corridors are flowing with the migration of the country’s last wild buffalo.  Buffalo families, solitary bulls, and bachelor bull groups beautifully ignore the ecologically meaningless man-made boundaries between Yellowstone and Montana as they spiral through this tiny fraction of their native homeland.  As they gently graze the new spring grasses, they are taking a lead role in healing the wounded land that suffers in their absence.  And in so doing, they also lift our spirits.  Volunteers have been engaged in a total celebration of buffalo, and this week, we were gifted with the sightings of two newborn calves.

Patrols have also been blessed with the sightings of a grizzly bear, Sandhill cranes, white pelicans, otters, ospreys, bluebirds, great blue herons, bald eagles, moose, flickers, and many of the area’s animal inhabitants.  This region, while sadly just a wee dot on the map, is huge in its wild majesty.

The buffalo’s spring migration has been keeping BFC quite busy along Highway 191, which cuts through the buffalo’s migration corridors.  Patrols have been out at all hours, into the early morning darkness, warning traffic and helping buffalo (and motorists) survive this aspect of their journey.  BFC’s night patrols are a huge boon to the buffalo and the community, and while it’s truly the responsibility of the State, Montana looks to BFC and we are honored to offer this service that has a direct and positive impact.  BFC will continue to call on Montana to do more, including construct safe-passage projects that allow wildlife to cross the highway without setting foot on the asphalt.

Bull buffalo near Duck Creek.  BFC file photo by Stephany.

Bull buffalo near Duck Creek. BFC file photo by Stephany.

For bull buffalo, the celebration has turned into a confusing nightmare.  After molesting 8 bull buffalo along Yellowstone’s northern boundary, the USDA-Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has arrived in West Yellowstone.  Beginning yesterday on Horse Butte, APHIS drugged and collected semen from five bulls – some as young as two and a half years old like this young fella – in their “study” to determine what is already known: that bull buffalo pose no measurable risk of transmitting brucellosis to cattle.  Under this extremely invasive study APHIS first darts the bulls to inject a drug to knock them out, then collects their semen by inserting a large vibrating probe in their anus.  Before injecting the downed bulls with the reversal agent that wakes them, they spray-paint a thick blue line across their magnificent hind quarters.  There will be no benefit for wild buffalo coming from this totally unnecessary and shameful study.

While BFC was documenting the first bull that went down, one of the APHIS technicians rudely and purposefully stepped in front of our camera multiple times, trying to prevent BFC from filming, causing a confrontation. He failed to stop us.  Later in the day, patrols reported that APHIS agents were cracking jokes about the invasive work they were doing, making a mockery of how they were “handling” the bulls.  In another instance, after APHIS darted a mature bull out of a bachelor group, one of the buffalo’s buddies got extremely upset and wanted to investigate what had happened to his friend, much like we witness during the buffalo hunt.  He approached APHIS with his tail up, ready to charge and defend his comrade.  APHIS responded by pepper-spraying the bull with bear-spray.  A brief discussion with APHIS after they were done with their “data collection” yesterday revealed to us that the drugs they use on the bulls can cause them to overheat, disturb gastrointestinal functions, and cause anxiety and anger.  They then monitor the bulls for a mere 30 minutes and then set their sights on another.  The young bull who was targeted yesterday was so confused and visibly humiliated he left his family group and ended up walking through a near-by neighborhood on Horse Butte.  We wonder if APHIS is warning Horse Butte residents that they are injecting bull bison with anger-inducing drugs?

Today, APHIS is again in our backyard, on the buffalo’s home turf.  At the time of this writing, patrols report that no bulls have yet been molested by APHIS.  They are being escorted around the area by a MT Department of Livestock agent, looking for “test subjects.”  APHIS let us know that they will continue to target bull buffalo until the DOL gives them the heads up that hazing operations will begin.   BFC will be with the buffalo, as we always are, ready to document all actions made against them, so we can share their story and turn the tide – with your help – towards a future where wild buffalo take precedence over the economic interests of the cattle industry.  Together, we will realize our vision of self-willed buffalo walking the earth as they please, with honor and respect bestowed upon them and their sacred relationship to the Earth.

For the buffalo, for all things wild and free, celebrate Earth Day everyday!

ROAM FREE!

Future of elk hunting in Montana is in jeopardy

Former Montana FWP Employee Warns of Pending Legislation.

The bill would hand over management of elk to the Montana Department of Livestock, the same agency responsible for the continued war on bison. If you think this isn’t a threat to elk then you’re crazy.

Imagine helicopters and snowmobiles chasing elk out of the state or massive roundups of elk for a test and slaughter program.

Montana has brucellosis. Live with it.

Future of elk hunting in Montana is in jeopardy
BY VITO QUATRARO

Grizzly bear to be relocated to Cabinets

A female grizzly without any history of human conflict will be selected for the move.

This has been done a few times over the years but the idea of moving grizzly bears into areas that don’t already have them or across state boundaries has been out of the question due to the hysteria that surrounds them.

Grizzly bear to be relocated to Cabinets.
The Western News

Scientists say B.C. grizzly hunt could hurt recovery efforts in Montana

Alberta’s griz population has already collapsed, B.C.’s grizzly hunt quota too high-

Pitiful Alberta now has fewer grizzly bears now than Montana does, and scientists say that B.C. is going the same direction, most directly affecting Montana in the North Fork of Flathead.

Scientists say B.C. grizzly hunt could hurt recovery efforts in Montana. By Michael Jamison of the Missoulian

Judge Molloy blocks mine beneath Cabinet Mountains Wilderness

Is this a final victory in 23 year fight against the mine?

It probably isn’t because Judge Molloy both ruled for and against conservationists on their variety of claims, but it does send the Forest Service’s decision to approve the mine back to square one.

Molloy blocks mine beneath Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. By Michael Jamison. Missoulian

Info on the fight against the Rock Creek Mine.

3/30/2010. More on the ruling. Court Blocks Mine in Montana’s Cabinet Mountains Wilderness. ENS

As feared, the Montana wolf damage mitigation board is just a rancher slush fund

Defenders’ handover to Montana fails to initiate a single proactive project in its first year-

When the wolf was delisted, Defenders of  Wildlife stopped paying compensation for the loss of livestock to wolves in Montana. However, Defenders gave the state $100,000 to get the “Montana Livestock Loss Reduction and Mitigation Board” started. It was to not just pay for losses, but fund preventative measures too. The Fund also received additional private contributions, mostly from conservation groups.

In the first year, the Board simply handed out money to those who lost livestock, and apparently required nothing in return. Now the Fund is a bit short of cash. Can we feel bad about that? Yes, and maybe they got their training from those who insured junk mortgages.

Montana media are running stories with headlines such as this: “Montana livestock board pays for 369 wolf kills in 2009.”  That is not the real story, however. The story is the waste of the money in the fund.

The story above says, “some question whether it is doing enough funding preventative measures.”  It turns out the “some” who question are those who gave the money for the Fund — just a small detail!

The story also fails to say that most of the losses came in a few big sheep killing incidents.

Here is what Montana wrote about the financial status of the fund in the 2009 wolf report:

Read the rest of this entry »

Montana Rocky Mountain Front grizzlies are emerging

There is a difference though. Now they are waking up and going well out onto the plains-

We discussed this a lot last fall, with grizzly bears pushing eastward out of the Rockies well onto the plains of north central Montana.  One almost made it to the Missouri River (shades of Lewis and Clark!).

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is holding local meetings on co-existing on this long settled, but sparsely populated part of Montana. So far there doesn’t seem to the crazy talk we have become used to on some of this big animal issues.

Grizzlies out along the Front. Great Falls Tribune.

Meetings scheduled on Front about coexistence with grizzly bears. By Eve Byron. Helena Independent Record as printed in the Billings Gazette.

Montana Allows Unfettered Killing of Wolves by Wildlife Services

“Wildlife Services agents no longer need FWP authorization to kill wolves at or near confirmed livestock depredation sites.”

Wolf © Ken Cole

Wolf © Ken Cole

This is about the worst scenario for wolves of Montana that could be concocted by the state, especially while the decision to delist them is being considered in the courts. This nudges wolves even closer to a condition where the killing by a Federal agency becomes entirely unregulated. These conditions resemble those in place when wolves were eradicated in the first place. For those who think that Montana has a better management plan than the other states, think again.

This sets up a situation whereby Wildlife Services may kill an entire pack of wolves for killing a single sick cow or sheep left out on the landscape, a circumstance often documented by those who are watching. This does, however, put a greater responsibility on the agency that has actually made the call on how these situations are handled. Wildlife Services can no longer claim that FWP made the call on how the situation was handled when things go awry.

At the same time, livestock producers who use public lands have no requirements to do anything to avoid such circumstances.  The removal of livestock carcasses that have died natural deaths, or the removal of sick animals, is not required as part of the authorization to graze on public lands.  Non-lethal methods which have been demonstrated to be effective deterrents against livestock depredations are not required.  These poor livestock husbandry practices will continue and be rewarded by livestock compensation programs in place and being proposed by the government.

Will this action influence Judge Malloy’s decision on whether to remand the decision to delist wolves back to the USFWS?  Will Ed Bangs see this as a reason to change his decision?  Time will tell.

Too many wolves: FWP gives wildlife agents more authority to kill problem predators
By EVE BYRON Helena Independent Record

Mont. giving more authority to kill problem wolves
Associated Press

Ravalli County jury finds Georgia men guilty of abusing horses on wilderness trip

Here is the final outcome of the trial we posted about — the one on the Georgia father and son who left a dying horse and abused others in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness.

Ravalli County jury finds Georgia men guilty of abusing horses on wilderness trip. Missoulian.

They were convicted.

Montana FWP to let pneumonia take course with Rock Creek bighorn sheep

Culling sick bighorn just too tough in their rugged home-

More bad news about the pneumonia in the big, bighorn population east and southeast of Missoula, MT.

FWP to let pneumonia take course with Rock Creek bighorn sheep
By Rob Chaney
Missoulian |

Posted in Bighorn sheep, wildlife disease. Tags: , . Comments Off on Montana FWP to let pneumonia take course with Rock Creek bighorn sheep

Grizzly bear kills in Montana keep federal agents hard at work

Feature story on USFWS LE agents-

There are about 200 special agents nationwide, and they investigated over 12,000 cases in 2007.

The story is mostly about the Montana agent and his 20 cases including 3 grisly, grizzly killings.
Wildlife G-men on patrol: Outdoor scofflaws keep agents busy. By Karl Puckett. Great Falls Tribune.

Tester bill opposed by group of former MWA officers and council members

Splitting from the Montana Wilderness Association, they issue statement against the wilderness and logging bill-

Update 2-18. Tester’s Bill Causing Major Rift Among Wilderness Advocates. Former Montana Wilderness Association Council Members Bolt. By Bill Schneider. New West.

Earlier ↓

As folks probably know, the Montana Wilderness Association supports Senator Tester’s Jobs and Recreation Act of 2009, which establishes new designated Wilderness areas in Montana, mandates acreages of timber to be logged (not volumes of it), and misc. provisions.

It seems there is a split by many former officers and council members with the current organization. I was emailed their statement.
– – – – –

WILDERNESS LOST

We, the undersigned former council members and officers of the Montana Wilderness Association, respectfully urge Senator Tester to modify the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act of 2009 to rectify the problems outlined by the Undersecretary of Agriculture as well as the Last Best Chance Wildlands Campaign. We cannot support the legislation as now written. We diverge from MWA here because we believe that the bill degrades both the quantity and quality of some of America’s most cherished wildlands in Montana. We encourage consideration of the issues we have outlined below that would be necessary in order for us to support it.

We endorse the 10-point position paper, Keeping It Wild! In Defense of America’s Public Wildlands, which has been submitted by the Last Best Place Wildlands Campaign, available at: http://testerloggingbilltruths.wordpress.com/.

The bill legislates the net loss of hundreds of thousands of roadless area acres, including S-393 Wilderness Study Areas designated in 1977 by the late Senator Lee Metcalf. This will create widespread environmental damage and the loss of an irreplaceable legacy for which future generations will, quite correctly, hold ours accountable. Also, the bills’ Congressional mandate for timber cut levels sets a dangerous precedent. Resulting below-cost timber sales will cost taxpayers over $100 million. And proposed new Wilderness Areas are medium, often disjointed, primarily “rock and ice” parcels that would fail to protect fragile wildland and wildlife ecosystems and corridors.

To make matters worse, the bill includes special provisions for new “Wilderness” units that defy both the intent and letter of the Wilderness Act, and the spirit of Wilderness that so many Americans believe is a vital and wondrous part of this great nation’s heritage. Motor Vehicles, including helicopters, simply have no place in designated Wilderness. Yes, we need more Wilderness – lots of it – but we want it to be real Wilderness!

The bill also codifies secretive negotiated agreements – such as the Beaverhead-Deerlodge – that excluded many individuals and groups who’ve long been involved in the public process. This, and similar agreements, have been sealed by MWA and others over the objections of excluded organizations and individuals, of whom most live and work close to the land and know the compromised areas intimately.

It is with a heavy heart that we are compelled to oppose the organization that we once served as Council members and officers. Most of Montana’s undeveloped wilds are long gone, and we cannot afford to lose big chunks of what remains. We believe that in recent years, the Montana Wilderness Association [MWA] has clearly compromised its long-held wildland protection mission and vigilant advocacy. We know many current and former MWA members who agree. In fact, many conservationists in the region are convinced that, quite simply, MWA has lost its way. We are among those people.

In summary, this bill will irreparably damage Montana’s dwindling public wildland legacy. It will salt the gaping social wounds created by MWA’s recent actions. It degrades the Wilderness Act of 1964 with provisions that damage both Wilderness and the Wilderness Idea. And it’s a bad deal for future generations of Montanans who will need wild country more than ever in an increasingly crowded and uncertain future.

Lou Bruno (past president) – East Glacier
Joan Montagne (past president) – Bozeman
Elaine Snyder (past president) – Kalispell
Loren Kreck (past vice-president) – Columbia Falls
Larry Campbell – Darby
Susan Colvin – Great Falls
Paul Edwards – Helena
Randall Gloege – Billings
Keith Hammer – Kalispell
Steve Kelly – Bozeman
Bob Oset – Hamilton
Paul Richards – Boulder
Ross Titus – Big Fork
George Wuerthner – Helena
Janet Zimmerman – Pony
Lance Olsen – Missoula

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Larry Campbell, 406-821-3110, lcampbell@bitterroot.net