It's not all "group-think" in Idaho regarding "shoot , shovel and shut up" on Wolves.............Former Blaine, Idaho County Commissioner Sarah Michael and Suzanne Stone of Defenders of Wildlife put forth a reasoned and pragmatic call-to-arms on how co-existence with wolves(as exhibited by the Wood River Wolf Project in Blaine County) is not only humane, but economically superior to the recent three years of killing that has seen 1200 wolves vanish from Idaho...............Non-lethal tools including livestock protection dogs, range riders, shooting blanks, air horns, flag fencing and human presence are less expensive than "kill-only" approaches that involve radio collars, sharpshooters and helicopters..........."As an example, last year, Washington State paid out over $100,000 to kill one pack of wolves"............ "We're not even going to get close to that with protecting the 27,000 sheep we had in our project area in Idaho.".............."The Wanton killing of Wolves in the West don’t go unnoticed in the national press"........ "The threat to boycott the state of Idaho by national environmental and humane groups is real and could have a negative impact on Blaine County’s well-respected tourist economy"

I http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2007151815#.U2K1tMBYDAs.email

Let’s coexist with wolves

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    On April 17, the Sawtooth Society and Lava Lake Institute co-hosted an outstanding film by former Mountain Express writer Jason Kauffman, “A Season of Predators: Making Room for People and Carnivores in the Blackfoot and Wood River Valleys.” The film highlighted the Wood River Wolf Project initiated by the Blaine County Commission, Lava Lake Land and Livestock, Defenders of Wildlife, the National Wildlife Research Center, the U.S. Forest Service and others in our area. This effort, started in 2007, has proven how a suite of proactive non-lethal control measures can save ranchers’ money and deter wolves from preying on livestock. 

    Contrast this collaborative success with the state’s aggressive lethal control measures: trapping, snaring, expanded Fish and Game aerial operations and hunting seasons, and a professional hunter hired to kill packs in the Frank Church Wilderness, the largest wilderness in the lower 48 states. Now, Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and the Legislature have widened their war on wolves with the creation of the Wolf Control Board.  Killing 1,200 wolves in Idaho (Fish and Game reports) over the past three years is not enough.
    These actions don’t go unnoticed in the national press. The threat to boycott the state of Idaho by national environmental and humane groups is real and could have a negative impact on Blaine County’s well-respected tourist economy.   

   


The citizens of Blaine County value wildlife; witness the fact that Blaine County adopted its first wildlife protection ordinance in 1977 and made these protections stronger in 2007 with new subdivision rules. And in 2008, voters in Blaine County passed the Land, Water and Wildlife Levy, with a major goal of preserving wildlife habitat. The Blaine County Commission, led by Commissioner Larry Schoen, continues this ethic by participating in the Wood River Wolf Project and supporting non-lethal wolf management.

    This is a call to action. We must support the Wood River Wolf Project and all efforts to employ non-lethal deterrence methods to protect both livestock and wildlife. Each one of us needs to tell Gov. Otter, the Wolf Control Board and the members of the Idaho Fish and Game Commission that their lethal control measures are a threat to our economy. People come here to recreate, photograph and to see wildlife. We can co-exist with wolves because we value all wildlife.

Sarah Michael

Former county commissioner
Blaine County
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coexistence

Source: publicnewsservice.org Wood River Wolf Project Marks Five Years Public News Service - ID | November 2012 | Download audio Animal Welfare Endangered Species & Wildlife Public Lands/Wilderness Rural/Farming PHOTO: Sheep dot a hillside in the Sawtooth National Forest, part of the project area. Photo credit: Deborah C. Smith. November 12, 2012 KETCHUM, Idaho – More than 27,000 sheep - bedding down on public lands that are also home to wolves. That was the scenario for the Wood River Wolf Project in Idaho this year, where non-lethal wolf-management tools are used to keep sheep, and wolves, safe. The result? Only four sheep lost to wolves - and that happened on a night when the herd bumped into a previously unknown wolf pack. Suzanne Stone, Northern Rockies representative for the group Defenders of Wildlife, says it's the best year yet - and they've been doing this for five years now. "The ranchers, the herders, that we're working with on the ground, they've really learned a lot of these tools and techniques, as well. So, they're becoming more adept at them, and that is making us all work together better as a team." The biggest challenge this year was locating the wolves, she says, since there are no radio-collared animals left. That was done with on-the-ground detective work and remote wildlife cameras. Non-lethal tools include livestock protection dogs, shooting blanks, air horns, flag fencing and human presence. Stone argues that co-existence methods are less expensive than "kill-only" approaches that involve radio collars, sharpshooters and helicopters. The state of Washington recently spent thousands to kill wolves. "The state paid out over $100,000 to kill one pack of wolves. One pack. We're not even going to get close to that with protecting the 27,000 sheep we had in our project area." Field supervisor Patrick Graham says there were nights when wolves came within 50 yards of sheep. "Every night we had wolf observations, whether it was with our own eyes or just with our ears, and we worked really hard to make sure that the wolves stayed out of the sheep, and they did." Ranchers, sheepherders, federal and state agencies, and Blaine County have partnered for the Wood River Wolf Project. Stone says the track record of success has caught the attention of wolf managers in other states, with queries coming from Oregon, Washington, Montana, Arizona, New Mexico – and even from Europe.  - See more at: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2012-11-12/public-lands-wilderness/wood-river-wolf-project-marks-five-years/a29240-1#sthash.hEBvaWMP.siitJhH7.dpuf