The Donahue Pack has been a small wolf pack in the vicinity of Paradise Valley. It formed a couple years ago.
The pack has long been beset by mange, and seems to have been down to its alpha pair when they were shot after two incidents of killing large cow calves in Paradise Valley.
They were shot on Oct. 25.
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Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan’s Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of “Hiking Idaho.” He also wrote “Beyond the Tetons” and “Backpacking Wyoming’s Teton and Washakie Wilderness.” He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
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Some wolf removal that has been going on pretty stealthly is the removal of all wolves from the upper Southfork Valley of the Shoshone R. There have been depredations on cattle over the last several years as the wolves have tried to establish a pack. A lot of the cattle in the upper valley belong to rich hobby ranchers whose stockman refuse to make any change in there stock management since wolves have arrived. The cows are turned out in the spring and may not see the stockman again utill they are brought down off the forest in the fall. One cattleman turned yearlings out as a group. I have also heard that having a cowboy on horse visit the cows as little as a couple of times a week can greatly reduce the rate of encounters between wolves and cattle.
Yup, that is all it takes to keep the wolves away, a visit by a ramge rider a few days a week. However, the ranchers are crying poverty. How many more years will it take before the ranching community, as a whole, wakes up to the fact that good husbandry reduces a kinds of losses. Not just from wolves.
Five more wolves killed south of Avon, Montana by WS. Unlike most of the Blackfoot Valley, this is a very bad area for predators. They were part of the Spotted Dog Pack.
Thanks for the update, Jerry.
What is it, if I can ask, about the area that makes it bad for predators?
Well, I did read this in the Billings Gazette, “The Spotted Dog pack territory is mostly comprised of private lands managed for livestock production, both cattle and sheep,” said Carolyn Sime, FWP wolf program coordinator. “Previous lethal control in September left at least nine wolves in this large pack. Removing additional wolves is part of our incremental approach to addressing confirmed livestock kills.”
Ralph,
Avon is similar to Stanley, Challis, etc in your state, except it’s smaller. They dewater the streams, allow livestock to destroy the riparian areas, and consider anything with 4 legs that isn’t a cow, sheep or horse, a threat. They believe wolves will run off with their kids, there were WMD’s in Iraq………….etc, etc, etc. I’d better stop now!!!
West of Avon, most ranchers belong to the Blackfoot Challenge which is an exemplary group that works similar to Madison Valley Ranchlands. They spend considerable effort on predator deterrents, stream restoration, grassland restoration etc. Check out their website. Jerry
Maybe those who defended/advocated the return of the wolf to these areas, and all other areas throughout Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming should have had a plan in place to send out their own range riders to keep the wolves away from the livestock; much like the Buffalo Field Campaign does. Sure, the livestock owner may cry wolf when it comes to depredation but the wolf advocates also cry wolf when their beloved wolf is killed by WS because of the depredation they caused in the first place. You can not have your cake and eat it to! And I have stated in a previous thread that most livestock owners are in business to make some money; not leave there livestock out for months on end without checking on their cattle. This may have been the practice years ago before the return of the wolf but now livestock owners are more conscientious and checking their cattle more often. Why would anyone owning their own business waste their time and their profits by not check on their livestock regularly. You folks are grossly misinformed and too agressive to pass judgement. I find that those who make the assumptions that the livestock owner turns their cattle out months on end without checking on them are those who definitely are pro wolfers without substantial evidence, just heresay. Don’t forget that the government removed the wolves and the government then restored the wolves so cry wolf to them. All I ever hear about is the destruction of public lands and riparian areas by the livestock producer and how justification for killing wolves which killed cattle does not justify the cause, etc. etc. with no acknowledgement from any one that livestock owners practices have improved for the better over the years.
Laird,
Maybe you should tell us at least approximately where you live in Idaho because most folks I know don’t see this excellent husbandry that you speak of.
Laird…yes, there are a few that have improved their practices. That’s why I mentioned Blackfoot Challenge and Madison Valley Ranchlands Group. However there are very few. How much time have you spent on the rivers and streams of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming? I happen to spend alot and I see stream after stream with banks and riparian areas trashed by livestock. With alittle effort it could be avoided, but it’s the same excuse…”I’m a 5th, 8th or whatever generation rancher and no one will tell me what to do” Hell, they still throw their old stoves, refrigerators and beer cans in the rivers because their grandfathers did.
But, hey…there are some who care and I make it a point to thank them.
And I also know of folks who enjoy the outdoors for recreational activities who trash public land with their beer bottles, camp stoves, pop bottles, etc. and these are the very people who are angry and upset at the livestock industry for destroying public land. Makes no sense to me!
Since the livestock industry is doing a horrible job (in your minds) with our public lands why don’t you folks volunteer your time to check their cattle from time to time, move them from the riparian areas, etc. instead of whining. Take action, and do something industrious to help the situation instead of always complaining.
No tellum creek is where we are. After all of my comments to these threads, there is no way I would even hint at where our ranch is. That is like giving the sheep to the wolves. Even though we practice good husbandry and public land management you folks will always find something to snicker and complain about even if you saw where we ranch so I will not waste my effort.
Laird….thankyou for being such a good steward of the earth and especially “notellum creek”. How’s the fishing ??