Idaho, MT, WY head to court to keep control over wolves

Montana, Wyoming, Idaho head to court to keep control of wolves. By Matthew Brown. Associated Press

The states are seeking to intervene in the delisting lawsuit. No doubt, they will be allowed to do this by the court. The legal purpose for intervening in a lawsuit is to make sure the court hears relevant arguments that may different or in addition to those raised by the plaintiff or the defendent.

Surely other groups will ask to intervene too. For example, the other day Don Peay, founder of the ill-named group Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, was saying they would seek to intervene.


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Comments

  1. Jon Way Avatar

    Once again non-hunters have no say in wildlife management. Not one area in Idaho will be designated a wolf/wildlife watching area where they are protected from getting shot.

  2. Matt Avatar
    Matt

    How long will it be before the judge takes some sort of action on this case, specifically the injunction that was asked for on Apr 28?

  3. Alan Gregory Avatar

    Jon is right on. Non-hunters having a say in how Canis lupus is protected on behalf of all folks? And this won’t be the first time for such court “action.”

  4. Buffaloed Avatar
    Buffaloed

    Welcome Back Alan! Glad to see you here.

  5. Ralph Maughan Avatar

    Hey, yes. Welcome Alan!!

  6. Brian Ertz Avatar

    Molloy Sets Oral Arguments on Preliminary Injunction Request To Protect Wolves For May 29

  7. Mike Avatar

    There’s all kinds of overcompensating going on in the woods. Little boys with big guns.

  8. dbaileyhill Avatar
    dbaileyhill

    And don’t leave out the Cabela’s Queens!

    The first time you fellas “said’ that i fell off my chair laughing. The ‘picture’ that came to mind was too much to bear. I told my husband about it and on the way home from Seattle he insisted on stopping at the new store near Olympia, WA.
    I thought of you all as i giggled my way around store. On the way out i saw a sign from Mack’s ‘favorite group’–Sportsman for Some Fish and Some Wildlife. One of the employees heard me say that and began and snickering. (I guess you kinda had to be there)….

  9. sal Avatar

    GOOD NEWS FLASH!!!!

    May 8, 1:48 PM EDT

    Judge in Mont. rejects bid to delay wolf lawsuit

    By MATTHEW BROWN
    Associated Press Writer:

    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WOLF_LAWSUIT?SITE=IDCOE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-05-08-13-48-28

  10. JB Avatar
    JB

    I can’t believe this, but HCN is running a story on Ron Gillett. Wow, they are headed downhill rapidly.

    http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17691

  11. Ryan Avatar
    Ryan

    What is a cablea’s queen?

  12. Ralph Maughan Avatar

    More interested in gear than in the skills of the hunt, etc.

    In addition, the word implies gear that makes hunting, fishing and so forth “too easy.”

  13. JB Avatar
    JB

    Ryan,

    I can’t find the original post but “cabela queen” was a term Brian proposed to separate traditional sport hunters, from those of a different ilk. If I recall (Brian, correct me if I’m wrong), it came up in a post about how hunters do not oppose predators, SOME hunters oppose predators. A few of us were defending the practice of hunting by noting that there were many different types of hunters, not all of whom seemed hell bent on riding the earth of predators. Brian proposed “cabela queen” as a label for hunters who possess some or all of the following qualities:
    (1) Extreme entitlement (i.e. wildlife belongs to me)
    (2) Love to complain
    (3) Hunt via ATV/Truck/snowmobile
    (4) Have not heard of “fair chase”
    (5) Will shoot at anything that moves (especially predators)
    (6) Belong to the Sportsmen for SOME fish & SOME wildlife
    (7) Loves to collect gadgets to help with the pursuit and/or killing of game.

    Did I get it right, Brian? I know I embellished a bit… 😉

  14. Ryan Avatar
    Ryan

    Damn, By that definition, every hunter I know is a cablea queen. I enjoy gear and gadgets but they rarely make life easier. I have trail cameras that take up a couple of days a month to hike in and check them out. I look at much of the high end gear I use as a way to ensure that I know my target and can successfully and ethically harvest said animals. That being said, I still hunt coyotes, cougars, and bears when the opportunity arises. Besides the coyotes, which I can get a bounty for in some counties, cougar and bear are pretty good eats.

    Please define fair chase..

    “FAIR CHASE, as defined by the Boone and Crockett Club, is the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging wild, native North American big game animal in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper advantage over such animals. “

  15. Save bears Avatar
    Save bears

    Well, I can’t agree on the ATV issue, I use my ATV to get into country to hunt, sorry after taking an AK-47 shot to the hip(Purple Heart, as well as Silver Star), I can’t walk all that far anymore, so I use the ATV to get to the stands I have set up to hunt, I normally use binocs to spot game, My wife and I have radios to keep in touch with each other, we don’t shoot “anything that moves” I do have a GPS, in case, don’t use it often, but has come in handy at times…I don’t complain about much, except the men that my daughters choose as boyfriends or husbands! I don’t belong to any organizations..and hunting with a long bow, I can assure you, the wildlife has a far better chance than I!

    LOL

  16. Ryan Avatar
    Ryan

    I hate ATV’s with a passion in most situations (obivious exceptions for people who need them) in the lower 48. I archery hunt as well although I use a compound and hunt ethically (I cant shoot a long bow accurately enough to feel good about using one) limiting my shots to sure kills if at all possible. (nothing is certain)

  17. Brian Ertz Avatar

    The “Cabela Queen” is a mythical persona of the back-country roads.

    Cousin of the “Welfare Rancher”, the Cabela Queen enjoys the same self-inflated entitlement complex and posture of being at odds with the natural world. It is as if the Cabela Queen’s ego is victimized by the natural world.

    Whereas a traditional hunter is motivated and inspired to the activity by an acceptance of the terms of the natural world ~ the Cabela Queen resents these terms, opting instead to manipulate them in 3 general ways :

    1. Predator Reduction
    Whereas the traditional hunter recognizes the activity as enriched by the prospect of natural competitors – in the opportunity to observe and admire the company of the wild, perhaps even as a test of oneself and an exersize of awe/humility ~
    The Cabela Queen resents the competition and blames predators first. The Cabela Queen hunts for ego, and the thirst of this bravado is only satisfied upon kill. The Cabela Queen prescribes the killing of natural competitors to maximize and satisfy its hunt for ego.

    2. Habitat Manipulation (chaining, burning, etc.)
    Whereas the traditional hunter walks into the wild to lose such ego – to find oneself immersed in the natural world – a part of it. The wild state of the environment is a critical component of this experience and an important end of the activity in itself ~
    The Cabela Queen sees only forage – not different than its cousin the Welfare Rancher, and thinks it proper and right to cultivate the wild to maximize its “crop” of game. The Cabela Queen thus prescribes widespread habitat alteration/cultivation in the form of chaining of natural habitat, prescribed burns, and unnatural seed-mix prescriptions for ‘restoration’ work to benefit particular game species to the detriment of others.

    3. Technological Innovation
    Whereas the tradition hunter relies on a depth of experience, tradition, maintaining physical fitness, the hard work of scouting and becoming intimately familiar with the lay of the land – learning the likely movement of herds as a result of such knowledge and maintaining the ability to access them as a consequence of the fitness maintained ~
    The Cabela Queen relies on the advent of technological innovation. Stronger scopes, more powerful rifles, ATVs, commodity.

    ~~~~

    Whereas traditional hunters walk out of the backcountry as enriched and fulfilled by their experience regardless of the ‘take’. ~
    Cabela Queens drive out of the back-country roads empty handed, with little more than a chip on their shoulder.

    Whereas traditional hunters pursue an activity of appreciation for life – even the “kill” being an expression of such ~
    Cabela Queens keep the focus, the purpose of the activity on the successful completion of death – absent this, they believe themselves to have ‘failed’

    One can identify a Cabela Queen in any number of ways:

    Their loud mouths spouting blame for their ‘failed’ experience in bars and in Game & Fish public meetings/hearings.

    In the country, Cabela Queens are easy to spot – they are the most visible and audible presence when in the natural world – upon encounter, it is wise to walk deeper if one hopes to encounter wildlife.

    The smell of petroleum products – gas/fuel – is indicative of a Cabela Queen’s recent presence as is the sound of a revved motorized device.

    The sight of an ungulate strapped across a hood or otherwise prominently displayed on vehicle/trailer.

    You’ve seen the bumper stickers.

    Mostly the bad attitude about the wild.

    One less obvious tip for identifying a Cabela Queen is in their defensive reaction to the term “Cabela Queen”. If a person exerts much effort and insistence that one is “not a Cabela Queen because …” – you have probably identified a Cabela Queen.

    There is more – perhaps we’ve all got a little Cabela Queen in us. For my part, I’ll say that in my teens, my father and brothers never whined or bitched when packing an animal out – even when we had several miles to go. Moaning while in or about the woods was looked down on. I see a whole lot of whining and moaning surrounding the activity now, though my family continues to eat well thanks in no small part to the bounty of our wild Idaho.

  18. Brian Ertz Avatar

    Save Bears,

    I think you’ve got damn good reason for the help into the back-country. Experience which seems to dispel many of the qualms that most who are critical of the devices have with them – consideration. The bad apples are ruining it for the whole bunch

  19. JB Avatar
    JB

    Thanks Brian, I like your description a lot better. I should’ve noted that I provided general factors that I’ve found to be predictive of ‘cabela queen…ness?’, I wasn’t trying to suggest that possessing any of those factors was an automatic indicator of membership. Hell, I’m a gadget lover myself, and I’ve done my fair share of bitching! That’s the problem with generalizations/stereotypes, they just don’t work in all cases!

    Save bears, no offense intended. I was referring to people who use ATV/ORV/Snowmobiles to run down game, or use their truck to hunt from the road.

    Ryan, I think you’ve got the fair chase definition down pat. According to Texas Parks & Wildlife, the following practices/methods are NOT considered fair chase:

    * Spotting or herding game from the air, then landing, pursuing & shooting
    * Herding, pursuing or shooting game from motor boat or motor vehicle
    * Use of illegal electronic devices for attracting, locating, or observing game, or for guiding hunter to such game (check state & provincial laws)
    * Hunting game confined by fences or enclosures, or game transplanted solely for the purpose of commercial shooting
    * Taking game illegally or using illegal methods against regulations of the federal government or any state, province, territory or tribal lands

  20. Ryan Avatar
    Ryan

    I am for sure a cabelas’ queen forsure then.

    Because I feel that..
    Prescribed burns are a great idea, since only recently has man began to control forest fires, which play a vital role in the health of the forest ecosystem. Here are some atrocities committed by Cabela Queens.

    http://www.rmef.org/Conservation/HowWeConserve/Stewardship/

    http://www.oregonhunters.org/oha_news_info.htm

    It has been proven in studies that predators can and do have a negative impact on ungulate populations, and controlling there numbers in some instances is necessary. (sled springs wenaha study, a 17 year study in elk mortality). I don’t take a kill them all attitude, but I see absolutely no problem in controlling there numbers when needed.

    As for the technology aspect.. There is alot of technology that goes just into scouting. (isn’t that a contradiction) Besides the ATV’s on the few occasions that I rifle hunt I use a high powered scope and an adaquate rifle to ensure a clean humane kill.

    Brian,

    What would you consider a non cabela queen wepon?

  21. Brian Ertz Avatar

    Ryan –

    another characteristic of Cabela Queens – hell, just ‘fools’ for that matter – is their profoundly innate tendency to miss the whole point of a thing.

    you’re right Ryan, I am wrong.

  22. Ryan Avatar
    Ryan

    By your definiton I am most definately a Cabela’s Queen. Which I guess was my point of even asking what one was. I never once said you were wong, I was just wanting to know what the label ment. I guess I don’t know any traditional hunters, or ever really have for that matter. All I know are Cabelas queens.

  23. Catbestland Avatar
    Catbestland

    You might be a Cabela Queen if. . . Your comouflage color coordinated truck trailer and ATV’s with all the trappings cost more than the trailer in which you house your wife and kids.

    OR, . . . If the eyes of several head mounts glare at you and your guest over dinner . . . You might be a Cabela Queen.

  24. Brian Ertz Avatar

    this is good Ryan,

    you have successfully completed the first step of recovery… you have admitted that you are a Cabela Queen.

    If you are serious and interested, I would suggest that you look for a 12-step program – a chapter of ‘Cabela Queens Anonymous’ in your local community with which to pursue further recovery.

    There are also immersion programs – they involve free flights into the back-country. Participants get dropped off in random locations with a machete and a single 12 oz. bottle of water. For those that survive, this program in particular is really changing lives out there.

    Good luck with the endeavor Ryan, I wish you well – you’ve got a lot of support in this forum.

  25. Layton Avatar
    Layton

    Can I get in on the part of that 12 step program that gets me dropped off in the back country — free?? (I’m making the assumption that the “dropping off” occurs at the same altitude as the appropriate runway — with the plane at a stop).

    Never mind the machete and the 12 oz. bottle of water, I have some nice Cabela’s brand stuff!

  26. Catbestland Avatar
    Catbestland

    Layton,
    You cannot bring your Cabela brand stuff. The purpose of this excercise is to kick the Cabela habit cold turkey, so no guns or Cabela communications equiptment. Oh, and it will occur during hunting season.

  27. Jay Avatar
    Jay

    Ryan, quick question: are humans predators?

  28. Save bears Avatar
    Save bears

    Catbestland,

    You don’t have any flexibility in you, at least I don’t see any based on your postings the last few weeks..such a shame..

  29. Catbestland Avatar
    Catbestland

    Save Bears,
    Actually, I do yoga every night. I’m quite flexible, thank you.

  30. Ryan Avatar
    Ryan

    Jay,
    Most definately, and the popultation needs thinning =).

  31. Ryan Avatar
    Ryan

    Jay,
    Actually I should rephrase that, some humans are predators, but most are scavengers. The scavengers need thinning =).

Author

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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