-
The Cash Cows of Catron County
When a rancher claims to have lost livestock due to Mexican wolf predation, there are several ways that they can seek compensation. One of those ways is a program run by the U.S.D.A Farm Services Agency (FSA) known as the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), which provides compensation for livestock lost due to attack by animals…
-
Idaho anti-wolf legislation stampeding toward a vote
Guest opinion by Adam Bronstein, Western Watersheds Project‘s Idaho Director In a painful example of why states can’t be trusted to manage gray wolves, the Idaho Legislature seems to be fast-tracking Senate Bill S.1211, which aims to slash Idaho’s wolf population by as much as 90 percent. The bill would inappropriately transfer the traditional roles…
-
Mexican wolf depredation investigations …. again
Hey folks, I’m back to reviewing Mexican wolf depredation investigation reports and sifting through another few hundred pages of blood, guts, bones, and grammatical errors, and today I found these two from Apache County, Arizona in May 2020: AC 5-27-20 3, AC 5-27-20 4. Both of the reports are about really young dead calves, estimated to…
-
Another dead Mexican wolf in Arizona; Can we release adults now?
You might not have seen the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service news release this week that announced the illegal killing of another Mexican wolf in Arizona. Authorities are looking for information on “a vehicle that was stopped or driving slowly near the Saffel Canyon Trailhead on the evening of February 18, 2021,” or anything else…
-
Wolves will be wolves, so manage the humans
Let’s start with some facts: The majority of New Mexicans want to see Mexican wolves recovered. Public lands livestock are a leading source of conflict for the wolf recovery program. Livestock on public lands displace native wildlife through competition for food and driving them out of preferred habitats. Public lands livestock permittees are getting a…
-
Conservation Groups Swing Back at Bernhardt’s Last Minute Favor to Oregon Ranchers
I’ve been working on public lands livestock grazing issues for over fifteen years and I’ve seen a lot of terrible Bureau of Land Management (Bureau) grazing decisions. But I’ve never seen two Secretaries of the Interior intervene on two grazing decisions benefitting one ranching operation whose principals also happen to have been pardoned for federal…
-
Predicted habitat availability does not address recovery success for Mexico’s Mexican wolves
Coauthored by Greta Anderson and Dave Parsons The Arizona Game and Fish Department has been busy promoting recently published research which documents ample habitat for Mexican wolves in Mexico. This supports the recovery criteria in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s official recovery plan and the Department’s desire to assume management of Mexican wolves, which will occur when…
-
An open letter to the Oregon Bureau of Land Management on Hammond Ranches, Inc. proposed permit
Dear Oregon Bureau of Land Management staffers, I am writing today to ask you to please defend the proper administration of public lands. The recent decision to award Hammond Ranches, Inc. a livestock grazing permit and grazing preference to use four allotments in the Burns Field Office appears to have been politically influenced, and we…