Tainted rainfall affecting parks. Agency’s report finds more ammonia in Yellowstone, Glacier. By Mike Stark. Billings Gazette.
Ralph Maughan
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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I am looking for someone to help me identify an animal at a nearby nature center. I live in Fountain, CO and I frequently go down the local nature center to take photographs. For over six months now I have been seeing very large tracks all around the area. The employees of the center insist they must be coyote tracks but in my opinion they are far too large to be coyote. I have pictures of the tracks next to my foot. My boot measures four inches in width and the tracks are at least 1/2″ to 1″ wider than my boot. I’ve never seen a coyote that could leave a 5″ wide track. All of the tracks have definite claw marks at the end of each toe, so it can’t be a mountain lion.
A couple of weeks ago I saw the animal that I believe is making the tracks. I only got two brief glimpses of it as it chased a deer, but it was very large, completely black and had a straight bushy tail. I can’t say without a doubt that it was a wolf but I can say with no hesitation that I don’t know of any other animal that it could be. What I saw was definitely not a coyote. It was nearly twice the size of any coyote I’ve ever seen around here and I’ve never heard of a black coyote.
Yesterday morning I took pictures of the deer herd that lives at the nature center and one of the young deer had obvious superficial wounds. I think this unidentified animal attacked the deer.
From what I’ve read on your website you seem knowledgable about wolves. If I sent you a copy of the picture could you give me an educated opinion on whether this could be a wolf? Also, what is your opinion of the chances of having a lone wolf living in this area? Is it possible that I could be the only one who has seen this animal and its tracks?
Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
Well, Bush Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, while he was Governor of Idaho, did all he could to encourage the really sleazy mega-dairies that would not abide by regulations in California and elsewhere to come to Idaho. Land of few to any Ag. Regulations, and NO enforcement of them. Now things are worse under Butch “libertarian for Ag. Corporations and the wealthy” Otter.
The entire Snake River Plain stinks like CAFO cow dairy and feedlot waste. All that ammonia has to Fall Out somewhere … not to mention the effects of the cow methane in producing Global Warming gases.
Yes kt,
While the article was agnostic about where the ammonium was coming from, anyone who has driven through the brown haze of southern Idaho from the town of Mountain Home 175 miles to Rupert, knows where it comes from and why the haze is brown.
Kathi Smith.
Check this story out. I don’t know where Fountain is in relationship to Rocky Mountain National Park.
http://www.eptrail.com/pages/02friday_d/fri01_d.html
One of my use to be favorite spots to go fishing was CJ Strike Res, but you have to go near Grandview, if you want to smell stink….oh man…makes me want to turn into a vegetarian…..thats really bad down there.