Battle over Bighorn. By Sven Berg. South Idaho Press. The first in a 2 part series.
These bighorn issue should be noted by all those who write about predators and hunting because it shows the ranchers are not just anti-wolf, but against any wildlife they think hurts their bottom line.
I recall an old bumper sticker. . . . “hunters, did a cow get your elk?” In this case it is sheep and bighorn.
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Notice how people who work for the state of Idaho will not comment on this issue or must, in one instance, take questions only in writing and approved by their department (this is what is supposed to be academic setting).
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.
Yes, the policy that a lot of regulatory agencies have of not allowing employees to comment is bullshit. I would venture to say it is probably unconstitutional. I hated that we couldn’t publicly express our opinions for fear of our jobs. It gave me freaking ulcers!
Hi Ralph, I found your site by accident and, being an activist for animals for many years, I am reading it with concern. I’m in south central Montana, near Yellowstone, ten minutes from a bighorn sheep “wintering” area above the Stillwater Mine. I will now read on, with great interest..
they’re going to kill bighorn – whether by direct killing, or by aggressive handling to remove bighorn from the public habitat that the few domestic sheep producers want to maintain exclusive control over.
Look for “sheep-free areas” and a new role assigned the Idaho Department of Agriculture.