Hunting and eating feral hogs less likely to cause furor- I enjoy editing this on-line newspaper, but one of the things I don’t like is the never ending debate over whether hunting is right or wrong. It can never be settled and leads to disunity among those who use the outdoors and wildlife. I do…
4-year old sow is captured- The Great Falls Tribune said that a sow griz killed 70 sheep “at three ranches in two weeks — including 58 at one ranch — in an unprecedented killing spree. . . [emphasis ours]. We can picture a drawing in a sensational magazine with a giant grizzly throwing hapless sheep…
Recently we were informed of a new effort by two conservation groups, a Native American tribe and livestock interests “to secure $25 million from the upcoming 2012 Farm Bill to help livestock producers reduce the risk of livestock losses to grizzly bears, wolves, black bears and mountain lions.” This taxpayer money is meant to “reduce…
On December 1st, at a presentation given by Bob Budd about the Wyoming Core Habitat Plan for sage grouse, it was pretty obvious that the livestock industry has things pretty much locked up with the agencies and politicians. The presentation was given in one of the big, new hearing rooms in the basement of the…
Wendy Keefover-Ring highlights Wildlife Service’s ‘War on Wildlife’ given the current budget crisis, highlighting its cost to the American tax-payer. The Ugly Cost of Killing – Huffington Post Many of us are struggling financially, even while we watch Congress wrangle over deficit levels, tax cuts or increases and political ideology. Much is wrong with our…
Language of the “Wolf Disaster Declaration” published. Bill Status: H0343. It is not the same language as contained in the legislation we posted in February. It essentially provides for a disaster declaration if there are more than 100 wolves in Idaho. “[T]he legislature finds that public safety has been compromised, economic activity has been disrupted…
It died of birthing problems Last week there was a big story about how wolves had killed a cow in the foothills above Eagle, Idaho, which most of you probably know is just west of Boise. Well, Carter Niemeyer, – the Montana western supervisor for Wildlife Services from 1975-1990 and the Wildlife Services Montana wolf…
Is compromising with the lawless in the best interest of wolves, wildlife, or the ESA? By Ken Cole, Ralph Maughan, and Brian Ertz. Ever since wolves were relisted as an Endangered Species by Judge Molloy of Montana there has been a persistent drone of editorial opinion, political grandstanding, and accusations made about and against wolf/Endangered…
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.