BEFORE THE BOARD OF STEVENS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

[PA BEN]

http://www.co.stevens.wa.us/commissioners/Commissioners%20Documents/Resolutions/2014/46-2014%20Advise%20Public%20Regarding%20Rights%20.pdf

http://www.spokesman.com/documents/2014/sep/18/stevens-county-condems-wolf-management/
http://media.spokesman.com/documents/2014/09/2014_Stevens_Cty_declaring_WDFWs_Failure_to_Act.pdf

[mfswallace]

Good on the Commission 

a very slippery slope though....

[washelkhunter]

Excellent ruling. Bravo!

[grundy53]

Good for them!

[PA BEN]

Boy reading the comments is a real eye opener. It's the wolf above all else.
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2014/sep/18/stevens-county-commission-condemns-state-wolf-management/

[wolfbait]

Boy reading the comments is a real eye opener. It's the wolf above all else.
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2014/sep/18/stevens-county-commission-condemns-state-wolf-management/

CNW, DoW, etc. flunkies pushing the pro-wolf agenda, same people in every publication.

[KFhunter]

WDFW's response


http://media.spokesman.com/documents/2014/09/State_response_to_Stevens_County_advice_on_killing_wolves_9.10.14.pdf


Director Anderson's remarks are complete and utter BS.  I'm glad the commission leaked the letter to the Spokesman review so we all can have some further insight to the complete farce of WDFW's handling of wolves and conflict resolution.  No one in their right mind would enter into a damage prevention cooperative agreement with WDFW, especially not after seeing how the sheep deal was done.  WDFW takes money from the wolf groups (with strings attached) and proffers that to the ranchers (with more strings) and then expects the rancher to cost share for a bunch of crap that does nothing to prevent wolves from killing their livestock.   Now the rancher is out of pocket even more money, isn't compensated fully for his losses AND has a bunch of people coming and going off their property, a bunch of papers to sign and bureaucracy to no end. 

Stating that compensation somehow makes it unreasonable to defend your livestock from a wolf is BS!! 


"compensation" is woefully short of compensating a livestock owner for their losses, it's a slap in the face to livestock owners. 



Very disappointed with Anderson's response,  but he is correct the county cannot preempt the state.  What peeved me is how he paraded these ineffectual programs as if WDFW was doing something positive with wolf conflict and hiding behind court rulings that addressed Elk eating a hayfield...a far far cry from a pack of wolves attacking and eviscerating your livestock.  Hay don't scream and cry and suffer or stampede through your fences.   

[KFhunter]

Anderson's response made me a bigger supporter of Stevens CO and less of a supporter of WDFW.


Didn't think it was possible 

[RG]

It's about time. Bravo, the real citizens of Washington are being ignored as insignificant no count nuisances in this political agenda.  Then when the citizens stand up for their rights WDFW threatens them. Really? Who do they really work for?

When a state agency has come to the point that they have no credibility with the people they represent because of deception, inaction, lack if follow through, and obvious political bias which puts them at odds with sportsmen (as illustrated in the closed door steelhead deal with the wild fish guys), it's time for the residents of the state to stand up and demand to be heard.  The biggest roadblock is the behavior starts in the governors office and the thread runs through Olympia.

[wolfbait]

WDFW's response


http://media.spokesman.com/documents/2014/09/State_response_to_Stevens_County_advice_on_killing_wolves_9.10.14.pdf


Director Anderson's remarks are complete and utter BS.  I'm glad the commission leaked the letter to the Spokesman review so we all can have some further insight to the complete farce of WDFW's handling of wolves and conflict resolution.  No one in their right mind would enter into a damage prevention cooperative agreement with WDFW, especially not after seeing how the sheep deal was done.  WDFW takes money from the wolf groups (with strings attached) and proffers that to the ranchers (with more strings) and then expects the rancher to cost share for a bunch of crap that does nothing to prevent wolves from killing their livestock.   Now the rancher is out of pocket even more money, isn't compensated fully for his losses AND has a bunch of people coming and going off their property, a bunch of papers to sign and bureaucracy to no end. 

Stating that compensation somehow makes it unreasonable to defend your livestock from a wolf is BS!! 


"compensation" is woefully short of compensating a livestock owner for their losses, it's a slap in the face to livestock owners. 



Very disappointed with Anderson's response,  but he is correct the county cannot preempt the state.  What peeved me is how he paraded these ineffectual programs as if WDFW was doing something positive with wolf conflict and hiding behind court rulings that addressed Elk eating a hayfield...a far far cry from a pack of wolves attacking and eviscerating your livestock.  Hay don't scream and cry and suffer or stampede through your fences.

I think what WDFW mostly do anymore is manage damage control to their image, which is quickly deteriorating.

What most rural folks have/are realizing is, if they have wolf problems, take care of it themselves. WDFW is worthless when it comes to wolves and predation, they have no credibility, this has been proven time and again.

WDFW force honest people to break the law because their corrupt agency refuses to do their job. WDFW like the idea of ranchers etc. not coming to them for wolf problems, this way they are not forced to confirm wolf packs or BP's. It's a win, win deal for them and their partners, the USFWS and environmetnalists.

My guess is either CNW or DoW wrote the reply above and good ol Philip signed it.

[RB]

Boy reading the comments is a real eye opener. It's the wolf above all else.
http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2014/sep/18/stevens-county-commission-condemns-state-wolf-management/

Interesting how it appears like just one Jacknut on the thread is stirring up the whole thing. Unfortunately some will listen to crackpots like this and think it is correct because they saw it on the internet. The guy spews on about sheep and cattle being invasive species and not native and only the wolf should be in the woods HOGWASH!

CNW, DoW, etc. flunkies pushing the pro-wolf agenda, same people in every publication.

[rim_runner]

Stating that compensation somehow makes it unreasonable to defend your livestock from a wolf is BS!! 


"compensation" is woefully short of compensating a livestock owner for their losses, it's a slap in the face to livestock owners.

you hit on something there that I see also but too few people seem to recognize. When someone raises livestock they are taking on a large responsibility to care for those animals. I would have little respect for a stockman whose response to his stock being kill was “oh well I’ll get compensated for it”. What stockmen are being asked to do is control their sense of responsibility and override years of learning and peer pressure. I do respect those who continue to obey the law but I can see that it is no easy matter.  Personally I don’t see where allowing people to defend their livestock will hinder wolf recovery. For that matter I don’t think a hunting season on wolves is a bad idea either.   

[idahohuntr]

Andersons reply seems genuine.  It clearly acknowledges that self defense and defense of livestock is perfectly legal in E. Wa and that they may be giving a false sense of what is legal.  He very correctly reminds the commissioners that they do not manage the wildlife...that responsibility belongs to the state, not individual municipalities within the state...Thank goodnness!! 

[RG]

Idaho and Montana have shown that hunting doesn't hinder wolf recovery.  When WDFW promises a course of action then rescinds it before following through and lies about the status of the problem it shows their true intent to all.  Their position is no secret on any of these politically based issues. They make it clear.  The majority of Washington residents live in subdivisions and work indoors so they have no point of reference. They believe what they are told and assume it's all good.  They think meat comes in a McDonalds bag and grows in buns. They don't realize what goes on in rural America.  It works for WDFW.

[KFhunter]

Stating that compensation somehow makes it unreasonable to defend your livestock from a wolf is BS!! 


"compensation" is woefully short of compensating a livestock owner for their losses, it's a slap in the face to livestock owners.

you hit on something there that I see also but too few people seem to recognize. When someone raises livestock they are taking on a large responsibility to care for those animals. I would have little respect for a stockman whose response to his stock being kill was “oh well I’ll get compensated for it”. What stockmen are being asked to do is control their sense of responsibility and override years of learning and peer pressure. I do respect those who continue to obey the law but I can see that it is no easy matter.  Personally I don’t see where allowing people to defend their livestock will hinder wolf recovery. For that matter I don’t think a hunting season on wolves is a bad idea either.   

You talk about emotional investment, and you're correct to varying degrees.  There are livestock owners with strong ties to their livestock, as strong as family pet owners...but there are others with much less emotional investment as well.  Impossible to quantify and purely case by case.

I'm also talking about financial compensation.  The sheep grower is missing over 200 sheep, but is only eligible for something like 18 sheep for compensation; what about the 182 sheep lost?   If you can't find the sheep you can't determine a wolf killed them.  That is another aspect where compensation fails.

Another failure of compensation, and perhaps a bigger one is the a herd of cattle that is being pressured by wolves does not put on as much weight as a herd without consatant harrassment from wolves.  http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2014/mar/cows-witnessing-wolf-attacks-suffer-symptoms-similar-ptsd 

Another aspect is unbred cattle,  there's no compensation for all the calves that won't be born if your bull is run off never to be found again.  (true story)

The livestock owner forks out a lot of extra time and gas money, hires more employees in wolf areas - again no compensation.

WDFW says  "Oh a bear did that, Oh a cougar did that, Oh a coyote did that, Oh a killer Llama did that"....again no compensation.

The biggest losses is overall herd weight and calf loss and increased expenditure in time and resources but none of that is compensated.


"compensation" is a total farce that's used to give legal standing to WDFW to prevent livestock owners from reasonably defending their livestock from depredation from an endangered species.  The court holds that it's NOT reasonable to defend your livestock if it's subject to compensation AND to top it all off the court case was precedent on Elk eating a hayfield   

This needs challenged and defeated.