Range Riders?

[haus]

http://www.lagrandeobserver.com/News/Local-News/Range-rider-program-implemented-to-help-reduce-livestock-losses-to-wolves

Range rider program implemented to help reduce livestock losses to wolves
Written by Katy Nesbitt, The Observer July 23, 2010 07:25 am
ENTERPRISE — In an effort to reduce wolf-livestock conflicts in Wallowa County, a “range rider’’ will accompany cattle grazing this summer in areas the Imnaha wolf pack is known to frequent.
 

The range rider began patrolling forest allotments in the Imnaha Wildlife Management Unit on July 7, working from early daylight through dark on most days of the week. ODFW also continues to have an employee monitoring wolf activity in the area most evenings, an ODFW press release said.
“This range rider is a first for Oregon’s wolf program,” said Russ Morgan, ODFW wolf coordinator. “ODFW is committed to working with livestock producers to find practical solutions to wolf depredation.”

The program, said Oregon Cattleman’s Association Wolf Committee Chairman Rod Chilkers, “is a non-lethal measure to limit wolf-caused livestock losses that has not been tried in Oregon. We want to do this to try to limit livestock losses to wolves during the summer grazing season.”

The cooperative demonstration program between Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and area livestock producers is funded through a $15,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grant intended to help livestock producers take pro-active, non-lethal measures to reduce the risk of wolves to livestock. While not a panacea, range riders have been shown to help reduce livestock losses to wolves in other states where they have been used.

“The grant requires matching funds, which are being provided by Defenders of Wildlife, the organization that proposed the range rider project,” said Suzanne Stone of Defenders.

“Defenders has funded several other range rider projects across the region, but this is the first one undertaken in Oregon,” Stone said.

ODFW will use part of the grant money to reimburse a Wallowa County livestock producer $4,950 for a range rider he is employing to monitor his cattle on public and private land, haze away any wolves near cattle and help keep other area livestock producers informed about wolf activity. This range rider will also monitor other livestock producers’ cattle on private and national forestland when wolves are in the area.

ODFW will regularly share wolf location information with the range rider, who has also been equipped with a radio receiver to pick up signals from any of the three wolves in the Imnaha pack with a radio collar.

Stone said that Defenders has been initiating projects like this across the region since 1997. Other tools they’ve sponsored are livestock-guarding dogs, fencing, carcass removal, alarm systems and alternative grazing locations.   

“We do our best to help ranchers adjust to living with wolves. If the conflicts are managed effectively, both sides win and that builds local tolerance for wolves,” Stone said.

Childers said, “The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association and the Wallowa County Stockgrowers are constantly working with ODFW on different non-lethal techniques to mitigate wolf-cattle conflicts.”

Additionally, Defenders has provided radio-activated guard boxes and electrified fladry, fencing used primarily to protect sheep from wolves.

“A lot of people are surprised that ranchers and wolf conservationists are working together,” Stone said. “We find we have the most important things in common: a deep respect for the land and a personal commitment to be good stewards.”

For more information on wolves in Oregon, visit http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wolves/.
 

[Special T]

Why not supply the ranchers or ranger rider with bean bag shotgun rounds or rubber bullets to nonlethaly "haze" wolves?

[runamuk]

I think this along with dogs and some of the other nonlethal methods are a great tool in reducing depredation on herds and flocks HOWEVER huge however from an animal management standpoint this does not address management of pack size and wolf population.  So yes it helps ranchers protect their assets but still does nothing in the way of addressing growing wolf populations that must be kept in check.  I guess this is my issue we bring in a non native species then give it free reign to over populate and call it reintroduction...makes no sense.  actually it makes perfect sense it is like government or big business you have all sorts of middle management all doing things their own way with no plan and a handfull of goals with no real well trained personnel ...  when these packs start offing each other due to a lack of food who will the eviro minimalists blame then   it will happen canines will go cannibal if pushed and will simply kill off competition to survive, look at areas where there are an abundance of coyotes and few foxes the coyotes are the top canine...so maybe the wolves will take care of the coyote problem   this whole thing is a disaster and based on emotions and not reality.....I am one of the most emotionally motivated people I know but common sense tells me you cannot manage wildlife the way we have been doing it we are destroying more species than we are saving  

[haus]

whats amazing is that this is for just one wolf pack. supposedly one wolf pack anyway. 1 wolf pack had been taking 2 cows a week. Chalk up more tax payer dollars to the wolf reintroduction. Everyone talks about non-lethal solutions, all that talk is $$$ + more $$$. Not just rancher expenses, tax payer expenses through the state or federal game departments. Just shoot the damn things when they get close to the cattle, problem solved.

[wolfbait]

whats amazing is that this is for just one wolf pack. supposedly one wolf pack anyway. 1 wolf pack had been taking 2 cows a week. Chalk up more tax payer dollars to the wolf reintroduction. Everyone talks about non-lethal solutions, all that talk is $$$ + more $$$. Not just rancher expenses, tax payer expenses through the state or federal game departments. Just shoot the damn things when they get close to the cattle, problem solved.

Your solution would be to close to management and as you have seen that is not part of the plan. These nonlethal methods have already been used in other states and they have failed. This is just a ploy to make it look like something is being done in the end these wolves will need the bullet. In Wyoming any wolves that kill livestock they have learned the best thing is to just take the whole pack out, and they have been doing just that.

[haus]

If thats the case then I see why the cattlemen would sign up for this 'solution'. When it fails they can turn around and say 'hey we gave non-lethal a try and it failed' *cue sound of a rifle safety being clicked*   

[villageidiot]

Hmmm!  So wolves are mostly nocturnal, range riders are not.   Wolves move up to 25 miles per day.  Seems to me this would be like trying to catch bats  in the daytime.  How do you catch bats inthe daytime if they are nocturnal?   Also have read that Defenders of Wildlife have not come through on a number of their commitments to cattlemen on livestock loss reimbursements so is this a another scam to get publicity and not follow through with the money?  Although, I do suspect having range riders out with the cattle will leave some scent and possibly roust up some wolves hanging around the area to skiddadle.  Some of these ranges are hundreds of thousands of acres that some of these cattle are on and a range rider could ride every day and not cover the whole area in a week or two.  This is not television where you can see the whole herd in a big open pasture.  Most of these ranges are in heavy timber country, steep ground and ugly.  The only way this will work is for the range rider to have been informed by the fish cops where the wolves are hanging around according to his telemetry and the range rider hang out in that area specifically.  Otherwise he can't cover the whole area and be effective at all.   Just another brilliant idea by the folks that live in the city that are much more intelligent and wise than the rest of us stupid folks.   

[haus]

I think this along with dogs and some of the other nonlethal methods are a great tool in reducing depredation on herds and flocks HOWEVER huge however from an animal management standpoint this does not address management of pack size and wolf population.  So yes it helps ranchers protect their assets but still does nothing in the way of addressing growing wolf populations that must be kept in check.  I guess this is my issue we bring in a non native species then give it free reign to over populate and call it reintroduction...makes no sense.  actually it makes perfect sense it is like government or big business you have all sorts of middle management all doing things their own way with no plan and a handfull of goals with no real well trained personnel ...  when these packs start offing each other due to a lack of food who will the eviro minimalists blame then   it will happen canines will go cannibal if pushed and will simply kill off competition to survive, look at areas where there are an abundance of coyotes and few foxes the coyotes are the top canine...so maybe the wolves will take care of the coyote problem   this whole thing is a disaster and based on emotions and not reality.....I am one of the most emotionally motivated people I know but common sense tells me you cannot manage wildlife the way we have been doing it we are destroying more species than we are saving  

Yes indeed they take care of the coyote problem, and replace it with a much bigger problem.
There have been some media reports of wolf packs in Yellowstone hunting down and killing wolves from other packs.
What the enviro's have said.....
1. hunters have been killing too many elk so the wolves have nothing to eat
2. bad winters have reduced the amount of prey available for wolves.

[runamuk]

I think this along with dogs and some of the other nonlethal methods are a great tool in reducing depredation on herds and flocks HOWEVER huge however from an animal management standpoint this does not address management of pack size and wolf population.  So yes it helps ranchers protect their assets but still does nothing in the way of addressing growing wolf populations that must be kept in check.  I guess this is my issue we bring in a non native species then give it free reign to over populate and call it reintroduction...makes no sense.  actually it makes perfect sense it is like government or big business you have all sorts of middle management all doing things their own way with no plan and a handfull of goals with no real well trained personnel ...  when these packs start offing each other due to a lack of food who will the eviro minimalists blame then   it will happen canines will go cannibal if pushed and will simply kill off competition to survive, look at areas where there are an abundance of coyotes and few foxes the coyotes are the top canine...so maybe the wolves will take care of the coyote problem   this whole thing is a disaster and based on emotions and not reality.....I am one of the most emotionally motivated people I know but common sense tells me you cannot manage wildlife the way we have been doing it we are destroying more species than we are saving  

Yes indeed they take care of the coyote problem, and replace it with a much bigger problem.
There have been some media reports of wolf packs in Yellowstone hunting down and killing wolves from other packs.
What the enviro's have said.....
1. hunters have been killing too many elk so the wolves have nothing to eat
2. bad winters have reduced the amount of prey available for wolves.

I am about to wander off track here...

The enviro bunny hugger peta and hsus types actually are anti people..... if we can get the general population to realize this we stand a chance.  They do not like the human race they are so egotistical that they believe we are the cause of every evil ...they do not see the same evils in nature and say ...stop the gang rape of ducks...stop the prostitution of birds (birds are nasty critters btw)  look at chimps they war they rape they murder but the huggers think they are more important than humans...it is their disregard for human life that I find so appalling there are bad people in the world always have been always will be but then there are good kind people and people who deserve to live their life without harassment....wolves deserve a space as much as we do but in order to do this there has to be management and that means wolves will have to die...how they die I guess is the real issue these people haters would rather see the starve to death or killed by their own kind than quickly euthanized by a well placed bullet.  It is funny many of these people also want to see human euthanasia allowed  makes no sense being merciful to one species and not another....I dont know I just dont get it....

[woodswalker]

Good post Runamuk.

[haus]

I don't believe your wandering off track, more like getting right to the core issue behind all of this.
The hardest part is how do you stop a way of thinking?

I am optimistic our country will change course for the better. It's a big sigh of relief to see Americans putting their foot down in Arizona with the immigration issue and in Wyoming with the wolf issue. These aren't disconnected issues in the political sense. These are situations where Americans are putting the economical viability and identity of their country first. This social battle that wolves have been caught up in, it extends to every aspect of our society. Liberalisms watered our nation down so much that we've lost our way a bit.

We have to move forward with natural resource management practices that financially benefit our country, protect our freedom, and protect the environment. It's possible to do that, we just have to teach the other side that using the land in moderation isn't evil. ie, low predator numbers and higher ungulate numbers = more hunters, which equals more $$$$ for our country. The native americans managed this land in that manner when they controlled it, why can't we do it today?