Ranchers in wolf country finding continued success with range riding

[eridani]

http://www.conservationnw.org/news/updates/rangeridingsuccess

COLVILLE, WA - If you’ve been paying attention to some of the headlines about Washington’s recovering wolf population, you might think the endangered predators have been devouring livestock left and right.

Not so, says cattle rancher John Dawson of Stevens County.

Despite grazing his herd of nearly 200 cow-calf pairs within the range of a confirmed wolf pack, Dawson reported no losses to predators this year. Neither did the other five ranchers partnering in a collaborative program that uses “range riders” to help prevent wolf depredations on livestock.

And through these ranchers’ success, tolerance for wolves is building among some Washington livestock operators and other residents of rural communities.

“Range riding sure seems to be working for us,” said Dawson. “Looking at three years in a row we’ve been in a positive position with wolves and our cattle that we weren’t in before. Nothing replaces just having someone spending time with the herd, and having a person on the ground watching the cattle, checking for wolf tracks and scat, and keeping an eye on the whole operation.”

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I am really pleased to read about this program.

I had not thought of this, and it's really thrilling to see that someone did, and that it's working.

I'd love to see it expand into Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho too. There are some really intransigent ranchers in those areas and it would be great to see them learn what a good program this is.

K&R

[countryjake]

2. Other ranchers find success using specially-bred livestock protection dogs

Except this is about sheep:

Using dogs to help protect livestock from predators

http://www.pinedaleonline.com/news/2010/05/Usingdogstohelpprote.htm

Expanding large carnivore populations pose new challenges for livestock owners to protect their herds from predators while abiding to the laws that protect some of these predator species which are under federal protection.

Some sheep ranchers have used specially-bred livestock protection dogs as a non-lethal tool to help protect their herds from wolf predation.

Cat and Jim Urbigkit, ranchers in Big Piney, have co-authored a paper on the use of livestock protection dogs (LPDs), which was recently published in Sheep & Goat Research Journal. "The number of LPDs killed by large predators is increasing," they wrote. "We conducted a literature review to identify LPD breeds that may be more suited for use around large carnivores, such as gray wolves."

"Western Wyoming provides a natural laboratory for the study of conflict with large carnivores, since it contains reintroduced gray wolf and recovering grizzly bear populations amid livestock production," they wrote.

The challenge for livestock producers is finding a breed of dog that will bond to their sheep, be powerful enough to protect against predators, yet are not human aggressive and can be handled by their owners.

In any case, both your article and mine pretty much exemplify what the term "watching your flock" means. It was the task of shepherds for millennia and what cowboys were expected to do in the American West. I don't see why these ranchers are allowed to just set their cows (or any animal) loose out on the range, putting them at lots of possible risks, and then when something awful happens, the government automatically sends a posse out to destroy wolves.

We used dogs when I was a kid, to protect our livestock (although we had no wolves or bears prowling about; mainly just hungry coyotes and other dogs) and my parents used us kids to help keep a constant eye on the entire operation. I think that some of these ranchers have gotten lazy and used to writing off their losses each year, but now have found that wolves are a very convenient scapegoat for their lax practice. They just hate wolves.

[countryjake]

3. Oops, forgot to include this news from Eastern WA just this week...

which is the reason I turned the topic to sheep in my other post.

Wolf attacks are suspected cause of death of commissioner’s sheep Dec 18, 2014

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/dec/18/in-brief-wolf-attacks-are-suspected-cause-of/

On Tuesday, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials investigated three dead sheep where about 1,200 sheep are being pastured in stubble fields near the Spokane and Lincoln county borders.

One of three Anatolian shepherds protecting the sheep has been missing for about a week and is presumed dead, the ranchers said. The mother and sister of the missing 4-year-old male dog also were with the sheep but are unharmed.

Both wolf depredation events occurred on sheep belonging to Whitman County Commissioner Art Swannack near his ranch north of Lamont.

Wildlife officials confirmed on Wednesday that one pregnant ewe was killed by a wolf or wolves. The other two sheep could not positively be confirmed as wolf kills because the remains were too sparse, said Nate Pamplin, the agency’s assistant director in Olympia.

“Apparently, some of the sheep got out of the pasture that is surrounded by an electric fence on Dec. 14,” he said. Some sheep escaped the fence after a post pulled out from the freezing-thawing ground in a draw, he said.

I found that link in my previous post about the LPDs in the comments section of this article.

[countryjake]

4. On a related note...

Groups now offer $20K for info about wolf killing
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Groups-now-offer-20K-for-info-about-wolf-killing-286729881.html

SEATTLE (AP) - Conservation groups are now offering $20,000 for information about the October killing of a protected female wolf in Kittitas County.

The reward announced Tuesday is an increase of $5,000 from the amount previously offered. The Center for Biological Diversity says the wolf was the breeding alpha female of the Teanaway pack, and that her death jeopardizes the recovery of gray wolves in the state.

The wolf was wearing a radio collar. After signals showed the wolf was not moving, her carcass was found Oct. 28 north of Lake Cle Elum.

The poaching was the fourth known illegal killing of a wolf in Washington this year. Wolves were also shot to death in Stevens, Ferry and Whitman counties.

The conservation groups say the reward will go to anyone who provides information resulting in the conviction of the culprit.