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GO LIBBY

Rulings cost Libby, Lincoln County

In response to Printer Bowler’s Aug. 4 letter: Before we canonize Judge Donald Molloy for his science abilities, I would like to count the ways he really helped the people of Libby.

In the past year alone, we have lost $6 million in school funding due to the loss of timber-sale and oil-lease revenue: loss of revenue from Kootenai National Forest logging, $3.5 million annually; and 2,500 jobs lost in timber and mining. There were 3,000 jobs when both timber and mining were working. The current job base is between 350 and 500 n a high estimate by county officials.

Both the city of Libby and Lincoln County are spending invested money, not replaceable. When it’s gone, where will the cuts be made again? In the past year, we have lost 750 school students, further degrading education funding. We have all the same problems appearing as the inner cities have n higher drug addiction and alcoholism, higher crime and suicide rates.

For this we can thank St. Molloy and his friends in Earthjustice “because the Earth needs a lawyer.” I can’t get my head around the fact of Earth being here for 4.5 billion years and the one thing lacking is a lawyer? Ego and self-importance that big is truly frightening. According to Earthjustice’s Web site, the Earth is going to be safe, though. They have 54 lawsuits filed or in the works. No jobs, no replacement tax base, no industry n just lawsuits. Get to work Mr. Molloy. Lawyers need money and please remember rodents, reptiles, predatory species and cockroaches come before the dignity of a man to have a job that can feed, clothe and educate his family.

Harry Turnland, Libby

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Forest is going to the wolves, beetles

I couldn’t agree more with the Missoulian editorial board calling out District Judge Donald Molloy on his outrageous ruling that wolves couldn’t be proved to be genetically exchanging. What kind of malarkey is that? They are finding these wolves from Colorado to Washington. That’s exchange. This is a serious case of the monkey running the zoo. Judge Molloy, this is your forest. For years now, you have stopped productive action in the national forest. You have destroyed a way of life, breaking the hearts of loggers and the generations of families that lived and worked in the woods they love.

And look at your forest now. It is full of bark beetles, with vast tracts dead and dying. The burned timber that could have been salvaged is ruined. Knapweed and other noxious weeds are pervasive. All you allow is the destruction of the roads that allow access. And now, with your wolves, you and your cohorts have destroyed the moose, grouse and mule deer that lived in peace. You have put the ranchers and rural people under siege. It is a travesty. I think our Montana Constitution requires us to protect the wildlife in this state. Gov. Brian Schweitzer should step in. Someone should step in.

I have just one question for you and the extremist activists to which you cater, Judge Molloy: Where are all the moose?

Rena Wetherelt, Missoula

That's funny right there. Those justices in San Fran are more whacked than Brandi Swindell, ELF, Hillary and those moles at the fair.

I'd just like to see the "lawfull" attempts to get things handled before the majority of folks decide that "to hell with it, we've been sold down the river, it's time for us all to SSS" I'd rather it didn't get to that, but I see it comin'

i am a semi-pro videographer and have been thinking about making an educational video on the effects of wolves in Idaho and hopefully promote public opinion on the fact they need to be controlled, because unfortunately the "public" doesn't care and doesn't get outdoors. I have some ideas but need a lot of expert ideas and possibly some expert interviewees, also people who have "creditable" wolf stories. The idea is too inform the public and get them educated because there are not enough hunters unfortunately to sway any decision making. **someone posted a link to an audio interview about wolves that had some great stuff in it, i cant find it or remember who?? The video most likely will start as a youtube.com video (huge audience base) and hopefully expand from that (more ideas welcome). I have all the professional video equipment that would be needed for a professional broadcast, so all we need now is some solid screen writing and some peoples time to make this happen. just throwing this out as it has been on my mind for a couple months now and I'm tired of not doing anything and listening to people "talk" about it.

John Abernathey Boise, Idaho

if interested please reply to this post or for serious information or ideas email me at: [email protected] also if anyone knows good people to get a hold of and some whos-who people either pass their name or if you know them contact them for me and send them my way. lets actually do something.

BTW, did you read ALL Ed Bang's comments or just the ones that you expected him to say?

This is exactly what the pro wolfers want and their ultimate goal is a total lack of surplus game so only the wolf will be able to hunt. They are well on their way to winning.

I testified before the Legislature on this issue for three consecutive years. The only other person that spoke up in Committee was Jack Fisher. I assume you're not him, so enough with the put up or shut up crap. All I've seen you do is point fingers and whine.

The long and short is simple. IDFG (Steve Huffaker in particular) did a great job of working within the unconstitutional limits placed on them by King Dirk. One (and ONLY one) organization put up funds to fight the court battles. All our Legislature did was sputter impotent crap with no binding effect. This fight is at the federal level and in our courts. If you want something done contact your Congressman and thier Staffers. While your at it crack open your check book to fund the multitude of lawsuits.

As an aside consider this-

Our Courts are stacked with idiots like Molloy. If we contiune to vote in morons that appoint LWL judges it will only get worse. Think about that November 4th.

My .02, Tom

But prior to that in 1995 the Idaho Legislature rejected a Wolf Recovery and Management Plan produced by the Legislative Wolf Oversight Committee which would have allowed Fish and Game to assume the lead role in wolf recovery in Idaho.

The finger pointing and blame assignment does nothing for moving forward.

Idaho wolf update Aug. 29 to Sept. 12 September 19, 2008 — Ralph Maughan Idaho wolf update Aug. 29 to Sept. 12. Idaho Fish and Game Dept. IDAHO WOLF MANAGEMENT BI-WEEKLY PROGRESS REPORT

To: Idaho Fish and Game Staff and Cooperators

From: IDFG Wolf Program Coordinator, Steve Nadeau

Subject: Status of Gray Wolf Management, Weeks of August 29 - Sept. 12, 2008.

News: FWS. Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Status (WY, MT, ID): The U.S. Federal District Court in Missoula, Montana, issued a preliminary injunction on Friday, July 18, 2008, that immediately reinstated temporary Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountain DPS pending final resolution of the case. This includes all of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, the eastern one-third of Washington and Oregon, and parts of north-central Utah. The USFWS, the states, and Department of Justice are evaluating legal options regarding the Court’s order and the ongoing litigation over the agency’s delisting of the northern Rocky Mountain wolf population. All wolves to the north of Interstate- 90 in Idaho are once again listed as endangered. All wolves in the southern half of Montana, all portions of Idaho south of Interstate-90, and all of Wyoming will be managed under the 2005 and 2008 Endangered Species Act nonessential experimental population 10j regulations. The State of Idaho Department of Fish and Game will once again act as the designated agent for the USFWS in implementing day-to-day management of wolves under the MOU between the Secretary of Interior and Governor of Idaho signed January 2006.

Delisting wolves and assuring their proper long-term management is and has been of highest priority for the state of Idaho and the Fish and Game Department. We continue to work along with the Department of Interior, Department of Justice, and other states and interveners toward the eventual delisting of wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains, and move toward state management under the State Wolf Conservation and Management Plan and the Wolf Population Management Plan. You may hear deputy attorney general Clive Strong discuss the legal situation and what the state is doing at the following link: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/wildlife/wolves/court/. [Note that this paragraph doesn't take into account the recent decision by the federal government to throw in the towel on wolf delisting for the time being. RM ]

You may review past wolf weekly publications on our wolf webpage and links along with all pertinent and updated wolf information and publications at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/wildlife/wolves/

The more interesting stuff follows RM

Monitoring

Fish and Game efforts to collar wolves continued in the Bear Valley area, Panhandle, and Salmon. Two wolves were collared by IDFG north of Lowman on a new pack and another wolf was collared in Unit 35. Pups were verified in a pack in Unit 6.

The USFWS has asked the states to provide mid-summer population estimates. Idaho provided the Service with preliminary estimates that will likely be very different at the end of the year. So far in Idaho this year, IDFG and the NPT estimate that there are 771 wolves and 89 packs, and biologists verified at least 155 pups so far. Counting wolves is best done from November through mid- January prior to peak dispersal and breeding times, and when snow covered ground provides better observations conditions from the air. Our end of year counts are finalized and published in the annual reports in March. You can see previous year’s progress reports at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/wildlife/wolves/manage/

Management

From January 1 to Sept. 12 agencies have documented 112 dead wolves in Idaho. Of those, 73 were depredation control actions by USDA Wildlife Services, 5 illegal kills, 13 legal kills, 3 natural kills, and 17 other. An additional 9 wolves were suspected dead (reported road kills not verified, collars on mortality not picked up, etc.). Depredation events are at record levels this year nearly doubling levels incurred last year at this time.

From 1/1/08 - 9/10/08, WS [Wildlife Services] confirmed that wolves killed: 8 cows, 73 calves, 189 sheep, 10 dogs; Injured: 1 cow, 7 calves, 6 sheep, 4 dogs; Probable killed: 5 cows, 19 calves, 52 sheep Injured: 1 cow, 3 calves, 1 sheep.

Control

From 8/30 - 9/11, WS confirmed eight wolf depredations and determined that another one was a probable wolf depredation. WS confirmed that wolves killed a cow, 5 calves, 2 sheep and a guard dog. WS also confirmed that wolves attacked and injured a hound being used to trail bears, and determined that another calf was a probable wolf kill. During the reporting period, WS killed 10 wolves in response to these and previously confirmed depredations. During the same time frame last year, WS investigated seven confirmed and one probable wolf depredation.

Non-lethal control efforts are ongoing as per the Idaho Wolf Population Management Plan in the area between Leodore and Yellowstone along the boundary with Montana. Radio collars have been placed on wolves in the area that have been implicated in depredations to further knowledge of wolf movement in the area and pursue non-lethal options prior to lethal control. Discussions of and use of non-lethal tools are ongoing with livestock producers to assist them in reducing livestock/wolf problems along this potential corridor.

Additionally, non-lethal efforts continue in a cooperative effort near Ketchum to reduce livestock/wolf conflicts. Four producers, USFS, USDA Wildlife Services, IDFG, Blaine County Commission, and Defenders of Wildlife are experimenting with the use of paid non-lethal personnel (funded by Defenders) who use fladry and penning for sheep at night, and attempt to scare wolves away from sheep during the night. Wolves have been around the sheep on a regular basis but to date only one sheep has been confirmed killed by wolves.

Research Nothing new to report.

Information and Education

The new IDFG Wolf Webpage is up and running. The new webpage includes information on the lawsuit and injunction that caused wolves to be temporarily relisted under the Endangered Species Act. It also has updated information on the new 10j rule under which IDFG is currently acting as the “designated agent” for the USFWS, and conducting day to day wolf management. What the public can and can’t do under the new rules is discussed. You can find the new webpage at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/cms/wildlife/wolves/

We also would like to remind people that when wolves are in the area, please be aware that they may attack or injure dogs. It often helps to keep dogs in kennels or inside buildings at night and to not let them roam freely when humans are not around. When fresh wolf sign is found, place dogs on restraints and keep supervised. The 10j rule allows individuals to harass or kill a wolf attacking or molesting their livestock and stock animals including pets. If you are having concerns or problems with wolves close to your residence, please inform the Fish and Game Office nearest you.

Please help us manage wolves by reporting wolf sightings on our Fish and Game observation form found at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/apps/wolf_report/