Wolves back in cattle country
By KARL PUCKETT - Great Falls Tribune March 28, 2010 [here]
Ross Williams and his son, Sterling, set out to feed the cattle on their Blackfeet Indian Reservation ranch 25 miles northwest of Browning on a zero-degree day in March 2009.
As usual, the peaks of Flattop and Triple Divide mountain in nearby Glacier National Park poked into the sky like spires, but the real eye-opener was yet to come.
Father and son arrived at a draw where the cattle were bunched within view of the family’s log cabin. Near the top of a hill, 200 yards above the cows, was a pack of gray wolves.
Williams managed to count 14 wolves in all.
“Just lookin’ like they were ready for dinner,” he said.
The longtime rancher had seen wolves around before, but he was shocked by this pack’s size.
“We’re going to have problems,” he told his son.
He was right.
May marks the one-year anniversary of the state and tribes taking over management of the once-endangered wolves from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The big Livermore pack, which once numbered more than 20 animals, exemplifies the successful return of wolves to Montana.
But the Livermore pack’s near demise after three years — 24 members were killed for killing livestock in 2009 — exemplifies the challenge of managing wolves now that they’re back for good in Montana, where the livestock industry is a $1.5 billion annual enterprise. … [more]
Note: Oh, oh, Marlboro cowboys. What about the profound loss of “wildness” that preserves the world? (see Danny’s effulgent crapola below).