We need more predators. The sheepmen complain, it is true, that the coyotes eat some of their lambs. This is true but do they eat enough? I mean enough lambs to keep the coyotes sleek, healthy and well fed. That is my concern. As for the sacrifice of an occasional lamb, that seems to me a small price to pay for the support of the coyote population. The lambs, accustomed by tradition to their role, do not complain; and the sheepmen, who run their hooved locusts on the public lands and are heavily subsidized, most of them as hog-rich as they are pigheaded, can easily afford these trifling losses. Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire, p38
I looked in vain in my files for the above Abbey snippet in the past, but I used the word “wolves” instead of “coyote,” and so nothing turned up. Of course, ol’ Ed died before the reintroduction of wolves to the lower 48, and so would have spoken of the only significant threat to sheep at that time, coyotes. They are such an adaptable animal that their eradication was impossible without some kind of shock and awe attack that would have obliterated all living species. It was probably contemplated, but considered a threat to sheep. We must keep our world both safe for sheep and Democrats. But I repeat myself.
Going on faulty memory here: Dates may be wrong. On New Year’s in 1995 my now-wife and I were in Gardiner, Montana. It was a remarkable event, in my mind, as I’d never seen it in the dead of winter. We sat with windshield wipers flapping through a late-night rain storm. I didn’t know about climate change back then. Later that winter Yellowstone bison migrated into the surrounding national forest. The rain had frozen and formed a layer of ice, and the hulks were unable to access the foliage below. They had to move to find food, and were unaware of political boundaries.
Years before, the tone-deaf governor of Montana, Stan Stephens, had allowed the nation to see great white hunters stand a few feet from grazing bison and drop them with high-powered rifles. There was outrage. Governor Marc Racicot was a smarter man and a better politician. He did not change the policy, but confined the slaughter to a walled enclosure beyond the reach of reach of cameras.
I’m not terribly concerned about bison, as they tend to overpopulate in the absence of predators. I only hope their suffering is minimized before death, and do not want them to starve. The lessons that I took from the events of those years were these: 1) It is important to control images in politics. Pictures are potent, and can alter public perceptions and affect policy; and 2) Governors Stephens and Racicot were not in charge of policy regarding bison – they merely carried it out. The Montana Stockmen’s Association was the governing force, and the governors’ task was merely to appear to be in charge as policy was carried out.
I’ve been following the debate around the recent actions taken “by” Jon Tester (read: Stockmen’s Association Montana Department of Livestock – see JC’s comment below) to bypass the EPA and due process, and legislate the demise of wolves in Montana. As usual, since Tester has a “D” after his name, those who should oppose such tyranny are either silent or actively support him. The active supporters are no more than the men with brooms who follow the parade.
I am not concerned about loss of sheep or cattle due to wolves, as there are adequate compensation policies in place to take care of that matter. I don’t have personal feelings for individual wolves, as they live and die by predation. I take no pleasure when I witness their activities. It’s gruesome, and as I see the wolf-watchers in Yellowstone Park I am reminded of the Roman Coliseum.
I regard wolves as an important part of a healthy and balanced ecosystem. In the years since their reintroduction into the Yellowstone ecosystem, the place has changed for better. Bears are doing well, and elk migrations have reverted to pre-eradication patterns, leaving the valleys earlier and thereby allowing foliage to take firmer hold. The elk population has been brought under control, and the elk themselves are again alert, with weaker and older ones routinely failing to show up for dinner.
There’s great trepidation now that Congressman Dennis Rehberg might replace Jon Tester in the Montana senate seat. I don’t have personal feelings for either, as they live and die by political machinizations. However, I do not like to witness their activities. I regard both as slovenly beats, and believe that their occasional removal is good for the political ecosystem. When a man like Tester goes down, it allows better foliage in the Democratic pastures. Slovenly grazers who try to make nice with predators ought to fail to show up for dinner now and then.
What Tester did in pushing through the science bypass to allow for predation on wolves was something that Rehberg would not get away with.
I see ol’ Jon now, peacefully feeding on spring grasses, wistfully imagining his reelection to have importance to the greater good. I see Rehberg, himself a grazer, waiting to move in on that meadow. The predators that will take down poor ol’ Jon (a lot of meat on the hoof there!) are the same ones who dropped those bison from close distance back then.
I don’t like to witness carnage, and so will avert my eyes as Jon gets taken down. I only admire the noble workings of nature, and hope that he, like lambs, is accustomed by tradition to his role and does not complain.
Piece of Mindful 
D-MT-guv just enacted (without signing) the final demise of another Republican “wet dream:” MEPA (Montana Environmental Policy Act of 1971).
Deregulation is a primary constituent element of neolibaralism. Democrats are trying so hard to prove themselves, and yet, will never measure up to Republicans no matter how hard they try. They are now doing what Republicans could not accomplish: Remove every last obstacle to commerce and the corporate-welfare state.
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If only it were merely weakness and stupidity, then strong people would come along and replace the weak ones. Isn’t that how nature works? Instead we find that almost all Democrats in power are mealy-mouthed.
And I hold the Democratic base responsible for this, as they never hold them accountable. They are always so afraid of Republicans that they allow the lesser of evils to slip through, not realizing that it is really the greater evil that they embrace.
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I take issue with the word “endangered species” and it’s application.
Definition: “A plant or animal species existing in such small numbers that it is in danger of becoming extinct, especially such a species placed in jeopardy as a result of human activity. One of the principal factors in the endangerment or extinction of a species is the destruction or pollution of its native habitat. Other factors include overhunting, intentional extermination, and the accidental or intentional introduction of alien species that outcompete the native species for environmental resources.”
The grey wolf is not an endangered species, it exists in large numbers. Blackfooted ferrets and sage grouse, maybe.. Any animal that we can replace by driving a couple hundred to our north is not in any danger of depletion.
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But who should control our national forests and parks? The public as a whole, or ranchers? Because what you want to do is overrule the public for your own private profit. I regard that as overreaching.
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Kicking cattle off all public lands would only increase the value of what I have and increase my chances of harvesting an elk.
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Not sure I buy that, but it’s beside the point. I have no problem with grazing privileges. The question is whether or not you and your fellow ranchers will use your clout to keep wolves off public lands. That’s where you are overreaching, in my opinion. Put your meat on public lands, but take your chances too.
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With the grazing livestock comes the rancher. It is much more than a lease, it is an occupation, with extreme attitude. Occupiers take much, much more than what’s agreed to in the contract. The public doesn’t need the problems they create for public land, for public wildlife and fish, for public anything. Let them take their chances in the world of private, free-markets they hold so dear.
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Abbey was run out of Missoula for saying that. Watch yer back.
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Ok, you brought bison into this discussion, so here you go. Just what predators (other than humans) would keep bison populations from burgeoning?
Maybe in pleistocene times the sabertooth tiger could keep them in check. Wolves and grizzlies have a rough time taking anything but a few old or infirm/abandoned calves. Winter weather doles out a far greater death toll to bison than any predator in the Yellowstone ecosystem. And there were no wolves and few grizzlies (after they were nearly exterminated) in Yellowstone until the end of the last century, and bison did not overpopulate the ecosystem.
And “overpopulate?” Once upon a time there were 30-60 million bison in N. America. We’re a long ways from overpopulation. Range restrictions are the largest impediment to the migratory habits of bison. By nature bison would go to where there is food. By far, food and weather and artificial range restrictions and human predation place a far more limiting factor on bison populations than any 4-legged predator.
Well, you are missing the most important part of this equation. The Montana Department of Livestock. The MDOL is a vestigial agency left over from the 19th century. They are the Stockmen’s political and policy arm.
Here is the state law on the MDOL Board:
(2) The board consists of seven members appointed by the governor with the consent of the senate. Each member must be a resident of the state and an active livestock producer. A member must be appointed upon the recommendation of the related industry and must have the following qualifications:
(a) four are cattle producers;
(b) one is a dairy producer representing the dairy and poultry industry;
(c) one is a swine producer; and
(d) one is a sheep producer.
And they get to appoint/hire their own Director. So the Director of a state agency has no direct accountability to either the Governor, or the people of the state. And they are able to participate in resource management decisions with the same level of governmental authority as any other agency, though they ultimately do exactly what the livestock industry wants. Sweet deal.
And now you know why cattle is still king in Montana. Perception management or not by the wimpiest or strongest of politicians. Years of documenting the plight of the Yellowstone bison by BFC and other media exposures (like Facing the Storm) have done little to counter the work of the MDOL, though they are gaining.
Maybe what Montana needs is a MDOE–Montana Department of Environmentalists. Consisting only of practicing enviros (“professional left???” And they can elect their own Director who can then, with the force of state agency behind them, influence resource decisions, both state, federal and local. Sweet!
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You’re spot-on, as usual, JC. I was searching for the term in my mind as I wrote the words you corrected. MDOL is indeed the body that runs policy. But do we agree that governors merely posture?
Also, on predation, I had an uncomfortable feeling as I wrote that. There was at one time a wolf pack up there that lived on bison, but I don’t know the situation now. Winter kill is the population control engine, unfortunately. I have no objection to hunting in that situation, though a better term is harvesting.
The bison was not a mountain animal when the Europeans came here, and their small numbers were relegated to the high country as cattle displaced them.
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Well, the plains bison is definitely a creature of the plains. But there is a lot of evidence that there is a genetic subpopulation of mountain bison.
In any case, a hundred years and running of basic darwinian mechanics–selecting out bison that want to migrate out of Yellowstone’s mountainous backcountry to the plains and killing them–is altering the genetic makeup of Yellowstone’s herds. And for those who believe that there is some refugia mountain bison genes rolling around those herds, well then they are going to dominate–and there is evidence that there are bison who are not so inclined to migrate like the Pelican-Mirror Plateau Mountain Bison herd
And posturing? Well, yes, all politicians posture. But sometimes, there is something going on behind the posture. Take for instance, Schweitzer’s posturing on the 90-day embargo of hauling Park bison from the capture facility at Stephens Creek to slaughter. Schweitzer’s posture was that if a pregnant bison gave birth and some of the afterbirth fell off the cattle trailer, that a magpie could grab some and take it over to a pasture and infect a cow.
Well, then he turns around and calls BFC and tells them he bought them 90 days to work on getting the bison released back into Yellowstone and not slaughtered. Of course, all the cattle folks and general public believed the governor, because he is so good of an actor. So yeah, politics is nothing but posturing. But sometimes there are good intentions behind it, and occasionally some good policy–though state policy as not changed re: bison, though tactical motives may be hidden.
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So everything was wiped out but the mountain bison?
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The only wild bison left were about 21 mountain bison in Pelican Valley. The bison that were reintroduced in Yellowstone most likely were plains bison from animals that had been captured and domesticated.
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I’ve been run out of Missoula three times. It could be four. Maybe it’s something I said. Slow learner, I guess.
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