10/30/2018 0 Comments Conversations in the ColdOn our first full day in Gardiner, Montana, a charming town at the North gate of Yellowstone park we woke to a beautiful view of the sun rising over the mountains of Yellowstone and a wolf howl. After a quick breakfast of pancakes, courtesy of Benji and Casey, we headed out to Tom Miner Basin to meet with Matt Cunningham, the ranch manager of the Anderson ranch.
The wolf reintroduction has caused financial losses to the Anderson ranch because the wolves occasionally kill cattle, the wolves scatter the herd making it less likely that cows will get pregnant, and it is costly to protect the cattle from wolves. The Anderson ranch employs a variety of nonlethal and lethal techniques to protect their cattle from wolves. When there are many wolves in the area staff will guard the herd from horseback all night, attempting to keep the herd together. During calving season, they will coral the cattle within an electric fence to protect the vulnerable newborn calves. And, if the ranchers see a wolf chasing their cattle, they will attempt to kill it. Despite all the problems wolves cause him, Matt feels that the wolves belong on the landscape. As long as ranchers can protect their cattle, removing wolves that habitually prey on cattle and teaching other wolves not to, he feels that wolves and ranchers can coexist. Matt expressed frustration with government officials who promised that wolf population control via hunting would be allowed once the wolves recovered to a sustainable population, but then allowed the wolf population to soar past the initial recovery target without communicating with local ranchers. Additionally, getting the compensation promised to ranchers who lose cattle to wolves and grizzlies has been difficult for the Anderson ranch. Matt also takes issue with newspapers that have interviewed him and skewed his responses to portray him in way that suits their story rather than in a way that remains true to reality. At Matt’s recommendation, we traveled further into Tom Miner basin to look around. Amid light flurries of snow, we drove along a bumpy dirt road, stopping every three feet to take pictures and gaze in awe at the scenery. We saw herds of cows and elk grazing around the valley but did not see the wolves that Matt told us he had spotted earlier that morning. Cold but excited, we returned to Gardiner to meet with the Bear Creek Council, a volunteer organization of locals dedicated to protecting the environment and their community. We discussed the ethicality of hunting, what constitutes a “fair hunt”, and what species a fair hunt is possible for. Views differed somewhat among the group, but all found hunting acceptable under some circumstances, depending on many things including whether the animal would be used for food or a trophy, whether or not the animal knew it was being hunted, and the suffering of the animal before they die. They were against the hunting of wolves, except possibly in the case of letting ranchers protect their cattle. We also learned about the thriving ecotourism industry based in Gardiner that relies on abundant wildlife populations. The Bear Creek Council felt that wolf hunting threatened that growing industry both because it makes wolves less visible and because tourists don’t like to hear about a wolf being shot. The Bear Creek Council urged us to consider the fact that while we can seek out human voices on all sides of the wolf debate, we cannot hear from the wolves themselves. After relaxing for a couple of hours with some much-needed hot chocolate, Stav and Shiye cooked us a wonderful curry for dinner. Lastly, we walked just a short way from our VRBO to meet with Jim Halfpenny, a wildlife educator and tracking expert. Jim graciously showed us around his extensive collection of plaster casts of tracks, antlers, horns, and bones, which he has been working on since he was a boy. He regaled us with stories of how he identifies tracks of different animals, sometimes for people who want to know what is eating their rosebushes or think they’ve found Bigfoot, sometimes to prove the presence of an endangered species in an area so they can be protected. When asked about his perspective on the wolf reintroduction, Jim encouraged us to “love the species not the individual” and discussed how delisting, which can lead to hunting, is a necessary part of the endangered species act and maintaining public support for it. We learned about how hunting wolves became a divisive issue within the conservation community. Hearing from all the diverse voices we have so far, we were struck by how much different stakeholders agree on (though certainly not everything). It is an encouraging thought that compromise is possible, and people are willing to work with those with differing views. -Wolf Pack (Kelly and Kwan)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
The Wolf PackHannah Reynolds, '22 Archives |