Blog 5 Ryan Kiefer- Response and incorporation of sources

One of the major groups against the growing populations of wolves is the ranchers. They have major concerns because wolves have been preying on their livestock because it is easy prey. As the livestock is the rancher’s form of income, a wolf attack can be a significant setback economically. To avoid these cattle losses ranchers have been shooting wolves, even before they were taken off the endangered species list. When the question to put the wolves on a recovery program came up, the American Farm Bureau Federation even “sued preemptively in 1994 to stop the reintroduction” (Ketcham). Many other lawsuits have since sprung up between the government, ranchers, and biologists/conservationists, but still today ranchers are shooting without a second thought. Shooting and other lethal wolf barriers are going to drive the wolf population back to small isolated packs; Non-lethal methods must be discovered. Thankfully research has begun, like the adaptive computer model on predicting where wolves would be likely to attack livestock developed by Justin Edge (Edge). With these new models better steps can be taken to implement nonlethal wolf barriers to keep wolves away from cattle in a cost effective way.  Possible options being studied include super-sonic alarms that drive the wolves away and better fencing techniques. At one time guard dogs and mounted patrollers were considered, but were rejected because they were not effective either in cost or practice.

 The ranchers cannot be allowed to control what happens with wolf populations just based on what they want. Ed Bangs, the gray wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, addresses the change in demographics of the west: “The West changed. At one time, Montana and Wyoming was pretty much just ranches. Then people who came here came for public lands, wildlife, clean air and water. So wolves weren't viewed only as a negative” (Bangs). The wolves are now seen as a part of the environment and everyone has the right to see them in the wild. If the ranchers are allowed to have too much power over wolves they are taking the rights away from many other Americans who want to see a wolf in the wild.