The Boulder White Clouds Council indicated today the Stanley Pack has killed one more ewe of Wm Brailsford. Lethal control is expected to begin on the Stanley Pack in 4 th of July Creek in the White Clouds mountains this morning. All told it appears the pack has killed about 6 of his sheep this summer.

The U. S. Forest Service has rejected pleas to remove the sheep a couple weeks early despite the severe drought conditions in the area. BWCC reports that "they tried to volunteer to stay with the sheep flock at night but have been turned away by the flock's owner, Wm Brailsford. The BWCC has called the Forest Service many times," but to no avail.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that once a pack has begun to kill livestock, they must be removed. There is the feeling that wolves are thriving so well in central Idaho, that the control of Idaho's most visible pack is no problem for wolf recovery. Nevertheless, there is little information as to how this summer's vast wildfires have affected the wolves. The fires burned extensively in the territories of the: Chamberlain Basin Pack, Jureano Mountain Pack, Landmark Pack, Thunder Mountain Pack, Selway Pack, and to a lesser extent, the Kelly Creek Pack and Moyer Basin Pack.

Six members of the Stanley Pack have radio collars. There are 13 adults or sub-adults in the pack. The BWCC reports that any sub-adults caught in traps will be shot, the alpha pair will be removed from the Sawtooth National Recreation Area even though there is no place to put them, especially given the large portion of central Idaho that has burned. This year's pups will be radio collared and released. The pups are probably too small to survive on their own. Sawtooth National Forest Supervisor Bill LeVere told me, however, that it is a sub-group of the Stanley Pack that is being controlled, not the entire pack.  Ted Koch of USFWS affirmed this, and said no more than two wolves will be killed in today's control action.

There is an inadvertent double standard at work in this situation. The Sawtooth National Recreation Area has began a controversial program that charges the public $5 to use a trailhead (or $15 per year). Meanwhile livestock operators pay just $1.35 a month for five sheep to graze in an area where wildlife and recreation are supposed to come first. That is 27 cents a month per sheep. Moreover, every operation to kill a wolf costs from several hundred to several thousand dollars. This double standard is not an intentional Forest Service policy because the token grazing fees are set by Congress.

While the SNRA certainly needs the money for recreational improvements, there is growing resistance Hailey-Ketchum area to paying the fee because of the double standard. I noted it this summer when I was criticized at the trailhead for buying a SNRA sticker. It is not hard to see why. Summer recreationists pay many times what the sheep or cattle operators pay, and they may have their trip disrupted by stinking livestock which push deer and elk out the areas the livestock use, and eat the grass the wildlife needs, thus reducing the prey for wolves, cougar, bears and human hunters in the fall.

Supervisor LeVere told me that Brailsford's sheep were being closely watched, and as of today his sheep have not exceeded the amount of forage they are allowed to consume. He said that probably next year language would be added to the grazing permits detailing how sheep will be managed in situations where wolves are present, but this year they have no administrative authority to move sheep just because wolves are present nearby. It looks like the events of the summer might have made the Forest Service cognizant that sheep or cattle plus wolves requires language be added to grazing permits.

There may be a vacuum of leadership in the Boise, Idaho office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The new manager, Carter Neimeyer assumes the vacant position September 11. Regarding livestock, wolves and sheep Neimeyer was quoted in the Twin Falls Times News the other day. . . " But ranchers have a responsibility to take the presence of wolves into account. And wolf advocates also have to recognize the rancher has other factors to consider. Meanwhile there are things herders can do -- shoot guns at night and communicate with wolf managers to coordinate wolves and herd locations to try to avoid conflict. "If you drive the sheep in on top of the wolves, you're gonna have kills," Niemeyer said.

One final irony, On August 10, a range fire caused by a lightning strike burned over 30,000 acres near the small south central Idaho town of Dietrich.  This fire swept across the range at speeds in excess of 50 mph. In one case it burned 545 cows, calves and bulls that belonged to just one rancher. Another rancher lost over 80 head in the fire. There has been virtually no news about the incident beyond the local newspaper.

Update: 9-6-00; 1:50 pm MDT. Wildlife Services was unable to trap the wolves today, and the trappers have left the area. The targeted wolves have moved 10 miles back north to join the main pack. So, the wolves may have escaped the noose again. Undoubtedly the trappers will be back if another sheep dies. Cross you fingers until the grazing season ends.

Someone on the scene today reported, "This morning I observed several crippled ewes trailing at the back of the band. One pathetic sick ram was riding in a little cart behind the sheep wagon. It's no wonder predators have such an easy time with sheep, several probably die every day. Some are used for camp food, others fed to the guard dogs/heeler dogs." 

I don't know if in fact the dead sheep are fed to the dogs, but anyone who has been around sheep knows that they are weak animals and die with little provocation. Coyotes kill thousands ever year in Idaho, but there is this big operation whenever a wolf kills one.

The Forest Service seems to be slowly perceiving the double standard and their responsibility to manage grazing so it doesn't conflict with wildlife and recreation on the SNRA. To let the Forest Service, you can contact the following:

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Forest Supervisor Bill LeVere
Sawtooth National Forest 
2647 Kimberly Road East 
Twin Falls, ID 83301 
e-mail: wlevere@fs.fed.us 
Phone: 208/737-3200 

Deborah DesLaurier, Ranger 
Sawtooth National Recreation Area 
Star Route Ketchum, ID 83340 
e-mail: ddeslaurier@fs.fed.us 
Phone: 208/727-5000 (leave message)

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