The wolf issue is a huge ballyhoo here in my part of the world.

Here's an interesting article about a Wyoming ranch that has learned to co-exist with wolves, and other wildlife.

Link:

www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-gunther/ra...


Some text from the article:

The Arapaho Ranch wolf management plan is as fascinating as it is common sense. The ranch manager explained that the ranchers know the whereabouts and hunting patterns of the wolves very well, so they ensure that any cattle grazing in the areas patrolled by wolves "are cattle that the wolves do not consider as prey." I must have looked a little confused. He went on to explain that wolves generally take the injured, sick and young cattle. By ensuring that any injured, sick or young cattle are not grazed in the range of the wolves, the issue of predation is avoided. Similarly, the very presence of the wolves discourages wild moose, elk and deer from staying too long in the grassland, which helps to prevent the potential spread of diseases like brucellosis from wildlife to the cattle, which can cause abortion of calves. It's a simple and symbiotic solution to the challenge of native predators, which is reflected elsewhere on the ranch. The ranch team is made up of cowboys who grew up with the philosophy of respect for and knowledge of their surroundings, and who know how to interact with the other non-farmed inhabitants of the ranch.

Some people might argue that ranching in this way could not possibly make a bottom line profit without some complicated argument about the "value" of habitat conservation or external funding. So I was a little taken aback to find out that the ranch is making an operating profit. Here was a living, breathing, working example of how to ranch in a truly sustainable way, in harmony with the surrounding environment, and still make a living. And many other ranches and farms across the United States are doing just the same.

 

Sep 12, 2012 -- 7:35PM, costrel wrote:

Now, if only ranchers could learn to co-exist with prairie dogs.

Well, if they let wolves be... the wolves will snack on the prairie dogs, and keep their numbers in check.  

Sep 13, 2012 -- 1:15PM, Nepenthe wrote:

This thread brought this up to my mind:

"I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had, during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you aren’t actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with its surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply, and multiply until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague, and we... are the cure." - Agent Smith

Such dim views of humanity are pointless, IMO.

And mammals don't instinctively develop any sort of equilibrium. They pay attention to what's in front of their noses, needed to survive and reproduce, and nothing else.

When both human hunting and natural predators were taken off elk in Yellowstone National Park, they proceeded to eat, make little elk, and continue to do so, until they had pounded the crap out of the ecosystem.

Then humans had the wisdom to correct past mistakes, and brought wolves back in. 

Yellowstone is now a more vibrant place than I've ever seen it. 

Sep 13, 2012 -- 4:54PM, crunchyfrog wrote:

Actually the bloodthirsty wolf killers are from Montana, not Wyoming.

You can't blame the wolves for taking advantage of  ranches, after all to a wolf a ranch is a fast food restaurant; it's a lot better than tracking caribou for miles with no guarantee of success.

There aren't Caribou in Montana. 

And wolf hunting seasns are not only in Montana. They've had one in Idaho, and Wyoming's is set to open Oct. 1.

Usually the best solutions are the easiest and simplest.  It seems like these Montana ranchers came up with a easy and practical solution.  Just used a bit of observation.