Big Game biologist doesn’t call for eradication of wolves

Anti-wolf groups have pointed to Dr. Valarius Geist, a prominent ungulate biologist from Canada, as someone who dislikes wolves and supports the agenda of wolf removal. To quote a USA Today article, “Jack Oyler (of the Idaho Anti-Wolf Coalition and Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife) of the coalition cites the research done by Val Geist, a professor emeritus of environmental science at the University of Calgary. Geist contends the West's plentiful big-game animals are the result of careful wildlife management, and wolves on the loose undo those efforts.”

In public hearings, in defense of his anti-wolf stance, Ron Gillette has stated that Dr. Geist is the “Michael Jordan” of big game biologists and points to his statements as proof that wolves should be eradicated.

This isn’t the case.

Dr. Geist is an important figure in wildlife conservation and study, as a quick internet search would show. I decided to write Dr. Geist directly and get his views of wolves and wildlife from the source.

Dr. Geist, while critical of the reintroduction currently taking place in the Western United States, does not call for the complete removal of wolves from the region that Ron Gillette hopes for. In one letter, Dr Geist responded;

“You asked the question: "Is there any room for wolves in the Western United States?" Of course there is! The question is not if, but how to introduce wolves so as to minimize problems and dissent, and insure that the wolves, once reintroduced, will have a secure long-term existence.”

This is some distance ideologically from the Idaho Anti-Wolf Coalition’s mission statement of “No Negotiations, No Compromise, No Consensus, and No Wolves in Idaho.” Dr. Geist goes on to state that there is a proper way to approach predator conservation;

“The details that concern us here is the known biology of our large carnivores. Another level of details deals with systems of wildlife conservation and their historical effectiveness or lack thereof. The goal has to be first and foremost to strengthen effective systems of wildlife conservation as only such insure the survival of large predators”

Dr. Geist seems to have a balanced approach to predator recovery issues, in tune with groups like the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. He reaffirms that there is a place for wolves in the west, but only if management plans include rural communities and hunters.

So once again, we're left wondering what the heck Ron Gillette and the Idaho Anti-Wolf Coalition are doing. Aside from apparently misquoting important scientists, they've also raised a lot of money and political capitol which, again apparently, has vanished with little to show for it. Sadly, as a private business, the Idaho Anti-Wolf Coalition isn't subject to laws which protect and empower people who donate to non-profit groups.

Perhaps a few letters to the Better Business Bureau are in order? http://complaints.bbb.org/welcome2.asp Until then it's "Buyer Beware."

-FD

Hang on to your hat, FeverDreams, 'cause they're gonna get you now!

Your post complements my "Two Wolf Stories" thread, in that it shows how rabid anti-wolfers show their disregard for things like facts. Dr. Geist is indeed a titan in the wildlife field, I've read a lot of his stuff, and knew he wasn't in the knee jerk anti-wolf camp.

Not really......... I'd just like to know a little bit about them, since when you check what little profile there is.... you see that they only post on "Wolf" issues.

I agree with summit daWg , they only post on wolf issues and now their profile is not veiwable. Looks and smells fishy...

Once again, Casper Star Tribune 04-02-05

Jackson, Wyoming - Saturday, April 02, 2005


Feds kill five wolves

By CAT URBIGKIT
Star-Tribune correspondent Saturday, April 02, 2005




PINEDALE -- Federal wildlife officials killed five wolves in Sublette County earlier this week in response to chronic livestock depredations.

Mike Jimenez of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said the wolves were members of the Daniel wolf pack, which has been implicated in the killing of at least 21 head of livestock in the last few years. Five members of the pack were killed last year as well, and federal officials do not know how many members of the pack are still roaming.

One night last week, the wolf pack entered a Daniel-area ranch pasture where pregnant cows were located, bringing two of the animals down. One of the cows was alive but severely wounded when found early the next morning and was destroyed by the ranch owners. Both of the cows were due to give birth, as calving in the herd had already begun, doubling the losses for the ranch.

The wolves then moved to another ranch, killing a yearling cow there.

Federal wildlife officials investigated and determined that wolves were responsible for the cattle deaths, all of which occurred in private lands, Jimenez said. The Fish and Wildlife Service granted authority for the entire pack to be eliminated.

Jimenez said that on Monday, a USDA Wildlife Services crew flew the area of the last confirmed kill, spotted a pack of five wolves and was able to shoot and kill all five.

Although the Daniel pack has been in the news recently because of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's concerns with the pack harassing elk on elk feedgrounds, control actions were undertaken based solely on the pack's livestock depredations, Jimenez said.

Rancher Stella Taylor said she and other local ranchers believe there are more wolves in the area.

"They are hanging in here," Taylor said. "There could still be more in here."

Bar W Bar Ranch Manager Merrill Dana agreed: "They only got about a third of them. We all know there are more than five wolves in the Daniel pack."

Dana said last week was the third occasion in which elk from a nearby feedground arrived on the ranch with a pack of wolves in tow.

"Every time the elk leave the feedground and come down here -- every time -- the next night, you're going to get the wolves in on you," Dana said.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department elk feedground manager Gary Hornberger said, "That particular pack was working the (nearby) Jewett elk feedground pretty hard in late February and March."

The wolves would harass the elk so much that all 678 head of elk repeatedly fled the feedground, Hornberger said.

"They were hitting them nightly," Hornberger said.

If the elk fled to the north, there wasn't much problem, according to Hornberger. But if the elk ran to the south, they ran to the private lands of Bar W Bar, increasing the possibility of elk transmitting brucellosis to cattle, in addition to bringing a pack of wolves to the cattle herd.

Aggressive action by the ranch kept the cattle and elk separated, and Hornberger added that the Game and Fish Department pushed the elk back to the feedground on several occasions.

Wolves have made their presence known on at least five other elk feedgrounds in Sublette County this winter as well, he said.