People hate wolves because they think they see them as a threat to their livelihood. Wolves are a pretty good killer. Only a few places in the lannett have made accommodations for the wolves and we are one of them. In this area, wolves represent government gone wrong. The removal ofof the willslsm the federal endangered species has been done poorly. Wolves survive right along ranchers. It wont be easy, but there is that opportunity. [howling] the wolves were reintroduced in 1995 and 1996 into phases. There were lands for future introductions of necessary, but they took to yellowstone right away. It took decades of work to bring them back here. We are in the 18th year of our Research Program and having the wolves back on the land. We have been studying them ever since the beginning. To me, wolves mean wildlife and wild nature. Much of aing so connection as an American Society to what our Wildlife Heritage is and wolves are at the core of that. We know its a female. And we have the upper jaw and the lower mandible. One of the first things i noticed about this is that it is an extremely old cow. You see a lot of tooth layer in if this were a young cow, these teeth would be high. They would be appear at this level. You can see it almost down to the gum line. This is an old cow. This is a cow that loved a long time in the ecosystem. She lived for the last 18 years, that lived and survived with wolves. If you look at elk h herds, there are very healthy elk herds. They are either at or above objectives for elk. You might have times when wolves caused the kurds to decline and take hunting Opportunity Way from people and we have to come to whether or not that is acceptable to us as a society to have that alans that balance. Staining, coloring, or everybody wants to be the best in the world. There are a lot here in montana. Many have won world titles. Hunting is a big heart of our economy out here. And it has gradually gotten bad. We are competing with too many predators now. The wolvlves, the mountain l lis and ththe grizzly y bears. We use to do over a hundred elk a year. Nonow we are d down to aroundd. And of lot of t them are e comig to other parts werewolves are not. That many to go around anymore. Therere is a place for them, but they need to be regulated like every other animal. I just feel they havent been. It has gotten way out o of control. Our wolf season started 10 years ago. It was my interpretation that the states were not thrilled about t having wololves back inn idaho, wyoyoming, and montana. Its kikind of like whyhy did yu pick our s state . Why do we have to live with them . Our state, to be in while put t them in central park in new york . It is unfair. People tell me that we dont really care for wolves. The delisting of wolves from the endangered species list is agreedupon based on the estherville science at the time. And that called for a minimum of 300 wolves in the Rocky Mountains states for thrhree consecutive years or 10 breeding years for each state. And we reach that in 2002. Minimumolves is a number of walllls to have a viable wolf populalation. Something higher was off to have a viable wolf population. Something higher was reasonable. Many peoeople felt that 2000 wolves in the Northern Rockies would eventually lead to dispersal into all of the Rocky Mountain west that have the habitat and the food babase to feeded them. The delistingng i think was less than thrilling toto a lot f folklks when it meaeant that we would eventually start hunting and trapping them. [gunshot] the delisting was kind of unorthoxox consideredd compared to othther specicies we agencies get to the point where they decide we have enough. Here, congress decided that they would intervene through a budget writiter and d list of f wolves. It leftt a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths. Removal of wolves from the federal and injured federal endangered species list was done very pearly. Verery oily. Very poorly they stuck with the original recovery numbers, which is pretty much nothing. There was no doubt a lot t of controroversy over wolves and a lot of concern, that Wildlife Management is supposed to be based in science, not politics. I aint they responded to the politics of the situation. I think they responded to the politics of the situation. Never hahad the secrcretary of e ininterioror undermine a process like this. There is such a long history of hostility toward wolves. I think it was a big problem that wolves were not on the landscape for a few generations, since about the 1930s and that has caused a lot of problems. The hunting industry grew and it was boomtime foror the hunters. That was somewhat illusionary it has we didit hahave all t the predators keeeeping in check the ungulate populatioions. So therere is a lot o of hostily bebecause the folks didnt haveo grow up healing with wolves. All of a sudden, wolves are on ththe landscape andd it really s no right answer to the right number of wolves. We need to be more proactive in solving problems that are perceived by ranchers and also hunters so that we can n maintan the ecological impacts of wolves on the ground. What are the ecosystem impacts of wolves . Predation is a prominent force. Through predation, you can not only impact the species, but it can trickle down to other aspects of the food web, even down to the dictation. In the absence of wolves, elk herds got to such a high density that we saw the impact on grassland and some of the wooded browse. Now that wolves are back, we are understanding that some areas of the park here on the Northern Range are starting to grow back yard that is important for other species, such as songbirds and beavers and other aspects of ecosystem. If wolf populations get too low, we are concerned as biologist for conductivity between the recovery areas and the subpopulations, for genetic health. We cant have our prepositions get too small. The states do acknowledge that carnivores play a role on these landscapes. Yes, its a different situauatin where you have livestock and there will be conflict. I think that is where the states go and their management goals are to find and strike a balance between the needs of healthy ecosystems and the values of their constituents, which are hunters and livestock producers. But you have intnto zeus who wat wild nature and not stuck in reservations among but in widescale. Our Main Business at the wild sitete is to takake people e ine park, yellowstone visitors, so we o often get hired by y people who specifically want to see a wolf in the wild. We look k at the livelihood toty becacause we do feel there is such a big econonomy based aroud the wolf and there are a lot of us were trying to make our livelihoods around the wolf, two. So it is not just the livestock ininducers livelihood or the elk Hunting Outfitters livelihood that we are talking abouout in e western will debate. There is a l lot of toururism livelihood t that is at stakake. At stake, too. Did allowstone Economist Survey where he estimated people are spending about 35 million every year in the communities around yellowstone to do this. So it is a Significant Impact for our economy to have these animals back and people coming to it to see that. We never had the expectation that yellowstone wolves would always be protected. We accept and understand that, when they leave our park, they fall into a different situation. That is part of our understanding. We now have data on what happens when wolves leave a particular place like yellowstone. Over last month, we have lost 11 Yellowstone Park wolves who spent host of their lives in the ark. They dont understatand park boundaries. They are subject to the management jurors action of the of thatwith management jurisdiction, and millions of visitors have seen 832. She was born in 2006. She wawas an extra gary wolf and she was particularly beautiful. She was one of the best hunters we had ever seen. She could take down ouout by herself. Shshe was taken 15 miles out of the park are a hunter. This is a act that i is used to seeing thousands of people throughout the year and, but quite naive to humans and tolelerant of humans being close by. So she was at a disadvantage in a landscape where wolves were being hunted. What is happening to yellllowstone wowolves really highghlights what is hapappening throughout the r region. Those are the most protected and wellmanaged wolves in the whole region and they are still getting shot. Just imagine what is happening to wolves throughout the rest of the region where they have you to k know protections. You have 20pound wololf pups being shot in idaho anand wyomg. Inin wyoming, yoyou canano to National Forest land and trap and starere wolves. You u can kill wolveves howewevu want. [[gunshot] been signed off by the department of the interior and the state of wyoming. A lot of the big fans of yellowstone wolves are following the lives of the actual individuals. They are the attraction. These become the stars of our show. So without them, oh, wow, and then to have them hunted, it is even harder for our guests to understand good they could influence decision about visiting the park in the future. Wolf hunting and hunting in gegeneral are both extremelyly important to people in montana. It is interwoven into the traditions we observe, the pathways of our daily lives throughout the year. It is something that we zealously protect. Hunting is very important, a very important way in which to put food on the table for many families. A goodsized elk can feed a family of four or more if it is a larger elk throughout the year. That has been the traditional way inin montana from decades ad centnturies, to be sure. , therehe animals cocome in are a thousand things going through your head. You have to think, ok, i have to get that all the way, all the way, full draw, e everythining taught, look at the one spot onn ththe hip. Hold. Hehere it comes from b behind te tree. Hold. Go. Wolves have had an interesting impact to ththe prey and predatr relationship in montana. They have had an additive effect to the other predation that is going on. In recent years, we have also seen Mountain Lion populations, grizzly y bear populations, but your populations also on the rise black bear up regulations s also on the rise. So the wolves have made some decreases in numbers of certain animals, which makes it a little bit harder to bring meat to the table. Is certainly frustration as part of that reintroduction. It did feel as if we had to go along for the ride for a while, willingly y or not. But now, since the hunts have started it, now we have regained that sense. F empowerment selfsufficiency, involvement in the e process. That is really important for us as a state that has the hunting traditions that we have. I get thousands of emails per year castigating me as a terrible human being because we allow hunting of wolves in montana. Remember, we have in montana some of the healthiest wildlife species on the plalanet and somehow our wildlife managers are able to manage those species in a way that maintains the numbers and keeps them completely healthy and we have for generations. Yet, the will folks in washington, d. C. Said, you are good at Energy Wildlife come up but we will decide what we will do with wolves. And we say that wolves are a tool in the toolbox and managing all of these other species. We need to manage all of them together. You must the tools so those livestock people out there, if there is a wolf that is attacking their livestock, they can shoot it. If t tretold reuters, is a dang wolflf in your corral attacking your cow, shoot that wolf. The media is guilty of keeping it polarized. Animal lovers,s, this is a cl to action. Ouour taxax dollars are bngng td against innont aninimals during isis time, the e state of wyomig can n declare war onon wolveves. Killing wolves, whether hunting, trappining, or removing the problem wolf perioiodically, it really shouldnt be news anymore. We dont announce everyone every titime someonene shoota cocoyote or someone kills a Mountain Lion or a bear. Wolves are not weapons of mass destructioion. They are just a another crittern the landscape trying to make a living a and doing what god put him there for. Why the middleground voices arent heard is a good question. There has been a lot ofof drama associated with the conflict. [gunfire] trying to live with a wolf is rathere complicated, than a story about dont kill the wolves or kill all the wolves. All you really read about in the newspapapers is whwhat the mouthphpieces say to t the medi. I think it is a gross oversimplification of what is happening on the landscape. When dave and i for started ranching here, very soon after we got sheep, we lost a few two coyotes. At first, we did what everybody did. We called a gogovernment trapper and he snared one. It did not take us very long to look at each other and say, you know, if we have to exterminate all of the native species to live, that we probably shouldnt be ranching. Part of what makes this special is not just the beautififul vie, but the whole biologicical systm that makes this s work. And we f feel like its our obligation to figure out how to coexist. People are very frustrated by the way the reintroduction occurred. And in recent years s come i thk ththe frustration has increased in many respects because of the way some of the mainstream environmental groups have handled all of the legal battles surrounding the delisting of wolves. Panic ofe e initial semi wolf introduction introduction, there was a time of several years were things simmered down and people began to learn and began to get curious and fascinated by this whole phenomenon. But then, when the battles really heated up about delisting, there w was a lot of backlash and a lot of backsliding. And that is what we are in the middle of right now, i i think. Predator friendly as a certification, basically a group of ranchers who have committed not to kill native carnivores and ordered to protect their sheep. It started in the earlytomid 1990s. We started working on mittens and hats and smaller knitted roddicks. It has been a way bototh producs and coconsumers to learn o of dt the risks and the rewardrds of trying to ranch in an environment where we care about the environment. Ranchers wonont run a around ad embrace this idea and embrace wolves, but i think we all feel like this is a work in progress and it will take the kids to really get good at it. But there are people who are making real progress. The wolves have been around these cattle and they have to difffferent. If t the wolf stays up t there,y have no i have no problem if somebody is down here harassing my livestock. We havave to be able to manage that. Your paycheck is once or twice a year and this is whatt you make your living on. Its like anything else. Somebody comes intnto your bubusiness and takes a a piece f that away, you are pretty aggressive and try to control that are keep that from happening. I am a conservation biologist, seth wilson, with a landowner driven water should group here in watershed group. We act as a form to put some of our differences aside so that we can face these incredibly challenging issues. By 2006, we had our first wolfpack documented in the blackwood called the elevation mountain. Once they started preying on livestock, we headed we had to eliminate the tax. Theack. They were going g right by the elk herd to come intoo the cattle. By 2006 to today, we have gone from one wolfpack to about eight to 10. That has forced us to bring communities together to figure out how we adapt. When wolves got reintroduced in montana, i think we were all a little bit nervous about what that meant to us. Organizations of like but would challenge and seth wilson is that they engage us in this process. This type of flattery is something that we use in our grazing program. The basic premise is that, when this is flapping in the breeze, colors and ribbons, he its something that wolves are not comfortable with. It makes them a little bit nervous. So if there are wolves around our cow, we can use this product. If a neighboring ranch has a problem with wolves, we c can ld this machine up and go down and we can do away a mile or two of this product in short of an hour. So its very fleblble. Weve seen it work. We e have removedivestock carcasseses from about 40 rancns every spring so that we dont put the welcome mat out in the first place for bears and wolves. The other program we have is the range rider program. We have five people on the team. We spent six months in the field radio tracking wolves and communicating every week to be ranching community werewolves are in relationship to their livestock. We put all of that together and we have seen a decrease in our livestock losses to the wolves. We are losing about 3. 2 liveststock per year with about0 ranches involved. That is fairly low. Whenen you compare ourur work to other valleys in montana where there is very little mitigation efforts, there has been significant losses. What we really need to do is scale this up. As canan be done. You need d the resoururces, the science and the collaboration. Above all, you need the ranchers and landowners who live with h the carnivorores toe i amng to try this. Not elated that the wolves are here, but i am glad to have this resource. Its the people that like wolves on the groound to er bee. So we have to on the ground who eat our beefef. So we have toto think abobout t. I think we have lost sight of aboutut this. Its not about wolves. Its about people. It can seem like a paradox and d a contradiction to one too appreciaiate the wildnesof the wethth while feeliling the needo control it. With Something Like a wolflf, you will never make everyone happy so we have to find a so we have to try to find a way to meet everyones core values and accommodate them. If we c can see your out how to to track this problem, we could figure out other problems in our society. Its a lot of work and collaboration can be messy. You cacant get therere tomorro. There are people who greatly value wilderness and the symbols that bears and wolvlves have for them. And there are values at play regarding productive lands and the utility, bringing the book together to be able to respect those different values has been really key. [howling] [applause] joanna macy what do you say after that and after those words s apparently about me, how can i speak . So im going to turn to a voice that has inspired my life a lot. Ive come to know it as in my own breath, poems of Rainer Maria Rilke that has been my happiestst gift in this life to have a hahand in translating
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