Crowd protests wolf policy
By CAROLE CLOUDWALKER
A Hot Springs County rancher believes four gray wolves released near Meeteetse on Feb. 14 may have been illegally captured on his land.
The rancher, Frank Robbins, was among more than 40 people attending a March 2 Hot Springs County Commission meeting to lodge objections to the way federal agencies have managed wolves in the area.
The group extracted a promise from the commissioners to write to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state and federal legislators and the governor “to tell the feds that monitoring wolves on private property would be considered trespass,” Robbins said Friday.
Hot Springs County Clerk Hans Odde said the letter had not been completed Friday, but confirmed it would be written.
Hot Springs County Commission Chairman Charlie Stump said more than 40 people were at the meeting.
“We were caught unawares,” Stump said. “They came in to discuss funding” for a citizens’ advisory committee.
But he said the commissioners “are concerned about what (wolves) could do to Hot Springs County. We don’t see any of the plus side.”
The commissioners have asked the Hot Springs County Attorney for an opinion about whether any laws may have been violated in the case of low-flying aircraft or the capture of wolves. And the commission plans to send letters with a pointed message: “We don’t want any wolves in Hot Springs County,” Stump said.
Meanwhile Ed Bangs of Helena, Mont., wolf recovery coordinator for the F&WS, said his agency is legally allowed to fly 500 feet above any property to monitor wolf activity.
“Air space is public air,” Bangs said. “For flying lower, you need a special permit.
“During hunting season we try not to fly or capture,” since it would disturb game and irk hunters, Bangs added.
“And we do not land (on private property) without permission – we don’t knowingly go on private property at all,” Bangs added.
Robbins, who owns the 150,000-acre HD High Island Ranch on Owl Creek near Thermopolis, said he was told by a state predator control officer that eight gray wolves were captured in one net on his land. He was unsure of the date, but said it was likely earlier than Feb. 14.
That was the date Meeteetse rancher Randy Kruger alleges F&WS agent Mike Jimenez and an assistant disembarked from a helicopter on the Larsen Ranch with four tranquilized wolves, which later regained consciousness and left the area.
Robbins believes the wolves released in Meeteetse may have been among the eight captured without permission on his land.
“We think they split the pack,” Robbins said, adding F&WS “absolutely” planted the wolves in Meeteetse.
“There is no doubt about it,” he added.
Bangs said “because legal action is threatened, we cannot talk about that situation.”
Kruger, who also attended the Hot Springs Commission meeting, provided information about the incident to Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric, who has requested a Division of Criminal Investigation inquiry that might lead to charges of trespass.
Robbins, who has lived near Thermopolis about 10 years, said he runs about 3,000 head of Angus cattle. He said one 3-5 year old cow weighing 1,200 pounds is valued at about $1,000.
“We’re missing 10-15 head,” Robbins said. His neighbor, who runs 300 head, is missing five.
He said his neighbor “has an airplane – he’s flown the area” and cannot locate any of the missing animals, said Robbins, who has both wolves and grizzly bears on his land. He said about half his holdings are private property, with the balance leased from federal and state agencies for grazing.
Robbins’ land is “five minutes by helicopter, up to two days by horse” via rough terrain from the Larsen Ranch near Meeteetse.
He says the federal government “turned my ranch into a recovery zone for the wolf,” adding they “are willing to sacrifice us to get (wolves) delisted.”
In 10 years Robbins says he has never received any payment for loss of cattle to predators. In one case he said a predator control officer observed a wolf eating a dead cow, but could not say what killed it.
“They can’t verify it, so they don’t pay you. But it’s still my cow, and if I don’t want a wolf eating my cow, dead or alive, that’s my prerogative,” he said.
Although Robbins’ Owl Creek home is about 20 miles from the area where he believes the eight wolves were netted, “We’ve got wolves right here at the house,” he said. “They (wolves) look over a rim to WYO 120.”