by RALPH MAUGHAN
Unanimous vote is a first such pro-wolf measure in Idaho-
Ketchum, Idaho. The city council of Ketchum, Idaho, the largest town in Blaine County, has voted unanimously in favor of non-lethal management of wolf and livestock conflicts that occur in the county. While Ketchum does not set policy for either Blaine County or the state of Idaho, the measure in a first in a state where the politicians have been mostly anti-wolf.
Blaine County has been home to many wolves since they were restored to Idaho. It is very good habitat for deer and elk, and so, good wolf habitat too. However, these lands, many of them public land, also harbor seasonal flocks of domestic sheep and cattle. Ever since Butch Otter became governor of Idaho, Idaho government has sicked the federal government (via USDA’s Wildlife Services) on the wolves, killing many. In recent years, Defenders of Wildlife has mounted a major summer effort in Blaine County to keep sheep and wolves both safe and apart. It has worked. According to Defenders, “Despite [having] one of the highest concentrations of wolves and livestock sharing the same landscape, the project area has the lowest loss rate of livestock to wolves statewide.”
Defenders says there is little evidence that killing wolves to protect sheep and cattle works because new wolves come in to occupy the area and replace those killed. Moreover, wolf packs, disrupted and weakened by the government killing some of their members, are more likely to resort to easy prey (livestock) rather than the wild prey favored by an intact wolf pack — deer and elk. Wolves are territorial and kill or chase away competing wolves. These things keep wolf numbers in a locale relatively constant regardless. Nonlethal control of wolves prevents the pattern of cycles of killing of wolves and livestock. Examples of nonlethal control use of guard dogs, strobe lights, electric fencing and fladry.
Critics of nonlethal control say it is not really very effective, expensive when government control is free, a bother and does not feel as good as dead wolves lying about.
Blaine country is a bit different than most rural Idaho counties in that it boasts a higher per capita level of education and wealth in Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey and Bellevue, where the overwhelming majority of residents live.
Governor Butch Otter began Idaho’s strong effort to reduce its wolf population immediately when he became governor, although it didn’t really begin to take hold in terms of numbers of wolves until two or three years ago. He is up for election to a third term. He won an unexpectedly close race in the Republican primary election this spring. Now growing numbers of news stories say his Democratic opponent, A.J. Balukoff, could win a rare victory for a non-Republican in Idaho because of the almost last place condition of the Idaho economy and many conflicts the governor has had with his follow conservatives, and moderates and liberals.
Here is more information on the action of the Ketchum city council
http://www.kmvt.com/news/latest/Ketchum-City-Council-Vote-on-Wolf-Resolution-275234741.html