JODI HAUSEN, Chronicle Staff Writer
Gallatin County commissioners are asking for public input to gauge the impact of large predators on livestock and game in the county.
Commissioner Joe Skinner, who introduced the resolution, said Tuesday that its intent is to quantify the effect that the reintroduction of wolves has had on moose, deer and elk populations, as well as the local economy.
“We’ve got a lot of people – sportsmen, hunters, businessmen, stock producers—that are very concerned about the number of wolves they’re seeing and the declining number of elk,” he said.
The data, Skinner admitted, are purely anecdotal. Hence the study proposed in his resolution, which would gather economic numbers from outfitters, ranchers, hunters, taxidermists and others to show how wolf reintroduction has affected Gallatin County’s hunting- and ranching-related businesses.
“We really just want information from people that live and are out on the landscape,” Skinner said.
State law gives authority to county commissioners to coordinate with state and federal agencies in decisions involving wildlife, Skinner said.
“Over the last couple of years, I can’t count the number of times people have told me they’ve gone out hunting and all they’ve seen is wolf tracks and no elk,” he said. “We realize that we don’t have the authority to manage (wildlife), but this statute says we should have a seat at the table.”
Counties have authority to create a bounty system on wolves, said Pat Flowers, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks regional supervisor. But counties have to abide by the state’s hunting regulations.
“I think their interest in gathering the facts reflects the concerns they’re hearing from some of their constituents,” he said.
Flowers said he hasn’t spoken with Skinner yet but plans to help where he can, sharing facts on wolves and predator populations and their impacts.
Tom Woodbury, Western Watersheds Project’s Montana director, said the premise for the county’s study is erroneous.
“The largest problem with perception and reality is that because of misguided government policies from a century ago, when people thought of wildlife as something that needed to be brought under control, they introduced grazing into areas that weren’t suitable for grazing and, of course, eradicated wolves for that purpose,” he said. “As a result we have an artificial nature now that is out of balance.”
Wolves, for example, “have an incredible cascading benefit,” keeping elk from destroying riparian habitat, he added.
There’s no doubt this will be controversial, but Skinner insists, “It’s not a witch hunt for me to get rid of wolves,” he said. “We have a wolf management plan to stay within or we’ll have wolves listed again. I think we can have both, some wolves on the landscape and hunting at the same time, but it doesn’t look like that’s happening the way it’s being managed right now.”
Commissioners plan to hold two public hearings the evenings of May 3 and May 30 at times yet to be determined.
Meanwhile, people can email their comments to Skinner at joe.skinner@gallatin.mt.gov or can mail them to Gallatin County commissioners, 311 W. Main St., Room 306, Bozeman, MT 59715.