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http://www.idahostatesman.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040630/NEWS01/406300333
[Rocky Barker
"The Idaho Statesman | Edition Date: 06-30-2004
Valley County Commissioner and rancher Phil Davis and his hired hand have been fined $750 each in the shooting death of a wolf. Few ranchers in Idaho have been fined for killing a wolf since their reintroduction in 1995.
The wolf, protected under the Endangered Species Act, was found dead by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforcement officers May 25 on Davis' 6,000-acre Bar O Ranch north of Cascade. Jerry Ussery, an employee of Davis, told officers he shot the wolf May 24 while it was near a herd of cattle north of the Warm Springs Highway.
Davis said Ussery heard two cows bawling when he came on the scene and saw the wolf running across a road past the cows, which had week-old calves.
"There's no doubt this wolf was going to kill a calf," Davis said.
More than 380 wolves roam central Idaho, and federal officials say the population is high enough to remove them from Endangered Species Act protection. But a dispute with Wyoming has delayed the delisting process. If wolves were removed from the list, ranchers like Davis would be able to shoot them legally.
Suzanne Stone, Northwest field representative of Defenders of Wildlife, has worked with Davis, providing compensation for cattle losses in the past. She called the incident unfortunate.
"It seems like a small amount," she said of the fine. "But the extenuating circumstances may justify it. Hopefully, this will encourage the rancher to try other tactics the next time."
Ussery was charged with the unlawful taking and unlawful transport of an endangered species. Davis was charged with unlawful transport and failure to report the taking of an endangered species. Davis paid both fines.
Under the Endangered Species Act, Davis and Ussery could have faced fines of up to $100,000 and a year in jail.
"Obviously, there are strong views of what should be done on both sides of the issue," said George Breitsameter, an assistant U.S. attorney in Boise. "I look at it from the aspect of what I can prove in court."
Davis said Breitsameter told him he would have sought $20,000 in restitution — an estimate of the cost of reintroducing one wolf to the state — if the case had gone to court. The rancher didn't want to take that risk and paid the $1,500.
Under the current rules, a landowner can shoot a wolf on private land if it is killing, wounding or biting livestock.
"We would have given them the benefit of the doubt if there had been evidence that cattle had been attacked," said Craig Tabor, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer who investigated the case.
Davis and Ussery might not have been fined had they called authorities within 24 hours, Tabor said.
Davis runs 4,000 head of cattle on the ranch with the oldest brand in the state, dating back to 1863. May is his busiest month of the year. He was in the middle of moving cattle from his winter and spring range near Mountain Home to summer range near Cascade when Ussery called and told him he had shot the wolf.
Davis was too busy with other work to respond immediately, he said. He told Ussery to hide it because he thought it was visible from the road and could have prompted calls from passers-by.
When Davis woke up the next morning, he was preparing for 500 head of cattle to arrive then.
"I plumb forgot about it," Davis said.
Meanwhile, biologists for the Nez Perce Tribe picked up a signal from the wolf's radio collar that indicates an animal isn't moving.
Tabor and another officer realized the signal was coming from Davis' ranch and stopped by his house to get permission to look for the wolf.
Davis and Ussery took them to the wolf and told them their story. Ussery said he could have shot the wolf numerous times but didn't until it threatened the calves.
The wolf, a male, had just joined the Orphan Pack, which has been living in the areas since 1996. A member of the same pack is believed to have killed two of Davis' calves in 1996 and also a neighbor's calf.
Ussery acknowledged that the wolf was running away from the cattle when he shot, which was one of the reasons charges were filed, Tabor said.
But for a rancher seeing his cattle threatened, that distinction is a fine line. Davis had no doubts Ussery made the right decision.
"I'm thinking we were justified except for my error of not calling," Davis said.
The best outcome, Tabor said, would have had Davis calling federal, tribal or state biologists and reporting the wolves were near their cattle. They would have tried teaching the wolves to avoid the cattle. If those efforts failed, wolves would have been moved or even killed.
The fines Davis and Ussery paid are half what a rancher paid for accidentally shooting a wolf in 1999 near Salmon and far less than a fine paid by a hunter for killing a wolf.
Van Eron Coiner turned himself in for shooting a wolf he was trying to keep away from elk in 1999. Daniel Thomas Kloskowski of Eden Prairie, Minn., was fined $10,000 plus restitution costs of $5,477 for killing a wolf while on a guided hunting trip in Idaho in 1998."]
[Rocky Barker
"The Idaho Statesman | Edition Date: 06-30-2004
Valley County Commissioner and rancher Phil Davis and his hired hand have been fined $750 each in the shooting death of a wolf. Few ranchers in Idaho have been fined for killing a wolf since their reintroduction in 1995.
The wolf, protected under the Endangered Species Act, was found dead by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforcement officers May 25 on Davis' 6,000-acre Bar O Ranch north of Cascade. Jerry Ussery, an employee of Davis, told officers he shot the wolf May 24 while it was near a herd of cattle north of the Warm Springs Highway.
Davis said Ussery heard two cows bawling when he came on the scene and saw the wolf running across a road past the cows, which had week-old calves.
"There's no doubt this wolf was going to kill a calf," Davis said.
More than 380 wolves roam central Idaho, and federal officials say the population is high enough to remove them from Endangered Species Act protection. But a dispute with Wyoming has delayed the delisting process. If wolves were removed from the list, ranchers like Davis would be able to shoot them legally.
Suzanne Stone, Northwest field representative of Defenders of Wildlife, has worked with Davis, providing compensation for cattle losses in the past. She called the incident unfortunate.
"It seems like a small amount," she said of the fine. "But the extenuating circumstances may justify it. Hopefully, this will encourage the rancher to try other tactics the next time."
Ussery was charged with the unlawful taking and unlawful transport of an endangered species. Davis was charged with unlawful transport and failure to report the taking of an endangered species. Davis paid both fines.
Under the Endangered Species Act, Davis and Ussery could have faced fines of up to $100,000 and a year in jail.
"Obviously, there are strong views of what should be done on both sides of the issue," said George Breitsameter, an assistant U.S. attorney in Boise. "I look at it from the aspect of what I can prove in court."
Davis said Breitsameter told him he would have sought $20,000 in restitution — an estimate of the cost of reintroducing one wolf to the state — if the case had gone to court. The rancher didn't want to take that risk and paid the $1,500.
Under the current rules, a landowner can shoot a wolf on private land if it is killing, wounding or biting livestock.
"We would have given them the benefit of the doubt if there had been evidence that cattle had been attacked," said Craig Tabor, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer who investigated the case.
Davis and Ussery might not have been fined had they called authorities within 24 hours, Tabor said.
Davis runs 4,000 head of cattle on the ranch with the oldest brand in the state, dating back to 1863. May is his busiest month of the year. He was in the middle of moving cattle from his winter and spring range near Mountain Home to summer range near Cascade when Ussery called and told him he had shot the wolf.
Davis was too busy with other work to respond immediately, he said. He told Ussery to hide it because he thought it was visible from the road and could have prompted calls from passers-by.
When Davis woke up the next morning, he was preparing for 500 head of cattle to arrive then.
"I plumb forgot about it," Davis said.
Meanwhile, biologists for the Nez Perce Tribe picked up a signal from the wolf's radio collar that indicates an animal isn't moving.
Tabor and another officer realized the signal was coming from Davis' ranch and stopped by his house to get permission to look for the wolf.
Davis and Ussery took them to the wolf and told them their story. Ussery said he could have shot the wolf numerous times but didn't until it threatened the calves.
The wolf, a male, had just joined the Orphan Pack, which has been living in the areas since 1996. A member of the same pack is believed to have killed two of Davis' calves in 1996 and also a neighbor's calf.
Ussery acknowledged that the wolf was running away from the cattle when he shot, which was one of the reasons charges were filed, Tabor said.
But for a rancher seeing his cattle threatened, that distinction is a fine line. Davis had no doubts Ussery made the right decision.
"I'm thinking we were justified except for my error of not calling," Davis said.
The best outcome, Tabor said, would have had Davis calling federal, tribal or state biologists and reporting the wolves were near their cattle. They would have tried teaching the wolves to avoid the cattle. If those efforts failed, wolves would have been moved or even killed.
The fines Davis and Ussery paid are half what a rancher paid for accidentally shooting a wolf in 1999 near Salmon and far less than a fine paid by a hunter for killing a wolf.
Van Eron Coiner turned himself in for shooting a wolf he was trying to keep away from elk in 1999. Daniel Thomas Kloskowski of Eden Prairie, Minn., was fined $10,000 plus restitution costs of $5,477 for killing a wolf while on a guided hunting trip in Idaho in 1998."]
