Goodbye to Bighorns Around Gardiner?

[Rimrock]

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/wildlife/article_67966a20-5baf-11e3-a220-0019bb2963f4.html

No big surprise, but the Gardiner area bighorn sheep are mingling with the domestics that Bill Hoppe brought in there last year, mainly for wolf bait. The youngsters are already hacking and wheezing, and I think we know how this kind of thing turns out. Disgusting...

But then I'm in a funk anyway, as I spent too much of yesterday at the Madison Elk "Working" Group, which I've participated in for around ten years now.
However, the landowners are meeting in January to draw up "recommendations" for the FWP Commission. Should point out that I know most of them, or at least their managers, and we've generally gotten along fine. In this case, though, apparently they'll only have "local" hunters at this meeting. Good grief, I live over the hill but hunt the Madison regularly, again am a long-time participant, but was specifically told I couldn't come to that meeting!
They're going to be recommending that we shoot elk year round. I'm obviously not down with that, not to mention what's likely coming down the pike. Apparently Wyoming and Idaho have signed on for massive elk reductions, and Montana likely has also. Except the Memorandum of Understanding seems to be misplaced somewhere in the Board of Livestock files.
I'd better shut up before this devolves into F words...

 

[Gerald Martin]

Sickening! Private land rights are one thing. Purposefully doing things that cause willful harm to wildlife and other resources that everyone values so highly is despicable

 

[Gerald Martin]

Sickening! Private land rights are one thing. Purposefully doing things that cause willful harm to wildlife and other resources that everyone values so highly is despicable.

 

[Gerald Martin]

If its worth saying, it's worth saying twice.

 

[BuzzH]

I agree with Gerald, purposely doing this is about as bad as it gets.

The part I struggle with in regard to "rights" is where the line is reached/crossed when someone's "rights" begin to infringe on mine? This seems like a purposeful act of using a property "right" in a way that is meant to only harm public wildlife resources. In this case, I feel like the rights of the citizens of Montana are being infringed upon...period.

IMO, it seems pretty obvious that the appropriate people have reached out to this individual in a very real attempt to mitigate this issue and he's just not interested in any type of partnership.

People like this are going to force the issue on who's rights are more "right"...and that usually ends up in court.

Too bad this is the way Sportsmen are being forced to do things these days...in courtrooms at a high price to our conservation funds and wildlife.

I guess expecting people to do the right thing is just flat asking too much of some.

 

[schmalts]

The guy sounds like a real tool.

 

[idnative1948]

My grandfather is turning over in his grave right about now. If this was an issue of wildlife vs sheep it would be an non issue with him. "I lease enough range I will just move them out and down lower." But, you also have to keep in mind that this was in the 40-50s, not 2013. Google if you want, *Andy Little The Sheep King*. Brad Little as his grandson, will more than likely than not be the next governor of Idaho although he has moved away from sheep to cattle ranching.
We have pounded these issues to death over the years in the West. Doesn't matter whether it is about grazing or water rights.
JMHO, I just want to protect our resources for my kids and grand kids as do most of you.

 

[OriginalOscar]

No wonder the cattlemen didn't like sheepmen.

 

[Ben Lamb]

My grandfather is turning over in his grave right about now. If this was an issue of wildlife vs sheep it would be an non issue with him. "I lease enough range I will just move them out and down lower." But, you also have to keep in mind that this was in the 40-50s, not 2013. Google if you want, *Andy Little The Sheep King*. Brad Little as his grandson, will more than likely than not be the next governor of Idaho although he has moved away from sheep to cattle ranching.
We have pounded these issues to death over the years in the West. Doesn't matter whether it is about grazing or water rights.
JMHO, I just want to protect our resources for my kids and grand kids as do most of you.

This isn't a commercial flock. It's 24 sheep that Hoppe brought in this year in an effort to create conflict between wildlife and livestock.

Wild Sheep Foundation has been all overthis. If we want a solution that removes one complete asshat from the collective landowner pool it's a buyout. Plain and simple, and might even be part of Hoppe's motivation: Garnering top dollar for his property rather than just put it on the open market. He runs livestock in central MT for profit, and he still guides.

Funny that a a guy who made his living off of the wildlife of YNP & MT is now at the center of what could be a massive die off of MT Bighorn Sheep because he's an inconsolable prick.

Hoppe, btw, testified in favor of test and slaughter of the Northern YNP Elk Herd in the 2013 legislature. He also testified in favor of bills that would have killed off most of the YNP Bison herd.

Time to buy this SOB out.

 

[Sytes]

I guess expecting people to do the right thing is just flat asking too much of some.

Seems more and more this is the case.
This may be a good one to run up the court ladder and gain a ruling to better define the common or collective good over the individual property rights.
All for respecting property rights though this is a clear disregard for our wildlife. It is flat out ignorance - or arrogance... based on the content shared in the article...

FWP warden Sam Sheppard said no FWP employees have seen any bighorn sheep in Hoppe's pasture and that Hoppe also hadn't seen any.

Pictures are worth a thousand words...

 

[katqanna]

Rimrock, I found it this evening trying to track the money trail that they are using the dead GYIBC for. I am getting the current copies. This one expired Dec. 2011. Joe Maurier signed this one for FWP, carboning Ken McDonald. I cant tell you how pissed I am.

"The United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services (USDA, APHIS VS), in cooperation with the State of Montana (State) through the Montana State Department of Livestock, knowing the necessity to prevent further introduction of brucellosis into the cattle herds of Montana and to control and eliminate brucellosis from wildlife in Montana and the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA), do hereby submit this plan to develop and implement brucellosis herd action plans for cattle, elk herd unit management plans, perform functions and duties of Montana relative to the Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee (GYIBC) and planning efforts, and conduct brucellosis prevention, surveillance, control and eradication activities in Montana and the GYA."

All the other GYIBC participating agencies kept replying to my information requests this week, that the GYIBC had disbanded by 2007 and was no longer functioning. Their website was down, but there is a program that I have used for decades, an internet archive that pulls up screen shots of pages that used to be there, so I had found who the members who, as well as the mission statement - elimination of Brucella abortus from the GYA by the year 2010. Well that passed, but their mission objective was eradication of brucellosis from wildlife, which means test and slaughter, vaccinate and sterilize our wildlife, according to their plan.

I have followed this GYIBC money trail from 2008 to this year. Thanks be to Wyoming, they have tons of documents online that mention Montana and have helped facilitate this search. Just this evening I found a State of Wyoming 2013-2014 Biennium Budget Request from the Livestock Board, which stated on pg. 34, "The Riverton field office has previously been entirely funded by federal cooperative agreement money through USDA-APHIS through FY12. Earmarked funds appropriated through congress for the Greater Yellowstone Interagency Brucellosis Committee (GYIBC) have funded grants for Brucellosis activities in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana for several years. The WLSB has received $191,000 annually for the last three (3) years with variable amounts in prior years."

I found this GYIBC money trail to Montana a couple weeks ago. Each year, the senators and reps for MT, WY, and ID have all sponsored this funding of the GYIBC specifically for brucellosis eradication in the GYA states.

This is why I met a brick wall on my complaint letter to the FWP heads about the Elk Brucellosis Working Group Work Plan violating what was passed, focusing on lethal measures and using our sportsmens dollars to pay for this and other measures like free stack fencing without any requirement of public hunter access during the general season according to ARM and MCA. This is why my letter and call to Hagener was ignored. As well as my letter to Bullock. This is why they have been obstructing me every step of the way in Helena. They already knew. They had already signed away our wildlife for the cost of APHIS granting the DoL a Brucellosis Class Free Status - it was conditional on eradicating brucellosis in our wildlife.

 

[rmyoung1]

It's a darn shame. A long-time family friend of mine shot a super nice ram in that district this fall, too. I've seen good numbers of sheep in the Gardiner Basin and in the north part of the Park the past couple of years.The district has met its quota recently, too. I'm guessing the quota next fall will be a big, fat zero.

 

[RobG]

Times like these makes a guy long for the olden days in Montana.

 

[RobG]

This isn't a commercial flock. It's 24 sheep that Hoppe brought in this year in an effort to create conflict between wildlife and livestock.

And he has intentionally prevented anyone from efforts to keep them separate.

 

[theat]

Sickening behavior, particularly since he is in the outfitting business and makes his living off of wildlife.

Multiple groups have offered to pay for mitigating measures to decrease chances of wildlife conflicts, but he obviously wants it to happen.

 

[katqanna]

Rob, good find but dont go giving Bill any ideas while he's pissed. We need him around for his organic Camelina oil and F words.

 

[rmyoung1]

Sickening behavior, particularly since he is in the outfitting business and makes his living off of wildlife.

Yeah, but that's what has him ticked off in the first place. I can't speak for the guy, but I'm guessing he's mad because the Gardiner late elk hunt, which used to be a huge part of his business, is no more. I'm sure that he blames the wolves (and the groups that defended the wolf issue) for the downfall of his business. The sheepherding is just a way to exact some revenge. And wild sheep are simply collateral damage.

Again... I can't speak for the guy, but that's what I'm guessing is going on there.

 

[RobG]

I can't see how this helps the ranchers' cause one bit.

 

[rmyoung1]

I can't see how this helps the ranchers' cause one bit.

I don't think Hoppe is trying to further a cause. I think he's grinding an axe, which is a lot different.

 

[RobG]

I don't think Hoppe is trying to further a cause. I think he's grinding an axe, which is a lot different.

I meant that I don't think it does the ranchers any good to sit idly by and let it happen. Christian Mackay (DOL) is standing up for Hoppe. Guess I grew up in a different Montana than I thought.
[edit: Christian is with the Board of Livestock, not DOL. In fact he is the executive officer.]