Good news, for once.
October 23, 2002

Ed Bangs is finally realizing that the responsibility has to fall (at least a little bit) on the livestock producer and the landowner. I would imagine that he is having a difficult time justifying the continued killing of the Ninemile Pack and realizing that the depredations are not stopping, so therefore, he is pressuring the producers with taking responsibility now, instead of taking off to "hunt down another pack member." Very surprising good news! We will see what happens with this particular producer who doesn't appear to want to take any responsibility. Let's hope that Ed stands his ground and listens to reason and to his conscious.

THANKS AGAIN FOR EVERYONE's LETTERS, PHONE CALLS, EMAILS...it really has been paying off in the Ninemile for ONCE!! —Renee VanCamp

Wolf kills sheep; officials decide not to retaliate
By SHERRY DEVLIN of the Missoulian
10/23/02

Owner says he won't 'play that game' of protecting his animals

A wolf killed a sheep in the lower Ninemile Valley early Tuesday, but federal officials said they won't retaliate against the Ninemile's beleaguered wolf pack.

"We go 90 percent of the way, but you've got to come the other 10 percent," said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

And Jerry Gilbert won't do anything to protect his sheep, Bangs said.

"No way, what could I do?" Gilbert said. "It's a fantasy to think you can do anything about wolves. You can't. I've got 160 (acres) and I expect my animals to be out on it."

Gilbert said his five sheep - he had 17 and two lambs earlier this year - weren't in a pen but were near the barn when the attack occurred before daylight Tuesday. He didn't hear a commotion, but noticed magpies on a carcass soon after he awoke.

An agent from Wildlife Services confirmed the kill as that of a wolf later in the day.

In the past, Bangs has ordered wolves shot after depredations in the Ninemile. Federal officials have killed five wolves in the Ninemile since the first of the year.

This time, he said, the approach will be "wait-and-see."

Other livestock owners in the valley northwest of Missoula have taken extra care to protect their animals from depredation by installing higher or electric fencing and bringing them inside a barn or other protected enclosure at night.

Gilbert won't "play that game," in his own words.

Bangs said he's hoping that hunting season will take care of the problem. "Usually, depredations drop to zero because of all the gut piles," he said. "That's what we are counting on here."

Gilbert's situation is not the norm, he added, so that also changes the response.

"Part of the rules are you can't bait wolves," Bangs said. "Jerry's perspective is that he'll find every sheep that dies on his 160 acres, and that he'll be reimbursed for the loss and he'll buy another sheep and dump it out there."

"This is just one of those tough situations," he said. "It's a tough line to walk. Where does personal responsibility come in? We're trying to balance the public interest in wildlife with the protection of private property."