Lethal wolf-cattle conflicts limited

The state’s looser rules for managing wolves may have helped keep lethal conflicts with cattle to a minimum. Park County commissioners on Tuesday heard a report from Tod Stutzman, president of the Park County Predator Management Advisory Board. The group works with the Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services to manage conflicts between livestock and coyotes, wolves and other predators. The agency also handles calls from rural residents about nuisance animals like skunks and raccoons, said specialist Jim Pehringer. Pehringer said that Wildlife Services agents killed nine wolves in Park County in 2009, a much lower number than in recent years. Park County ranchers lost only three calves and two cows to wolves last year. Those much lower kill counts for wolves and cattle were due in part to good cooperation with state and federal wildlife agencies, but also because of the looser restrictions on dealing with problem wolves while operating under Wyoming’s management plan, he said...read more