A Soft Spot

A lot of folks who read my occasional columns figure I have a soft spot for wolves.

A lot of folks probably figure I have a soft spot on my head too.

No worries. Spot or not, I’m smart enough to know wolves are here to stay. If every wolf in the predator zone is shot and the packs ebb in the trophy zone, the feds will return to call the wolf shots.

So I’ll keep preaching against polarizing the wolf issue.

Over the years, I’ve come to know the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Those boys are straight shooters — they will do what they say. I believe they are taking the task of protecting wolves seriously, if for no other reason than to retain Wyoming’s recently-acquired management of the canines.

Range Riders, a program initiated by Keystone Conservation in Livingston, Mont., area, is designed to help ranchers and wolves coexist. It has been a happy union between ranchers and a conservation group.

If any group can remove or limit wolf predation, any rancher worth his or her salt should lend them their ear, right?

Maybe people like Janelle Holden, executive director of Keystone, who grew up on a Montana ranch, can relate to stock growers. She’d love to bring Ranger Riders to Wyoming. Check Keystone out.

One conservation group from back east raised havoc last week. They encouraged people to call Gov. Dave Freudenthal’s office asking him to oppose current Wyoming wolf laws. They also urged their members to boycott Wyoming.

Those tactics aren’t very neighborly. But from what information I could glean, other than tying up Gov. Dave’s staff, tourism will likely flourish anyway. In fact, we’ll probably see even more tourists this year. Tourists are a pain in the hind end, but they also spend lots of dough in Wyoming and Park County.

All righty then. You’re darn-tooting I’m a tree hugger. But a hugger with a heart for Wyoming and its people, ranchers included.

I’m devoted to any four-legged critters, wild or domesticated. There is nothing I fancy more than seeing bears or wolves, horses or cows. Heck, I get a kick from watching a herd of cows — my homeys on the range.

I reckon there is a mighty good chance that someone will respond to my earnest, if inarticulate thoughts. Before you pick up that poison pen or crank up your computer, put your money where your mouth is.

Ranchers, if you have a beef, lets talk. Call me, or better yet, invite me to your place and show me (our readers) first hand the devastation wrought by wolves. I’m in the book.