Wolves Just Adding To Losses
Of Ranchers In Grizzly Range

RIVERTON, Wyo. —(AP)— Managing grizzly bears was difficult enough, but rancher Jon Robinett says the reintroduction of wolves has resulted in a surge of attacks on his livestock.

Robinett, manager of the Diamond G Ranch near Dubois, lost 46 head of cattle last year. Grizzly bears killed 32, up nine from 1992, he said.

So far this year, 23 head are missing, and he suspects wolves — reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995 — are adding to the mortality rate.

``When wolves were reintroduced, it changed everything,'' he told an agriculture forum in Riverton last week.

The federal government does not compensate ranchers for animals lost to depredation. However, the animal activist group Defenders of Wildlife will pay for some depredation if a wolf is to blame, and the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission reimburses for deaths that result from bears and mountain lions.

But each death must be verified, and on the Diamond G, which is spread over 70,000 acres of private and public land, that can be an arduous task.

Robinett, who believes seven wolves live on the ranch, sends out one to eight employees every day, and each spends 10 to 12 hours ``looking for dead animals and verifying the process.''

He previously used dogs to assist but after losing five dogs to wolves, he abandoned the practice.

Just finding a wildlife official to make the confirmation can require as many as seven phone calls, he said.

In addition, ranch hands face increased work because the predators change the grazing patterns of the cattle.

Wyoming Farm Bureau Executive Vice President Larry Bourret said ranch owners are ``being expected to bear the burden for what society says it wants.''

If the reimbursement price for lost livestock were where it should be, ``people aren't going to want as many'' wolves, he said.

Wildlife managers must determine which predator did the killing and keep track of how many ``strikes'' the animal has against it, which complicates matters further, said Robinett.

``We're trying our best to make it work,'' he said.

Robinett said he is somewhat bitter about promises made prior to the reintroduction of wolves.

``They said they could control wolves,'' he said of federal officials. ``You can't catch or control wolves.''

The Endangered Species Act was designed to strike a balance between wildlife and people, he said, but instead has ``become a tool to fight between people.''

``I believe in the intent of the Endangered Species Act,'' said Robinett. ``But I'd like to see something come our way.''