WILDLIFE ISSUES

Wildlife Issues
Ranchlands in the Madison Valley provide a range of habitat types and migratory corridors for a host of species, including moose, elk, deer, grizzly and wolf. The same grasslands, timbered uplands, and riparian areas that provide excellent habitat also provide the foundation for the livestock ranching economic base of our area, as well as the visual beauty for tourism.
The Madison Valley Ranchlands Group works to protect the biologically healthy open spaces upon which ranching depends. Together with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, sportsmen’s groups such as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and conservation organizations from The Nature Conservancy to the Wildlife Conservation Society, we support conservation strategies that protect ranching and wildlife.
From a cooperative agreement on grizzly research to a carefully managed elk hunt on private lands to the promotion of wildlife-friendly ranching practices, follow the links on the left to learn more about our wildlife activities.

Elk In The Madison Valley
The number of wintering elk in the valley is both spectacular and concerning. We also have large numbers of antelope and deer which winter in the valley bottoms. The size of elk and their expanding numbers have a much greater impact on the landscape. As they move across ownership boundaries they devastate fences. When they congregate in large numbers they impact winter and spring forage dramatically. Often this is forage reserved for livestock operations that exist on the ranches in the valley. Recent indications of elevated levels of brucellosis in these elk herds have huge implications on the economy of Montana.

The Madison Valley Ranchlands Group has supported the formation of a Wildlife Committee for the Madison to bring together stakeholders who have concern regarding these issues. Landowners, sportsmen, outfitters, local businesses and agency personnel have a stake in the wildlife population of the Madison valley. The collaborative process brings all stakeholders to the table and moves toward finding local solutions to local problems. It requires great trust, much patience and perseverance for the process to be successful.

In the Madison valley, elk often come down onto private lands after the general hunting season. To achieve effective harvest and also provide a consistent dispersing impact on the elk under these circumstances requires cooperation and ingenuity. In the past, late season hunting has been effective in providing that management tool. A new elk plan embraced by FWP will eliminate late season hunts except under limited circumstances.

As land ownership changes occur in this valley and many others across Montana, we see a higher tolerance for elk numbers. We also see less interest in hunting under new ownership. This will lead to continued increases in wildlife numbers which will create wildlife management challenges different from the past.

Wolves in the Madison Valley
One of the more controversial wildlife species which frequent the Madison valley is the wolf. There are not a lot of neutrals at the table when you start to discuss wolves. The Madison Valley Ranchlands Group has members at all positions on that spectrum of opinion. We have wolves in the valley, they do on occasion cause death and injury to livestock and pets. By federal and state law, individuals are limited in their responses to this specie. We have found that proactive and collaborative approaches to conflict, serves all stakeholders if they stay engaged in the process.

In 2004, in partnership with Predator Conservation Alliance, Wildlife Services, FWP and Turner Endangered Species Fund, MVRG initiated a Range Rider program. Grants were received from the McCaw and Arthur B. Schultz Foundations to pay for two range riders. The purpose of the riders is to provide a consistent human presence in areas where cattle are grazing in remote landscapes. These are areas where wolves have killed livestock in the past. The riders use non-lethal means to harass wolves which get close to livestock or are passing through pastures. If wolves equate humans with harassment they may choose to avoid areas where the human presence is detected consistently.

The range riders are individuals having significant experience with livestock, horses, and wildlife. They keep track of wildlife activities and numbers. They look for signs of predators and depredation. They are not researchers and have one major objective in their efforts, they strive to minimize wolf/livestock conflict in a non-lethal proactive manner. If livestock are not killed by wolves then wolves are not killed. This keeps all parties out of conflict.

The Range Rider model has been replicated in several other areas to address the conflict of wolves and livestock. It is a difficult program to find funding for and it is also difficult to measure success. Range Riders often move wolves from on basin or watershed to another. This merely shifts the conflict to other livestock producers.

Wolves and livestock will always have conflict when they occupy the same habitat. Livestock producers provide critical wildlife habitat for ungulates which are a significant part of the wolf prey base. There are large tracts of wilderness and national parks which can support a sustainable population of wolves. As those populations grow and expand, the wolves disperse into areas of livestock production and inevitably there will be conflict and livestock loss. In the United States there are huge numbers of wildlife killed on public highways. We live with that and accept it as a part of the wildlife/human interface. If we want a sustainable wolf population in some areas of the United States we will eventually live with the reality of the wolf/livestock interface. We certainly don't consider shutting down portions of the nation's transportation corridors because wildlife are being killed by cars and trucks. It would be just as illogical to think that shutting down the livestock production industry is an acceptable solution to the centuries old wolf/livestock conflict. Dialogue and collaboration will be the means of discovering workable solutions regardless of the source of conflict. This requires suggestions and participation by you and all other interested parties.

Recent National Congressional action has delisted the wolf in Montana, Idaho and portions of other western states. The management of the wolf has now been turned over to the respective states. This Congressional action also eliminates the use of lawsuits to alter this change in management stewardship. We are all anxious to see how the states move forward with wolf management and the inevitable conflict between wolves and livestock. more