Wolves Have Exhausted Idaho’s Patience
As a suburbanite, I’ve got no qualms with wolves. None live in my neighborhood along the canyon rim in Twin Falls. The first time I ever saw any of the creatures, they were smaller red wolves in a zoo. My daughter, about six at the time, thought they were dogs.
The environmentalists who hug the trails in Boise claim ranchers and farmers are lying. Why, I ask, would they tell fibs if the wolves were benign?
I never saw a wolf in the wild until one June day in 2016. I was driving a Jeep up a mountainside after passing a resort in Sun Valley. Having just rolled by a few campsites, I was caught by surprise when a massive creature darted across the road. I didn’t have time to fumble for my telephone and its camera. Red wolves are pikers in comparison.
When it comes to culling Idaho’s packs, I’m mostly agnostic. On the other hand, if wolf packs started coming by the radio station and tearing out the wiring, I’d be infuriated. Radio is my livelihood. It’s easy to ignore trouble when it’s the other guy’s ox getting gored. Or in this case, his cattle and/or sheep.
The environmentalists who hug the trails in Boise claim ranchers and farmers are lying. Why, I ask, would they tell fibs if the wolves were benign?
I’ve spent most of my life in suburban and urban settings. It didn’t start that way. Before I left for college, I grew up in an area where you could toss a rock in any direction and have a 50/50 chance of hitting dairy cattle, sheep and horses. We had wild dogs, coyotes and bears. The first group hassled livestock. One of my best friends at school raised sheep. His ancestors had farmed in the area since the 1820s. I remember the day when his dad discovered a field filled with a dead flock. A family way of life on its way to destruction. My buddy left for California after graduation. The old man was the end of the line after almost two centuries on the same hill.
This morning, I opened the telephones on my radio show. Wolves were the topic. I had two messages from wolf backers. They were in a tiny minority. You can hear more below.
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