Missoula Notebook
Going to the Dogs in Missoula
I don’t know why so many dog owners believe that leash laws apply only to someone else, although I guess most of us have at least a law or two we choose to disregard, even if it’s only a speed limit. Arguably one good reason to disobey leash laws is to be able to give your dog more exercise than you’d otherwise have time for, if you don’t live next door to Jacobs Island Park, although another way of looking at this situation would be that, if you don’t have time to drive to Jacobs Island Park on a regular basis, maybe you don’t have time to own a dog. [more]
"I wuff you"
Puppy Love on Valentine’s Day
“You Can’t Hurry Love” serenades shoppers from the PA system as a middle-aged woman stops to eye the Pet Smart Valentine’s Day display, overflowing with heart-shaped squeak toys, pink dog beds embroidered with hearts, and sleeveless dresses for the dainty pooch.
Turns out Valentine's Day is a popular holiday for pet owners. “People kind of treat their dogs like their kids,” says store manager Jason McCulloch.
One pet lover says, “That’s what happens when you get old and crazy and your kids go away."
[more]
Drivers slow down to avoid vehicle-elk collisions, please
Elk, Deer Close to Freeway Through Boise
Herds of elk and deer are foraging for food along the main artery through Boise: Interstate 84. Just northeast of Boise, they are also very close to Highway 21, which is the road to Idaho City and the Sawtooths.
These particular elk and deer are hungry, and they are very, very close to the highways. News cameras out last night caught them just yards away from cars whizzing by. Here at NewWest/Boise, we've tried to report on elk news as often as possible, but this...gets right down to an actual request on behalf of the creatures: Please do not poke at, disturb, whack, smack or smash the elk.
[more]
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Interagency Bison Management Plan
State and Federal Agencies Predict Busy Winter for Bison Management
Bison are powerful American icons and stir deep emotions in many different people. The Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP) meeting in Bozeman last Tuesday night was testament to this; dreadlocks and cowboy hats commingled as officials from federal and state agencies presented an update on the IBMP and answered an array of questions on what they predicted the coming winter would hold for Yellowstone’s bison.
In panel discussions and public discussion sessions with the IBMP’s five signatory agencies, officials had one overarching message: all agencies would be fully implementing the IBMP this winter, including – if necessary – the costly and controversial practices of hazing and slaughtering bison who wander out of the park.
Bison, elk and many other mammals carry the disease brucellosis, which showed up in a Montana cattle herd this summer. Though the Department of Livestock (DOL) says the transmission likely came from elk, if another cattle herd tests positive before May 2009 Montana will lose its brucellosis free status, and the DOL will not be taking any chances with bison.
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About the size of a fat schnauzer
Baby Bear Captured in Boise School Playing Field
Idaho Department of Fish and Game biologists Wednesday afternoon, September 19, successfully captured a yearling black bear at East Junior High School in Boise.
East J.H. is near the corner of Warm Springs and Broadway Avenues, one of the main gateways into downtown Boise. Had Little Bear the urge for a cappucino and some boutique shopping, a mere stroll would have done it.
The bear, about 18 months old and about 50 pounds, had been chased up a tree by residents of an apartment building west of the school. Boise police officers and school officials helped keep him treed until help arrived – first the fire department and then Fish and Game biologists Steve Nadeau, the agency’s large carnivore coordinator, and wildlife biologist Jon Rachael.
[more]
Itinerant Goat Ranching
Hooves of Gold, Stomachs of Iron
I was riding my bike over the weekend on the bike path through CU's Research Park when I came upon a herd of goats. Grazing away in the brush along the creek, hooved and horned, with a dozen or so interested spectators of the human variety. I pulled up and talked to their herder, a weathered, friendly woman named Lou Colby.
After we chatted a few minutes I asked her where her permanent base is.
"Well, don't have one right now."
This took a minute to sink in. So, do they live in hotels or what?
[more]
Follow the Dirt Road in Your Soul to Humbug Mountain
Growing Grasshoppers for Fun and Profit
Though I sometimes fancy myself a farmer, grasshoppers are my most abundant crop.
I was complimented on my produce just the other day. If I’d been dressed in sales attire, I could have showed the nice lady my mandarin orange grasshoppers or my khaki camel grasshoppers with the "Iraqi Storm" tank build. The way they are chomping down on my petunias I wouldn’t be surprised to discover the first white grasshopper with pink pinwheels.
Even casual observers can quickly recognize that grasshopper growing is my vocation; my hollyhocks have that Swiss cheese look that indicates contented grasshoppers. And you know what they say about contented grasshoppers.
[more]
Guest Column
New Organization Educates Pet Owners About TrapsLong summer evenings in Missoula, Montana offer no dearth of activities for public participation, and weekends only increase the abundant options. Deciding which event to forego is the usual summer dilemma. Full schedules notwithstanding, some 60 people gathered Friday evening to learn about animal trapping on public land and—more specifically—how to free their companion dogs should they tangle with a trap. The free, public service workshop was offered by Footloose Montana, an organization newly-formed in response to increasing conflicts between people, their dogs, and traps set on public land. [more]
Follow the Dirt Road In Your Soul to Humbug Mountain
Rattlesnakes Under Glass
What smells with its tongue, has an endless supply of fangs and announces someone's at the door with a rattle rather than a bell?
If you guessed a rattlesnake you’d be right but I’ll bet there’s a lot about these slithering, but not slimy, creatures you don’t know. Visiting the American International Rattlesnake Museum in Albuquerque helped me separate fact from fiction.
Owner Bob Myers claims he has the largest collection of different species of rattlesnakes in the world.
"I used to be a biology teacher," he said. "I tell people I wanted to get into something safer so I opened a rattlesnake museum."
The best way to deal with a snake is to ignore it and keep on moving. The only time Myers was ever bitten was when he had the snakes outdoors for a National Geographic photo shoot.
"I let my guard down and I guess the snakes were upset. I learned my lesson, not to do what National Geographic tells me."
[more]
