My Page: Dave Loos
manipulated breeding?
Montana Wolf Mystery Revived, Snared Wolf Possible HybridA mystery predator responsible for 12 sheep deaths in Eastern Montana last month could be connected to the dozens of similar attacks in late 2005 and early 2006, which some officials blame on a domestic hybrid species of wolf.
Montana’s top wolf official said this week that two suspicious animals remain on the loose in and near Garfield County following the sheep deaths in late August. A third animal killed in a coyote snare earlier this month has yet to be positively identified as wild or domestic.
The recent deaths revive last year's furor in McCone and Garfield Counties over the 100-plus sheep slaughtered, and the subsequent hunt that ultimately left dead a domestic wolf, the product, officials believe, of manipulated breeding in captivity.
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conservation overkill?
To Protect Cutthroat, the South Fork of the Flathead to be Poisoned
It sounds like the most drastic of measures -- killing an entire natural fishery in order to replace it with another.
But federal and state officials, and some environment groups, say a controversial plan to poison 21 lakes and streams in the South Fork Flathead River Watershed in Northwest Montana beginning next month is a necessary move, aimed at protecting one of Montana’s prized species, the native westslope cutthroat trout.
Others, including many local ranchers, businesses and outfitters, maintain that the Westslope Cutthroat Conservation Project's attempt to remove rainbow and hybrid trout species from the drainage is destined to fail, causing further damage to fragile ecosystems.
The opportunity for opponents to comment, however, has long passed, and barring unforeseen circumstances, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials will begin the poisoning project in early October.
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