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CapitalPress.com
September 11, 2015
Rancher overwhelmed by grizzly bear attacks on cattle
connectivity and prevent-
ing conflicts with grizzlies
to aid in recovery. Toward
reducing conflicts, she said
GYC will cover the costs
of range riders for ranchers
to monitor livestock. The
group also funds voluntary
grazing permit buyouts on
public land.
By JOHN O’CONNELL
Capital Press
ISLAND PARK, Idaho
— Both cow carcasses had
been reduced to bone piles
by the time Brian Mays
returned Sept. 5 to the kill
site, hidden among thick
brush within a boggy, 300-
acre private pasture he leas-
es about 2 miles southwest
of Henry’s Lake, near Yel-
lowstone National Park.
“So this is where 1537
met her demise,” Mays said,
studying an ear tag among
the remains.
Mays has no doubt as
to who — or what — the
culprits were. He estimates
grizzly bears have killed at
least 14 of his cows during
the past four years, includ-
ing four this season.
He’s been frustrated,
however, that wildlife man-
agers haven’t proactively
helped to keep his herd safe
from the federally protected
predators — or set traps to
remove bears immediately
following confirmed live-
stock kills.
He considers the con-
flicts on his ranch evidence
that grizzly bears have met
their Endangered Species
Act recovery goals, and it’s
past time to take the Greater
Yellowstone area popula-
tion off the list of protected
species.
“We need to have meth-
ods to protect our live-
stock,” said Mays, who
also raises forage in Howe,
Idaho, and trucks cattle and
agricultural commodities.
“This is my livelihood.”
Mays discovered four
missing bred heifers on
Aug. 28. That same day, he
found two fresh carcass-
es, which Idaho Wildlife
Services staff quickly con-
firmed as grizzly kills.
Mays initially sought the
Idaho Department of Fish
and Game’s help with griz-
zlies when they surfaced in
his pasture in early June.
Policy, however, prevent-
ed wildlife managers from
acting prior to a confirmed
attack.
Even after kills were
confirmed, Fish and Game
carnivore biologist Bryan
Abert explained the swampy
topography and the sheer
number of bears frequenting
the area made setting a trap
and capturing the correct
bear too difficult. Wildlife
Services is responsible for
trapping problem grizzlies
in Idaho, and Fish and Game
is tasked with relocating or
destroying the bears. Abert
said it’s vital to capture the
correct bear because killing
cattle is a learned ability
that few bears possess. Ab-
ert said other cattle ranch-
ers in the area have avoided
grizzly depredation simply
by checking on their herds
daily.
For Mays, who visits
the ranch every couple of
weeks, the bears have been
undaunted, and he disagrees
trapping wasn’t a viable
Reimbursement
for losses
Photo submitted
An adult grizzly bear is photographed near the site of recent bear-related livestock kills near Henry’s Lake in Island Park, Idaho. The rancher,
Brian Mays, captured the images with a motion-activated trail camera.
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Brian Mays points out the
footprint of a grizzly bear. Mays
believes grizzly bears killed four
of his cattle, though he said
he’ll likely be able to prove only
two of the deaths were caused
by bears in order to receive
compensation.
option. On the morning of
Aug. 29, rather than walking
into a trap, two bears were
photographed by Mays’ mo-
tion-activated trail camera
feeding on the carcasses.
“This particular kill we
investigated last week was
two or three days old at the
least, and they needed to set
their traps that day to get
the right bear,” Mays said.
With no recourse to pro-
tect his cattle, Mays moved
them 30 miles to a safer pas-
ture. The decision cost him.
“I’ve got way more grass
out there than I’ve ever had
and could have made it un-
til the middle of October,”
Mays said.
An ESA
success story
Given that grizzlies are
still a federally threatened
John O’Connell/Capital Press
Brian Mays, left, Todd Sharp and Wayne Scoggin search for the carcasses of two missing cows on
Sept. 5, killed by grizzly bears within the 300-acre pasture Mays and Sharp lease in Island Park,
Idaho. They soon discovered the buried remains of both animals.
species, Idaho Fish and
Game spokesman Gregg
Losinski said his depart-
ment must coordinate all
management actions with
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Losinski said Fish and
Game’s official position is
that the grizzly population
is recovered and should be
delisted. He said the most
current population esti-
mates place bear numbers
in the ecosystem during
2014 at between 757 and
1,150 grizzlies, compared
with a recovery goal of 500
bears. Bears were briefly
delisted from 2007 to 2009
but were restored to the list
in response to a lawsuit by
conservation groups, alleg-
ing inadequate regulatory
mechanisms and that the
delisting analysis failed to
adequately assess the ef-
fects of climate change on
white bark pine trees, which
produce nuts that are central
to grizzly diets.
A federal court ruled
against both arguments
about a year and a half
ago. Though leaders from
the three states have been
planning for delisting since
then, Chris Servheen, griz-
zly bear recovery coordina-
tor with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, said there
is no current proposal to go
forward with the process,
which would require the in-
troduction of a new rule and
a public-comment period.
Delisting would commence
at the discretion of the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service
director.
Losinski argues that the
Greater Yellowstone grizzly
population and its threats
have been extensively stud-
ied, and the bear’s recovery
is one of the great Endan-
gered Species Act success
stories. If the grizzly can’t
be delisted, he fears there’s
little hope of declaring suc-
cess for other listed species.
“It’s an important test
because it either shows the
Endangered Species Act
works based on science or
it doesn’t,” Losinski said.
“It’s important for the sake
of the process to show the
process works.”
Even leaders with the
Greater Yellowstone Co-
alition — a plaintiff in the
federal lawsuit over grizzly
delisting — agree the pop-
ulation has grown and is
enjoying wider distribution.
But Kathy Rinaldi, GYC’s
Idaho conservation coor-
dinator, emphasized that
grizzlies are extremely slow
to reproduce. She consid-
ers it imperative that sound
management plans be im-
plemented if the species is
delisted to prevent the pop-
ulation from losing ground
again.
Rinaldi said GYC has
focused on protecting core
habitat, maintaining habitat
Shortly before moving
his cattle to a safer pasture,
Mays and his son-in-law,
Todd Sharp, and his ranch
hand, Wayne Scoggin,
searched the boggy pasture
using four-wheelers for the
final pair of missing cows.
They carried shotguns
and pistols in case of a
chance encounter with a
grizzly — the law prohibits
firing at threatened grizzlies
for any reason other than
personal safety.
About a half hour into
the search, Sharp discov-
ered a burial site within
a thicket of trees. He ex-
plained grizzlies bury their
prey and wait for it to start
decomposing before they
return to eat it. They found
a second burial site nearby.
Mays anticipates De-
fenders of Wildlife will re-
imburse him for full mar-
ket value of the first two
kills, given that they were
assessed for wounds be-
fore bears stripped the car-
casses clean. The final two
carcasses, however, were
too decomposed to prove
bears were responsible, and
weren’t simply scavenging.
Todd Grimm, director
of Idaho Wildlife Services,
said additional funding to
compensate ranchers for
livestock losses by grizzlies
is available under the farm
bill’s Livestock Indemnity
Fund. Grimm said grizzly
attacks have never been
a problem for ranchers in
Northern Idaho, but they
sometimes occur near Is-
land Park, a busy corridor
for the species.
From 2010 to 2014,
Wildlife Services investi-
gated 23 grizzly bear dep-
redations of livestock, with
predation confirmed in 19
cases.
By comparison, during
the same period, Grimm said
the state’s 20,000 black bears
committed 34 confirmed
livestock depredations, its
2,500 mountain lions were
linked to 44 confirmed dep-
redations and its 770 wolves
committed 507 attacks.
In Idaho, Grimm said
2015 has been a slow year
for grizzly depredations,
with just a couple of live-
stock attacks reported and
a hunter reporting minor
wounds following an Aug.
31 attack near Sawtell Peak
in Fremont County.
“For us, it had been no
grizzly problems here until
(recently),” Grimm said.
“My counterpart in Mon-
tana has had more grizzly
problems than he’s had wolf
problems.”
OSU session highlights tools sized for Oregon’s small farms
Oregon’s small urban
farms have an out-sized
place on the state’s ag-
ricultural landscape, but
operators sometimes have
trouble finding affordable
implements that fit into
tight spots and meet city
sensibilities.
A Sept. 22 workshop at
Oregon State University in
Corvallis highlights tools
specifically developed or
revised for small-scale
farms. The tools range
from battery-powered til-
lers — with solar recharg-
ing panels — to hand carts
with adjustable wheelbases
that can expand or retract
to match the width of crop
rows.
The event includes an
equipment showcase and
demonstrations, a presen-
tation on ergonomics, tool
maintenance and sharpen-
ing and a panel discussion.
Businesses taking part
ROP-32-52-2/#17
Capital Press
37-2/#14
By ERIC MORTENSON
include Green Heron Tools,
Slow Hand Farm, BCS
America, Johnny’s Tools,
I Tech Designs and Carts
& Tools. An OSU Small
Farms Extension news re-
lease said people should
bring in their hoes, pruners
and blades for sharpening
at $4 to $12 a tool.
Engineering
students
from OSU will attend and
listen for senior project
ideas.
Michael
McGowen,
whose Carts & Tools busi-
ness in Corvallis was fea-
tured previously in the
Capital Press, favors that
sort of collaboration.
“I always felt like it was
a good fit — agriculture
and engineering,” he said.
“OK, let’s get the two sides
talking and working with
each other.”
The event happens Tues-
day, Sept. 22, from noon
to 6 p.m. at the Oak Creek
Center for Urban Horticul-
ture, 844 SW 35th St., Cor-
vallis.
Registration is $25. To
register, or for more in-
formation, visit http://
Eric Mortenson/Capital Press
Carts & Tools founder and
electric tiller maker Michael Mc-
Gowen , of Corvallis, is among
the vendors who will attend a
Sept. 22 small tools workshop
at Oregon State University.
smallfarms.oregonstate.
edu/smallequip or call the
Benton County Extension
office, 541-766-3556.
The 2012 Census of Ag-
riculture counted 9,119 Or-
egon farms of one- to nine
acres. Many small-scale
farmers, especially new or
beginning producers, either
can’t afford standard or
don’t need the size, fuel use
and noise of standard farm
equipment.