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April 7, 2017 CapitalPress.com 5 WSU wolf researcher defends remarks as school probes how he made them Rancher disputes scientist’s findings By DON JENKINS Capital Press Foc us Don Jenkins/Capital Press Ron Mittelhammer, dean of the Washington State Univer- sity’s College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Resources Sciences, talks during a break of a meeting of the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Wolf Advisory Group March 29 in Olympia. Matthew Weaver/Capital Press File Washington State University wolf scientist Robert Wielgus, shown here in 2012 at a research center in Pullman, is defending his email suggesting that ranchers be required to sign up with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to pursue non-lethal means of protecting livestock before shooting predators will be considered. cate. Science is my religion. I simply report the data and make recommendations based on the data.” Ron Mittelhammer, dean of the College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Resourc- es Sciences, noted last week that Wielgus used the univer- sity email system to distribute his press release and included his title and college contact information. Mittelhammer said the uni- versity is investigating wheth- er Wielgus misused public resources to express his pri- vate opinion and whether he violated a policy prohibiting university employees from lobbying. “It’s under review. The entire issue is under review,” Mittelhammer said. “I don’t know how long it will take, but it’s a priority.” The university has been receiving a lot of complaints about Wielgus’ comments, Mittelhammer said. “We’re hearing it from everyone.” In the press release, Wiel- gus restated his position that a ranch put cows in harm’s way last summer in the Colville National Forest. Wolves at- tacked the livestock, and WDFW shot seven wolves to stop the depredations. Wielgus made the same claim in August, and WSU administrators responded by calling his account of events “inaccurate and inappropri- ate.” Although Wielgus didn’t name the ranch in his latest remarks, he was clearly refer- ring to the Diamond M Ranch. Wielgus stated the ranch con- centrated livestock and placed salt blocks near the Profanity Peak pack den. Diamond M Ranch co-owner Justin Hedrick said March 31 that he found the den many weeks into the graz- ing season. By then, the dep- redations already had started, he said. He said the ranch has been putting salt blocks in the same spot since 1949. Hedrick said the ranch lost about 75 head of cattle, including some far from the den. He said depredations are a natural consequence of a growing population of wolves on grazing allotments, not the lack of a formal agreement • Guide • H olve elp Inv ach • Te • OLYMPIA — A Wash- ington State University wolf scientist defended his recom- mendation last week to further limit lethal control of wolves, as the school’s administration sought to distance the univer- sity from his remarks. Robert Wielgus, director of WSU’s Large Carnivore Conservation Lab, has an- gered livestock producers before with his statements, including his claim that shooting wolves leads to more attacks on livestock, a conclusion rejected by a lat- er study by the University of Washington. Wielgus last week issued a “press release” as a “private citizen,” recommending the state Department of Fish and Wildlife withhold lethal con- trol of wolves on public lands if a rancher hasn’t involved the state in preventing depre- dations. He said in an interview with the Capital Press that he would have preferred sending the press release through uni- versity channels, but he was barred. He said it was import- ant to present his findings be- fore WDFW’s Wolf Advisory Group met this week to set a lethal-control policy for the upcoming grazing season. “I was charged by the state Legislature and Washington Department of Fish and Wild- life to conduct research and provide recommendations,” he said. “I’m not a wolf advo- with the state to prevent dep- redations. “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when packs turn to beef,” Hedrick said. “This guy (Wielgus) needs to be la- beled as absolutely anti-farmer, anti-rancher.” Wieglus said that he’s work- ing on a paper in which he hopes to show that if ranchers follow WDFW depredation-preven- tion agreements, wolves will attack fewer livestock. “What I’m saying is they should abide by the terms,” he said. “I haven’t proven that sta- tistically, but all indications are that’s probably the case.” The agreements require ranchers to disclose informa- tion about the number of ani- mals they have and where they will graze. WDFW has access to the property. About 50 ranchers statewide have signed up, making them eligible for public funding to employ preventive measures and additional compensation for losses. Hedrick said he doesn’t blame ranchers for signing out of financial necessity, but his family won’t. “You’re saying you’re fine with wolves eating your cat- tle, as long as I get paid. Well, we don’t want to raise cattle to feed wolves,” Hedrick said. “I don’t want anything I can’t earn. I don’t want handouts.” FIGHT Join us to hear Kyle Smoot, MD speak on the topic of Understanding MRI: The Role in Diagnosis & Treatment Don’t miss this opportunity to learn more about MS and connect with others in the MS community. 4/11/17 at 6:30PM Amadeus Cafe 135 Liberty St. NE Salem, OR 97301 This event is accessible to people with disabilities. A light meal will be provided. 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