CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Bright lights, brightly-colored fencing and loud noises are three things wolves really dislike, and they're being used in three strategies deployed near Sun Valley, Idaho, to protect sheep and other livestock. Ranchers and state and federal agencies have been experimenting with non-lethal methods to keep wolves at bay. So far, they're finding success - and the program could be copied in Wyoming. Last year, only one sheep of some 10,000 in the Idaho program area was lost to a wolf.

Mike Stevens at Lava Lake Lamb and Livestock company is participating in the program.

"Generally, we have found that the pro-active approach is very helpful, and really, it's going to be essential, longer term, to coexist with wolves in the region."

Stevens says the downsides to the approach are that they're labor-intensive and, while sheep losses are fewer, there's been an increase in wolf attacks on sheep guard dogs, which he says is upsetting.

Wolves are the stars of attention whenever they kill sheep in Wyoming and other wolf states, but Stevens says they're not the only predators livestock operators are learning to live with on the landscape.

"Mountain lions, black bears, coyotes; we have the full range of predators, so we certainly have losses."

The Western Wolf Coalition reports that while 314 head of livestock were lost to wolves last year, between 5,000 and
10,000 head are taken by other predators each year.


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TUCSON, Ariz. - The battle against copper mining the Santa Rita Mountains outside of Tucson continues - even though the feds just handed a victory to environmental groups.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just rejected a bid by a Canadian mining company, Hudbay Minerals, to remove critical-habitat designation for jaguars from 50,000 acres - the proposed site of the company's open-pit Rosemont mine.

Gayle Hartmann, president of the nonprofit Save the Scenic Santa Ritas, said Hudbay now plans to explore the other side of the mountain - the west side.

"The biggest problem on the west side is that it's largely not public land, it's private land," said Hartmann. "It's their mining claims, and they have bought more private land. So, they're trying to avoid federal law by sticking to their private lands."

In 2019, Hudbay lost a court case that halted preparations for the Rosemont mine, but that is now under appeal. The company, which did not respond to a request for comment by deadline, has invested tens of millions of dollars in its mining claims in the Santa Rita Mountains.

Hartmann said she wants to see the area returned to the Coronado National Forest in pristine condition.

"What we're looking forward to ultimately is that there would be sufficient funds," said Hartmann, "through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, perhaps - to buy out their private land and turn this back into a national forest without mining claims on it."

Only a handful of jaguars still remain in the mountains of southern Arizona. Sportsmen and ranchers have hunted them almost to extinction.

The area is considered an important wildlife corridor to lure the Mexican jaguar population back into their historic range.

Robert Peters, southwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife, said he sees jaguars as an iconic part of the American West.

"They're a charismatic, vital part of our natural heritage that was lost," said Peters. "And it's essential that we reintroduce top predators, like the Mexican wolf and the jaguar, because they're key components to keeping ecosystems functioning well."

Peters coauthored two recent scientific papers on jaguars - one on the feasibility of reintroducing them in Arizona, and one that identifies 20 million acres of possible jaguar habitat in Arizona, much of it north of Interstate 10.

JACKSON, Wyo. - Bears throughout Wyoming, including celebrated Grizzly 399 and her four adolescent cubs, are becoming increasingly active in search of food before winter hibernation.

Wyoming's wildlife managers are encouraging all residents and visitors to do their part to keep bears - and themselves - safe.

Kristin Combs, executive director of Wyoming Wildlife Advocates, said 399 is widely viewed as a national treasure, and she encouraged fans to give the bear and her family plenty of space.

"We live in a unique environment up here, where we have her and her cubs wandering around," said Combs. "And we should be able to appreciate them and enjoy them, and also give them the room to move around and find food, hopefully before they turn in for the winter."

Combs said bears and people can co-exist; it just takes a small shift in your mindset and taking a few extra precautions, especially during the late summer/early autumn feeding period known as hyperphagia.

For a comprehensive list of tips for how to make your home bear safe, and how to manage encounters outdoors, visit 'WyoWild.org.'

To avoid the mistake of inviting bears into your home, Combs said keep doors and windows closed and locked.

Make sure pet and livestock feed and trash is kept indoors or in bear-proof cans. And wait to put trash out until the morning before pickup.

It's also a good idea to remove bird feeders until mid-December.

Combs added that installing simple, solar-powered electric fencing around beehives, gardens and compost can make a big difference.

"If you have a chicken coop, secure that with some electric fencing," said Combs. "Electric fencing is highly successful with bears. They get zapped once and they will never come back to that source again. And that will keep other animals out as well."

Encounters with bears while hunting or hiking are rare, but Combs said bear spray is the most effective way to protect yourself as well as bears.

Make sure you know how it works, and that it's accessible, because encounters can happen pretty quickly. She recommended using a chest holster, or attaching it to your belt, within easy reach.

"In incidences where there are bears, and people are surprising them, bear spray usually ends up in either less injuries or no injuries to the people," said Combs. "And obviously the bear still lives to see another day too."

MADISON, Wis. - Animal protection groups hope to overturn Wisconsin's controversial law allowing wolf hunts. A newly filed lawsuit follows months of criticism of key decisions about the program and its effect on the gray wolf population.

A handful of groups have argued that the state law is unconstitutional because it limits the impact of population estimates. After the gray wolf was de-listed from the federal Endangered Species Act, hunters far exceeded a quota in a special hunt in February. There also is concern that the established quota of 300 for a wolf hunt this November is too high.

Melissa Smith, executive director of the group Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf and Wildlife, said it's proof the state statute is aggressive.

"Wolves don't know state borders. They don't know if they're in Michigan or in Minnesota or in Illinois," she said. "But if they cross in here, they're in a really deadly place."

She noted that many other states aren't scheduling wolf hunts, even with federal protections removed. The Department of Natural Resources, named in the suit, declined to comment on the case. Agency biologists recommended a smaller quota this fall, but the Natural Resources Board still approved a higher total. Wisconsin law requires an annual hunt when federal wolf protections aren't in place.

Plaintiffs said the Resources Board ignored the science, and call attention to a panel member still being allowed to cast votes, even though their term expired in May.

Michelle Lute, national carnivore conservation manager of the group Project Coyote, said the current system in Wisconsin is broken.

"There are problems with DNR's population modeling," she said, "the February hunt interrupted their winter count of the population, and by the DNR's own admission, the level of uncertainty in their understanding means we must proceed cautiously."

Conservation groups contend the wolf population is still too fragile to resume activity. Smith said they've exhausted other avenues available to the public to pause the hunts, but were eventually left with no other option.

"We deserve a voice," she said, "and this is the best way we could find to have that voice."

In addition to some big-game hunters backing the program, farmers have argued that wolves prey on their livestock. The state-level lawsuit is not connected to national efforts to reinstate federal protections.