Washington’s largest cattle rancher has been wreaking havoc on gray wolves in violation of his U.S. Forest Service grazing permit and agency wildlife protection policies, according to a complaint filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).The group is pressing to rescind or restrict grazing permits on public land within Colville National Forest to reduce wildlife losses.
The McIrvins have undertaken actions, such as grazing cattle and placing salt block attractants near a known wolf den, that have provoked predation and triggered “lethal removal” by the state of two separate wolf packs in eastern Washington, including the Profanity Peak pack last summer. This have resulted in the eradication of nearly 15% of all gray wolves within Washington. The Profanity Peak lethal removal alone cost Washington taxpayers $135,000, an expense that was both needless and deplorable. It is also significantly more than all state payments combined to cooperating ranchers for wolf-related livestock losses.
Washington’s largest cattle rancher has been wreaking havoc on gray wolves in violation of his U.S. Forest Service grazing permit and agency wildlife protection policies, according to a complaint filed today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The group is pressing to rescind or restrict grazing permits on public land within Colville National Forest to reduce wildlife losses.
The McIrvins have undertaken actions, such as grazing cattle and placing salt block attractants near a known wolf den, that have provoked predation and triggered “lethal removal” by the state of two separate wolf packs in eastern Washington, including the Profanity Peak pack last summer. This have resulted in the eradication of nearly 15% of all gray wolves within Washington. The Profanity Peak lethal removal alone cost Washington taxpayers $135,000, an expense that was both needless and deplorable. It is also significantly more than all state payments combined to cooperating ranchers for wolf-related livestock losses.
Read the full article from the link above.