I read Jason Kauffman's account of recent activities with the Phantom Hill wolf pack in the Idaho Mountain Express on Aug. 8.
First, I want to thank Cindy Hillemeyer for being a volunteer guardian of our neighborhood wolf pack. Without the tireless hours spent in the field tracking the wolves in hopes of protecting them from what has become inevitable in situations of livestock depredation, they would likely already be killed.
I also have deep respect for Lava Lake Land and Livestock for the decision to remove sheep from potential harm's way in the allotment the operation is permitted to graze, which overlaps with the pack's territory. Lava Lake dealt with the problem in a very responsible way. But for the federal government to consider killing the Phantom Hill wolf pack because of some ongoing sheep depredation, many of which were confirmed not killed by wolves, is a serious misuse of our public lands.
We did not set aside publicly owned land for a sole purpose, or for livestock grazing to trump other uses such as important wildlife habitat. Livestock grazing is a permitted activity, but the ranchers know the risks involved including weather, sickness, injury and other predator kills, and should accept losses when permitted to use the public's land to graze livestock.
The public should be allowed to weigh in on decisions of lethal killing, as the sheep depredations occurred on our public land. It is apparent from the article that non-lethal means have not been fully implemented such as use of rubber bullets and better communication between the permittee and Hillemeyer.
I urge the federal government to require applying non-lethal options to reduce livestock-wolf conflicts. There are far too many local wildlife supporters that would be strongly opposed to lethally killing wolves that deserve to make a living on our public land.
Kaz Thea
Hailey
