Probably more than you might think. I have to ask the question, “What in the world is going on in Idaho?”
Many of you are going to begin thinking I have lost my mind. The rest of you came to that conclusion a long time ago. According to an article in the Idaho Statesman, the U.S. Forestry Service is going to prohibit ranchers from grazing their sheep in portions of Hells Canyon. For what reason, you may ask? FEAR OF THE SPREAD OF DISEASE! Where have we heard that one before?
Briefly, big horn sheep were reintroduced into that area. For the record, it was said then that any reintroduction of big horn sheep would have no affect on sheep grazing.
Myers also brought up a 1997 agreement between the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, the Idaho Woolgrowers Association and the Forest Service that allowed further reintroductions of bighorns in exchange for an agreement that grazing would not be impaired.
The fear of the spread of disease comes from a report owned by the U.S. Forest Service.
The action follows a Forest Service scientific report issued in 2006 that concluded domestic sheep transmit diseases, including pneumonia, that kill large portions of the bighorn herds. Ranchers say the research is inconclusive, and an attorney for one sheep operation said he is prepared to go to court to reverse the decision.
So what’s really behind this? Well, maybe this will help shed a little light.
The plan came out during a hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the James McClure Federal Building in Boise.
The Western Watersheds Project, the Wilderness Society and the Hells Canyon Preservation Council went to court to ask for a preliminary injunction to prevent the Shirts Brothers sheep ranching operation from taking its sheep out to grazing lands in Hells Canyon in the Payette National Forest later this month.
But before the hearing, the Forest Service announced it was following the recommendations of the Nez Perce Tribe and will issue instructions for the Shirts that allow them to graze some areas but block them from grazing sheep in areas where the risk of contact with bighorn sheep is high.
The U.S. Forest Service appears to be following the same pattern as its twin brother the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is caving in to the pressures of environmental groups, preservationists, animal rights groups and anti-hunters. Anti-hunters you ask? But aren’t they saving the big horn sheep?
That’s what they want you to think. These people want only to see ranchers off federal lands. Look closer. The article says that the U.S. Forest Service is following the recommendations of the Nez Perce Tribe. This is the same tribe who wants to see elk ranching done away with too. I wonder what’s in it for them?
So, is there science behind this effort? There is none in the elk ranching debacle. Have these groups put on a different costume and decided to try stripping other kinds of ranchers of their livelihoods? We have no reason to believe there is any substantiated science behind this effort. Idaho people shouldn’t just accept what is being said. People have lied and are still lying about disease being spread by domestic elk. Show me science that is backed up by the vast majority of the scientific community and then the Idaho community can band together and solve a realistic problem.
Some ranchers say the scientific study the USFS is using is flawed and doesn’t agree with other studies done on domestic sheep and big horn sheep.
But ranchers point to other studies in Nevada and a recent study in Hells Canyon that suggest the pneumonia that infects bighorn sheep is not caused by the same virus that causes pneumonia in domestic sheep.
“Eliminating sheep grazing will probably have zero impact on the health status of bighorn sheep populations in the western United States,” said Anette Rink, supervisor of the Animal Disease and Food Safety Laboratory in Reno.
It appears this is only the beginning for sheep ranchers in Idaho as near as I can tell.
The Payette National Forest is conducting an environmental analysis of the impacts of sheep grazing with bighorns throughout the 2.3 million acre forest. A draft is expected by June with a final decision scheduled for December.
Once one rancher is told he can’t graze, the chain reaction will put many out of business. This is no different than the wolf introduction insanity. I have said before, even though decades ago settlers decimated the wolf population, that was history. We can’t change that. Ranchers came to places like Idaho because it was a great place to farm and raise livestock free of wolves. This industry became well established and none of us can ignore the fact that much of our food supply comes from these ranchers.
Then came the wolves. They were protected and have had devastating effects on some ranchers. They didn’t ask for the wolf to be brought back. This is no different than the businessman who is convinced to open his shop in the local mall only to find out the state decided to close down the road leading to the mall.
One thing that has kept the ranchers in Idaho has been the ability to graze livestock on federal lands. The vast majority of land in Idaho is federally owned. Some people don’t like this and are prepared to do just about anything to stop it. Looks like they’ve began their work.
So, if you are still asking what domestic sheep have to do with hunting, realize that one step leads to another. Stopping the grazing of sheep in Hells Canyon will lead to the end of grazing of sheep on all federal lands. Once that happens all grazing will cease. Hunting will come next.
If you think that is far fetched, consider this. Find me a state where anti-hunting groups, animal rights groups, preservationists or environmentalists have sued to stop any kind of activity such as this and then went away satisfied never to return again. You won’t find any cases because none exist. The opposite is true. Giving isn’t in any of their vocabularies. It is always the hunter, the fisherman, the trapper, the rancher or the property owner that’s asked to give – give up rights, give up property, give up freedom, in order that these selfish groups can have their way.
Stop giving now!
Tom Remington
