Phantom Hill Story Continued...

When the last sheep band moved through Ketchum on October 20th, it meant the Phantom Hill wolves were “safe”, at least from sheep run-ins, for another year.

In the end, guarding sheep and deterring wolves has to be in the hands of the livestock owner, herders and guard dogs. Public land management agencies like the Forest Service must instigate policies for sheep grazing that reduce and largely eliminate encounters with predators. A partial list would include making certain that all herders, most who are from foreign countries and often speak little English, are given information about predators and use of non-lethal methods to keep sheep safe. In addition, the grazing allotment plan should mandate use of guard dogs, bedding sheep near sheep wagon and herders, removing sick or injured sheep, removing sheep carcasses, and avoiding wolf denning and rendezvous areas.


On allotments where predator-sheep conflicts are chronic, permit buy-outs and permit retirement is the long-term solution for preventing predators like wolves, coyotes, black bear and mountain lions from being killed. Also, sheep producers lose sheep to many causes, and losing some to wolves should not be a reason for Wildlife Services to start trapping and killing wolves, or launching their tax-payer subsidized high-tech airplane or expensive leased helicopter to aerial gun wolves.

End of Phantom Hill Story & Photos.
Shadowy Phantoms survive sheep invasion  PART 1>   PART 2>   PART 3>   PART 4>   PART 5>   PART 6>   PART 7>   PART 8>   PART 9>   PART 10>   PART 11