A wolf in Yellowstone National Park. Wolf recovery within Yellowstone was reinforced outside of the park when the Nez Perce stepped forward as full participants in the recovery effort. NPS PHOTO
Nearly a quarter century ago, L. David Mech made a pair of
bold predictions about the challenges awaiting wolves in the American West. As
he and I stood on a bluff in Yellowstone National Park discussing what was then
the highly unlikely prospect that the howls of Canis lupus would ever be common again in the Northern Rockies, the
world’s foremost wolf biologist demonstrated foresight that now seems
prophetic.
“Bringing back wolves will be difficult,” he said. “And if
it happens, it would be momentous. But then the real test begins. Has society
moved past its historical prejudices attached to these animals or is the
hysteria destined to be repeated again? To me, that will be the true gauge of
whether Americans have become smarter about our relationship with wolves.”
Then he added something else: Maybe the only group of
citizens who fully understand the native importance of wolves on the landscape
is native people.
Today, following decades that have passed since wolves were
successfully reintroduced both to Yellowstone and wilderness areas of Idaho, it
is remarkable how prescient his musings were.
Throughout the Northern Rockies, millions of dollars have
been spent killing wolves. In fact, more wolves have been lethally removed than
exist today—1,800 across the five-state area—and in most instances the cost of
destroying them has far exceeded the value of the livestock or big-game hunting
opportunities lost to wolves.
Idaho and Wyoming represent ground zero for the social test
spelled out by Mech.
A few years ago I went to Idaho as the state was undertaking
aggressive action to lethally-control lobos. “Wolves are under siege in Idaho
but the reality hasn’t really gotten the attention that it deserves from
wildlife-loving Americans,” said Suzanne Asha Stone with Defenders of Wildlife.
Few conservationists have the perspective Stone does. She
was there during the winters of 1995 and 1996 when wolves were reintroduced.
“While public attention has been focused on Yellowstone wolves because they’re
literally visible to millions of people who come to watch them, here in Idaho
the saga has been largely out of sight and mind to most people,” she says.
Stone pointed to one group that played a pivotal role in
giving wolves a second chance and has quietly been an unsung conservation hero:
the Nez Perce Nation. She introduced me to Josiah Blackeagle Pinkham, the Nez
Perce’s cultural resources ethnographer.
“We have our own stories about wolves, coyotes and other
animals that speak to our attitudes of coexistence,” he explained of the
animals known to the Nez Perce as Hími·n. “They go back to a time long, long
before Europeans ever realized this continent was a place on the map of the
world.”
After a pause, Pinkham noted that in the Nez Perce lexicon there
is no natural word for “eradication,” meaning the deliberate annihilation of a
species as was carried out by European settlers against bison and wolves and
other predators. “That concept is foreign to us,” he said.
A college-educated father, son of an author who once served
as tribal chairman, grandson of a noted shaman, and a hunter, fisherman and
naturalist, Pinkham is keenly aware of two divergent world views that surround
him as he pointed toward a spot on the horizon where tribal members recently
spotted wolves.
When former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt gave the green
light for wolf reintroduction to proceed in the West in 1994, Idaho refused to
participate in an attempt to stymie wolf recovery. Much to the state’s
surprise, the Nez Perce stepped forward.
The tribe has primary jurisdiction over 760,000 acres of
reservation in Idaho and, due to treaty rights dating back to 1855, has
guaranteed access to more than 17 million acres of original tribal homeland
covering a variety of federal public lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and
Washington—including wilderness areas where the federal government intended to
release wolves transplanted from Canada.
“I visited the tribal council when the wolf reintroduction
proposal was moving toward reality and asked for their advice and support,”
Stone said. “When the state of Idaho refused to support the restoration
efforts, wolves needed involvement from the Nez Perce to monitor their survival
and their response was, ‘count us in.’”
The Nez Perce committed as full participants in wolf
reintroduction. “The Nez Perce approach involves asking the question: ‘How am I
going to restore this greater whole so that it can function on its own without
my intervention,’” Pinkham said. “As ‘land managers,’ we’re one of the few
entities trying to manage ourselves out of existence, not in terms of our
presence but in terms of the need to constantly tinker.”
Carter Niemeyer, a retired federal predator control expert
who oversaw efforts to kill wolves that came into conflict with ranchers, investigated
reports of depredation and concluded many livestock deaths were blamed on
wolves without evidence. He says the Nez Perce’s patient, calm, long-term
perspective—one that rejects rash, knee-jerk decision-making—is exactly what’s
needed in the social and political discussions swirling around wolves.
It’s a perspective Josiah Blackeagle Pinkham and the Nez
Perce embrace with open arms.
Todd Wilkinson is founder of Bozeman-based Mountain Journal (mountainjournal.org) devoted to protecting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and is a correspondent for National Geographic. He’s also the author of “Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek” about famous Jackson Hole grizzly bear 399, which is available only at mangelsen.com/grizzly.
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On Wednesday, December 11th, from 4 to 8pm, Beehive Basin Brewery, in the Big Sky Town Center, welcomes KGLT, 91.9FM, to Big Sky with a Pint Night for Friends of
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On Wednesday, December 11th, from 4 to 8pm, Beehive Basin Brewery, in the Big Sky Town Center, welcomes KGLT, 91.9FM, to Big Sky with a Pint Night for Friends of KGLt! There’ll be great microbrews from the 7 barrel brewing system and a buck a beer goes to KGLT!
The staff, the Friends of KGLT and all the DJ’s are really excited to be at 91.9 in Big Sky and can’t wait to meet you for Pint Night at Beehive Basin Brewery at the Town Center! Thank you Beehive Basin Brewery for your warm welcome! See you all Wednesday December 11th in Big Sky!
It’s the season of getting crafty! Learn how to create easy and inspired DIY gifts for yourself or loved ones. You will create three easy to follow recipes with few
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It’s the season of getting crafty! Learn how to create easy and inspired DIY gifts for yourself or loved ones. You will create three easy to follow recipes with few steps to take home! We’ll create a Merry Room Spray, a Cinnamon Spice Coffee Scrub, a Holiday Scented Cleaner, or a Detoxing Bath Salt. I’m also sending you home with a sheet of recipes that will inspire you to create a long term wellness plan and surround yourself with chemical free products. Included recipes will be my favorite face serum, whipped body butter that is amazing for this time of year, my favorite rollers, diffuser recipes, and more!
Natural, plant based products that are effective are becoming necessary in our world. My favorite products contain pure essential oils that bring the body balance, healing, and gratitude. The true scents of nature will fill you with love during this season. Join us to learn more about how essential oils can help you and your family.
Investment: Early bird ~ $20 (through 12/04/19) or $25 after
Follow this link to register: https://santoshabigsky.com/workshops-special-events/
Help celebrate the opening of Big Sky Natural Health with the Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting! Big Sky Natural Health is a naturopathic medical practice comprised of devoted practitioners who
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Help celebrate the opening of Big Sky Natural Health with the Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting! Big Sky Natural Health is a naturopathic medical practice comprised of devoted practitioners who utilize holistic methods customized and customized treatments to empower patients and reestablish optimum health through whole person, patient centered care.
They specialize in regenerative injection therapies including Prolotherapy (Prolo), Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), and Stem Cell Therapy as well as IV nutrient therapy.
Naturopathic medicine is part of the fast-growing natural health industry, as an increasing number of patients are seeking a more natural approach to their healthcare.