At a meeting last Friday, August 19, the Ravalli County Commissioners met to follow up on a previous meeting at which many citizens leveled complaints about the negative economic, cultural and social effects of wolf predation in the valley. At Friday’s meeting it was resolved to “begin a process of research and data gathering for the purposes of establishing the facts, quantifying the impacts of the government placement of wolves” with an aim towards eventually establishing a local large predator control policy that might be used to coordinate with federal and state officials in resolving the situation.
The Commissioners extended the resolution to include a request that Governor Schweitzer, Senators Baucus and Tester, and Representative Rehberg “take measures available to them in an effort to stay any further action by federal agencies toward placement or transplantation of other potentially harmful species, such as Bison and Grizzly, unless and until the veracity and accuracy of the wolf EIS, and the full impacts of wolf placement, can be established.”
Commissioners hope to finish their data gathering by the middle of October of this year.