Kids efforts to reduce conflict between wolves and livestock will not help without WAG Mandates. Its pretty sad that kids have more intelligence than the WAG Members that did not require defined required deterrent measures on any grazing allotments. The outcome was compromising that did nothing more than allow proven problem causers to kill wolves. It is time for WDFWs leadership to wake up, and begin to demand deterrent required procedures or Welfare Ranchers loose their grazing Allotment!
Sadly, as long as Ranchers are allowed grazing without mandated deterrent PROCEDURES, WDFW will continue to allow problems to expand while doing nothing to prevent it. The Wolf Advisory Group are allowing wolves to be killed! Their Failure to take a more conservative approach while demanding these deterrent requirements are a failure for Washington’s Wolves.
EDMONDS, Wash. – Elementary school kids in Edmonds are tackling one of Washington’s most controversial wildlife issues: Reducing conflict between wolves and livestock.
“We don’t want the wolves to go away. We want them to stay in the population,” said Soarin Shultz, who is on a team of elementary school kids at Edmonds Heights.
Their team is part of the national First Lego League robotics competition. This year, the teams have to solve a wildlife issue by building a robot and performing a skit to explain it.
“It doesn’t matter how old you are as long as your idea is good,” said Gem Arbogast.
The students found a drone that sprays fertilizer, but the kids would spray wolf scat and urine. It’s called biofencing, and the kids hope it would trick wolves into staying away because they smell another pack in the area.
“I hope that it makes farming on public land and dealing with wolves easier in our state,” said Faith Waggoner.
Conservationists believe there’s too much grazing land for the biofencing idea to work.
Still, the kids and their teacher have found the process to be a valuable one. They called wolf and cattle experts around the country to learn more. They’ve even learned to see a little wolf in themselves.
“In the first day of class they asked what our spirit animal is, and mine was a wolf, because I can be very mellow sometimes, but sometimes I can be aggressive like a wolf,” Soleil Schultz said.
The kids move on to the competition semi-finals in January. Even if their idea just stays an idea, they hope it raises awareness. After all, their team name is the “Flaming Wolves.”
Source: Kids work to reduce conflict between wolves and livestock | KING5.com