Two wolves from the Brooks Creek Pack were killed near Stevensville last week. The wolves were killed on a working cattle ranch owned and operated by Ed Cummings. Cummings killed the first wolf, an adult female, within 500 yards of Highway 93 in the middle of his cattle herd in the early morning hours of June 5. The next evening a USDA Wildlife Service officer killed a second wolf on the ranch. At least three calves have been confirmed to be killed by wolves in an ongoing series of livestock depredations in the area.

According to a press release from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), the landowner was issued a permit to kill two more wolves if the need should arise. Federal authorities have also been authorized to do the additional killing, if it becomes necessary. The Brooks Creek Pack was estimated in 2006 to have about 7 members.

In most of southwestern Montana (south of Highway 12 and Interstate 90 to Butte) under the Federal 10j rule, landowners or their employees may harass or even kill a wolf that is seen actively attacking, chasing, or harassing livestock. The wolves north of that borderline are considered to have naturally migrated and are considered endangered. None of these wolves can be legally killed. But south of that line, where wolves have been re-introduced, they are considered "non-essential experimental" and a rancher or an employee may kill a wolf caught in the act of killing, chasing, or harassing livestock.

That's what Cummings did on Tuesday morning, June 5, at the crack of dawn. He shot a large black wolf, an adult female, as she stampeded his herd of black Angus cattle. According to Cummings, he had seen what appeared to be the same wolf in the area recently. He saw it catching rodents on a nearby hillside one day. On Saturday evening, June 2, he saw it just across the driveway at the back of his house.

Then, on Sunday, he discovered the remains of two calves that had been mostly destroyed, leaving only some ragged evidence, a head, a tail, some hooves. On Monday he found two more calves that had been recently killed.

That evening, an acquaintance doing repair work on some machinery in the field reported to Cummings that he had just seen a black wolf in the field. Cummings grabbed his gun, loaded up his dog in the old pick-up truck and headed out into the field where his cattle were grazing adjacent to the highway, a good mile from the forested mountain slopes to the west.

Everything was calm, but he was worried that the wolves were picking on his herd. He decided to park his truck in the middle of the herd and spend the night. The way he tells it, his responsibilities as a cattle herder go back to the beginning of creation, or at least the account given in the Book of Genesis, where God gave the animals to man in order that he might care for them.

"Those animals are in my care and I feel responsible for them," said Cummings, as he drove me out to see some of the dead animals and tell me what had happened.

"A lot of people don't believe that cows really care about their young," said Cummings, "but they do. A mother cow will grieve over the loss of her calf."

We stopped to examine one of the dead calves that had apparently been trampled to death when the herd was running in fright the previous night. Its mother stood nearby watching us intently, almost as though she thought there was something we could do to help her calf.

Cummings said that it had been a miserable night in the truck with his feet propped up on the dashboard, the gun across his lap, his head propped against the door, with his dog in there somewhere. But he had finally fallen asleep. He was awakened by a sound and sitting up saw only dark shapes rushing past the truck. He realized it was his cows stampeding by in the dark grey light of pre-dawn. He turned on his headlights and there in front of the truck stood the black wolf that he had seen previously. He exited the truck with his gun. The wolf stood looking into the headlights. He shot it.

Cummings said the wolf was shot in the gut and ran off. He said that a few of the cows apparently saw that the wolf was now vulnerable and began to chase it. He did too, and when he caught up he finished the wolf off with another shot.

Then he called the federal authorities to report what he had done. He told them he had some dead calves and a dead wolf.

At least one of the calves was confirmed to have been killed by wolves. The next day another two calves were confirmed to be wolf-killed and that night another wolf was killed on the ranch, this time by a federal officer. Traps were set over the weekend, but as of Monday there had been no further development, according to Wolf Management Specialist Liz Bradley. She said that the first wolf killed, a black adult female, was not the alpha female of the Brooks Creek Pack. The second wolf killed was a two-year-old grey colored male, according to Bradley.

According to Cummings, the alpha female of the Brooks Creek Pack is wearing a radio collar and is currently denning, possibly with a litter of new pups.

"FWP knows where she is," said Cummings.

Bradley said that FWP uses an incremental approach in addressing confirmed livestock kills. Killing is a last resort. But the entire pack may be killed if the depredation doesn't stop. An entire pack was killed recently in the Sula area.

About nine years ago, in fact, an entire pack of wolves was killed that had been attacking livestock in the Stevensville area, including some calves on Cummings' ranch. That pack was captured and slated for transfer to another area, but the female and pups caught Parvo virus and died. The male was being roped for transfer and died of suffocation when the noose placed over his neck tightened and failed to release properly.

Since that time, FWP has ceased trying to relocate any offending wolves, but primarily due to the success of the wolf reintroduction policy. According to Bradley, there is nowhere left in the state that does not have cattle or sheep grazing in the area or has not been populated by wolves. FWP will not relocate wolves into an area already used for cattle or sheep grazing.

As of 2006, the most recent figures, Montana has about 316 wolves. Idaho has 673 and Wyoming has an estimated 311. Montana has an estimated 21 breeding pairs, Idaho 40 and Wyoming 25, according to Bradley.

"We are going to do everything we can to stop the Brooks Creek Pack from attacking cattle," said Bradley. "We will be there until the depredation stops."

Cummings hopes that it stops where it's at.

"I've got a permit to kill two more wolves," said Cummings, "which I really don't want to do."

He said that there had been no further kills since the last wolf was shot, but that there were a lot of wolf tracks in the area. He said that right now it was wait and see.

Cummings also said that FWP had suggested putting up flagged electrical fencing around his cattle herd. He was not ready to take that measure.

"I think they should manage the wolves," said Cummings, "and not the people and their cows."

Although FWP officials would not name the rancher involved or specifically identify the area, the landowner is free to talk to the press.

"I'm probably in the minority in a culture of shoot, shovel and shut up," said Cummings, "because I talk to you reporters. But I believe this is a community issue and the community should be involved."

Republicans lose big in commissioner race

By Michael Howell

Ravalli County voters, long considered around the state as a stronghold for the Republican Party, showed a different face in the most recent elections. Not a single Republican candidate won in the June 5 election in which three new county commissioners were elected. Instead, two Democrats and an Independent candidate stole the show.

The Democrats, Kathleen Driscoll and Jim Rokosch, handily defeated their Republican opponents. Driscoll beat Republican Carolyn Weisbecker by almost 1,000 votes, 5,018 to 4,194. Rokosch did a little better, defeating Republican Dave Hurtt by over 1,000 votes, 5,108 to 4,053. Carlotta Grandstaff, an Independent candidate, walked away with the District 5 seat, trouncing Republican candidate and incumbent Howard Lyons, 5,601 to 3,556.

Only about one third of the eligible voters cast ballots in the June 5 election. The number of registered voters in Ravalli county is 29,203. Only 9,411 people voted, making the voter turnout 32.2 percent.

The repercussions of the election stand to be significant as it transforms the commission from a three-member Republican commission to one split between two Republicans, two Democrats and an Independent. It is no secret that that the Independent candidate, now commissioner, Carlotta Grandstaff, is highly critical of the way the Republican-dominated county commission has been functioning. Or not functioning, depending on how you look at it.

Ravalli County has had Democrat-dominated county commissions in the past. In fact, only a decade ago it had a Democrat-dominated county commission. But that ended, leaving only Democrat Jack Atthowe on the commission until 2003. Since that time no Democrat or Independent has been elected to the commission, until now. Outside the commission, only two offices are currently held by Democrats, the County Attorney's office where George Corn presides and the County Treasurer's office where Joanne Johnson holds office.

Lyons, who lost dramatically to Grandstaff, was not helped in the election by the fact that he has recently been sued by Ravalli County Floodplain Administrator Laura Hendrix who charged Lyons with a violation of the Montana Anti-Intimidation Act. She accused Lyons of relaying a threat from a "constituent" that she should "watch her back." Lyons has steadfastly refused to divulge the name of the person making the threat despite urging from fellow commissioners and the county attorney's office. The commissioners, including Lyons, issued an apology to Hendrix. The case is currently pending in District Court. The Bitterroot Valley Board of Realtors, on which Lyons' wife serves as Executive Officer, has also been charged in the case with defamation, tortuous interference with contract, and negligence for publishing an "article" last June as a paid advertisement in the Bitterroot Star and circulating it as an e-mail, in which Hendrix claims they mischaracterized her actions and falsely accused her of being "less than professional." She claims the message was designed and distributed in an attempt to intimidate her and pressure her to back off from her responsibilities to enforce the floodplain regulations.

Also creating a stir and possibly a backlash among voters was the last minute radio ad campaign sponsored by the Republican Central Committee. In the ads Driscoll was accused of being an "abortionist" and accepting of gay marriages. The ads criticized the Democrats as "liberal tree huggers" and brought up a past conviction on drug charges of Grandstaff's husband.

Sheriff Chris Hoffman, a Republican, quickly registered a public complaint over the ads. A strong Democratic supporter, Annavee Brandborg, called them "dumb." County Attorney George Corn called them "simplistic and mean-spirited."

Stewart Brandborg, President of Bitterrooters for Planning and a key figure in establishing the Bi-partisan Coalition for Quality of Life which, after a lengthy interview process, selected a list of Republican and Democratic candidates to endorse in the elections, was pleased with the results. He said that it was not necessarily the bad ads or Commissioner Lyons' problems that determined the election as much as the issues.

In that respect, he said, uncontrolled growth and the threat it poses to the valley residents' quality of life was the primary issue.

Brandborg said that the real issue facing the county involves protecting the current quality of life while allowing for controlled development in appropriate areas.

"It's a non-partisan issue," said Brandborg. He said that the Republicans failed to realize this and did nothing but beat the old ideological drums over not-so-relevant issues. He cautioned the winning Democrats not to interpret their win as a partisan victory but to concentrate on addressing the real issue. He said that it was time to bring an end to the polarization and conflict that has characterized past attempts to address the issue.

"I think everybody won," said Kathleen Driscoll about the outcome of the election. "I think the people won."

She said that the citizen effort involved in the election made all the difference.

"It went beyond political labels to the heart of the community," said Driscoll. She called it humbling to be entrusted by the people with such a position of leadership and said that the people who voted for change now need to continue to participate in their government.

"There is a great opportunity now for people to participate in their government and I'm asking them to do it," said Driscoll.

Jim Rokosch said that it was not any one issue but a spectrum of issues and concerns that determined the vote. He said that getting elected was not an end point but a beginning point.

"The effort to bring people together is the primary thing," he said. "Everyone in the valley, no matter how they voted, is now my constituent." He said that there is a lot of work to be done.

"We need an involved public to work out some win/win situations," said Rokosch. "Politics is not a sporting event. Losers are not necessary to have winners in the public arena," he said.

"I truly hope that this will spark a new beginning in community cohesion and a looking for balance and fairness," he said.

"The people wanted change," said Carlotta Grandstaff. She said the change most wanted was to liberate the county from the dominating influence of the real estate agents and developers.

"That is not to say that the Realtors and developers should not have a place at the table," said Grandstaff. "But they shouldn't be the ones serving. The valley belongs to all of us."

Grandstaff said that she was glad to get elected because she has lived here for thirty years, doesn't plan on moving, and really didn't like the direction that the previous commission was taking. She said that she plans on working hard on issues that the public has shown a strong interest in such as planning and zoning, streamside setbacks, and impact fees. She said that the idea of forming a Water Quality District, just defeated by the voters, deserved another look to see what is really wrong with the idea or what can make it right. She identified air quality as a major issue as well.

Mainly, she said, her aim is to push hard for action on the relevant issues.

"In the past," she said, "things seem to be suggested and then proposed, only to fall off the radar. Somebody's got to push for these things and keep pushing instead of letting them be forgotten or neglected as they have been."

The three new commissioners are due to be sworn into office at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, June 13, at the Commissioners' meeting room.

'Skeeter the Clown' promotes circus visit

By Michael Howell

"The circus is coming to town!" That was the message that "Skeeter" the clown brought to Stevensville basketball camp participants, garnished, of course, with a bunch of buffoonery. Skeeter knows a lot about buffoonery. She went to some special schools to learn all about it. "I are an educated fool," said Skeeter. She's been clowning around professionally for about 23 years. She got her BA in Broadcasting before working for Warner Brothers for seven years. Then she got her MBA, that is Master of Buffoonery Arts from Ringling Brothers Clown College, which is no longer in existence. She said that joining the circus (the Culpepper and Merriweather Circus, that is) was like joining a family. She called it a generational affair. Nine boys and girls from the ages of 6 to 17 perform in the circus.

"It's been a glorious life," said Skeeter. "There is no other lifestyle like it. You get to enjoy traveling and sharing in a community at the same time. There's lots of celebrating, of birthdays, anniversaries, and such."

The Culpepper and Merriweather Circus is coming to Stevensville on Monday, June 18 at the corner of Park Street and Middle Burnt Fork Road just down the street from the school. Show times are 5 and 7 p.m.

The circus is sponsored by the Stevensville Main Street Association and advance tickets may be purchased at Valley Drug, Rocky Mountain Bank, Farmers State Bank in Stevensville, Victor and Florence, the Bitterroot Community Market and at the Stevensville Main Street Association office.

For downloads, coupons, and more information visit www.cmcircus.com.

Commissioners receive advice from AG

By Michael Howell

A while back the Ravalli County Planning Department was set, based upon an interpretation of the Interim Zoning Ordinance offered by Planning Director Karen Hughes, to consider subdivisions that had dwellings on lots less than two acres in size so long as the average density of the entire subdivision was not less than one dwelling per two acres. In her opinion the Interim Zoning Regulations that restrict subdivisions to a density of one dwelling per two acres apply to the overall density or average density of the subdivision and do not refer to an absolute minimum lot size.

Ravalli County Attorney George Corn weighed in, however, and issued an opinion that the language of Interim Zoning Regulations should be interpreted according to the obvious and common meaning of the words, not the technical usage by professionals, and interpreted in the light of the public's intent, which, he said, was to establish a minimum lot size for dwellings.

There was much discussion and the County Commissioners expressed disagreement with Corn's interpretation. There was some discussion about seeking an opinion from the Attorney General on the matter and, in the meantime, it was agreed that the planning department would continue to operate, for the time being, under the guidance of Corn's opinion, interpreting the limitation as a minimum lot size.

On April 18, Commissioner Greg Chilcott, who expressed strong disagreement with the County Attorney's opinion, wrote a letter to the AG asking him to clarify the general rules by which a local government body may be guided in interpreting local regulations, especially regulations passed by local public initiative.

Chilcott asked the AG if the plain and ordinary usage was to be applied or, where technical terms are used, can those technical definitions be used. He asked if other rules of court applied as well. He asked if the intentions of the proponents of a ballot initiative should be considered legally relevant. If so, he wondered how contradictions with technical language are to be addressed.

Chilcott argues that the Planner's interpretation was based upon the dictionary definitions as well as the technical definition of the term "density." He states that both indicate that the word density implies a "ratio" and implies an average.

He offers his own conclusions to the questions, stating that the rules of court should apply to local governments, that the intentions of the proponents is not legally relevant, and that even if they were, the meaning of the language on the face of the ballot initiative (including the technical meaning of words and phrases) would control over inconsistent intentions of the ballot initiative proponents.

Chris Tweeten, Chief Civil Counsel for the Attorney General's office, replied to Chilcott's letter on May 22, but not with an Opinion, which would be taken as law until overruled by a court. Instead, he merely offered some advice.

He agreed in his letter that the local governing body should apply the same rules as the court.

"Using these rules, interpretation of a local government initiated measure begins with the plain language of the enactment. If that language is clear, no further construction is required," states Tweeten. "If the language is ambiguous, the canons should be applied thoughtfully to find the interpretation that best effectuates the sense of the statute." These canons, he notes, are many and sometimes contradictory.

"Application of the canons requires judgment applied to the facts of the situation to make a reasoned determination of what the language means in a given context," he wrote.

Tweeten does state that when the meaning of a law is called into question, a sponsor or proponent of the legislation cannot be called as a witness or submit extra-record evidence to attempt to persuade a tribunal as to how legislation should be interpreted.

Chilcott interprets the AG's advice as validating his view and that of the Planning Department in interpreting density as an average.

Not surprisingly, the county attorney's office has a different take on the matter.

County Attorney George Corn said that he would not comment directly but would be issuing a written response to Chilcott's request for an opinion and the AG's advice. No written comment was received, however, in time for this publication.

Deputy County Attorney Alex Beal did say that the AG's response to the general questions was not surprising. But he felt that it did not necessarily undermine the County Attorney's opinion about this specific case.

Corn, whose office was not consulted in the writing of the request to the AG's office, said that he did not believe that Commissioner Chilcott could have really written the highly technical request himself and wondered who did.

Commissioner Chilcott, when asked, insisted that he did indeed write the letter himself, although he admitted to consulting with other people about it, including Planning Director Karen Hughes, former County Attorney and former Stevensville City Attorney Bob Brown, and former Ravalli County Attorney James McCubbin.

Asked if he would now be considering a change in policy in how the Planning Department interprets the Interim Zoning restrictions based upon the AG's advice, Chilcott said he would not.

"One dragon at a time," said Chilcott. He said that there was a lot going on right now with a federal lawsuit and that the county was already halfway through the time limit imposed by the emergency zoning. He said the time and energy required to change the policy at this point made it probably not worth the effort.

Phil Taylor, architect of the Interim Zoning Initiative and member of Bitterrooters for Planning, has taken issue with Chilcott's actions. Taylor claims to have a video tape of the commissioners' meeting at which a discussion was held concerning a possible request for an Attorney General opinion. He claims that there was never an official motion made or seconded to seek such an opinion. He claims that due to the legal structure of the request and the language used that it could not have been authored by Chilcott. Since the County Attorney's office was not involved he wonders what attorney or other professional helped write the letter. He wrote a letter to Chilcott asking him to name who authored it.

Taylor claims to have been told by retired attorney Bob Brown that he (Brown) did not give Chilcott any legal advice on the matter.

Former Deputy County Attorney James McCubbin, now working in the Missoula County Attorney's office, said that he did consult with Chilcott about the letter to the AG's office. McCubbin stated that he had consulted with the commissioners intensively, along with County Planner Karen Hughes, about how to interpret the Interim Zoning Regulation, specifically with regard to density before he left his job with the county and again recently. But he denied actually writing the letter of request.

"But what does it matter who wrote the question," said McCubbin. "What matters is the AG's response." McCubbin believes that the letter of advice from the AG contradicts Corn's opinion.

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