As wolves and grizzlies are targeted for livestock predation bald eagles liberated more Idaho wild lands

Not wolves, cougars or even coyotes — in 2019 golden eagles levied a 53% mortality rate on domestic sheep on one ranch in Wyoming. Yet, failed red states like Wyoming, Montana and Idaho are targeting wolves and grizzlies for extermination. 

In blue state New Mexico the Santa Fe and Carson National Forests have prohibited domestic sheep and goats on public lands to protect native bighorn sheep.

Just north of the southern border long-time environmental activist, Ted Turner has teamed up with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of New Mexico to foster a pair of endangered Mexican gray wolves and their pups on his 243 square mile ranch near the Gila National Forest. Nearby, jaguars are being reintroduced.

In April, Rocky Matthews started finding dead lambs on his farm near Murtaugh Lake. At first, Matthews thought someone had killed the animals with a pellet gun. It wasn’t until he saw an eagle attack his flock that he realized the true culprit. Penalties for killing a bald eagle can reach a maximum $100,000 fine and one year in prison for a first offense by an individual. Matthews and his wife, Becca, filled out the paperwork and, if approved, they will get paid 75% of the market value of the livestock. [Magic Valley (Idaho) Times-News]

Learn more about the Republican war on the Earth at Boise Public Radio. 

A study conducted in Montana's Bitterroot Valley between 2011 and 2018 found elevated lead levels in 90% of the golden eagles that winter there.

ip photo: bald eagles roosting in Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge.