Them on Us: We’re number two; wolf love; wolf hate; dude art

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

By Jake Nichols

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Dang, we’re loaded! Preliminary numbers for 2007 show that at $40,655, Wyoming’s per capita personal income ranked sixth in the country, according to the study by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The Denver Post ran the story so they had to brag on Pitkin County - home of Aspen and the third wealthiest county in the nation. But even the hometown paper had to admit that they were beat by the second-wealthiest county in the country: Teton County, Wyoming. New York County held down the top spot.
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Matthew Brown’s Associated Press story is making its way into newspapers across the country. Brown penned an article entitled, “Off endangered list, wolves face new pressure from hunters.” Brown interviewed Bondurant rancher Tony Saunders.
It was Saunders who ran down a wolf on snowmobile for some 35 miles before shooting it dead with his .270-caliber rifle. For him, it was a little revenge for the two horses he’s lost to wolves. “It’s hard for people to understand how devastating they can be,” he told the AP. “There’s times I’d like to get rid of all of them …”

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Don’t count some baby antelope as wolf-haters. Smithsonian Magazine quoted some surprising Wildlife Conservation Society findings. According to a three-year study monitoring more than 100 fawns in Grand Teton National Park, research indicates the survival rate of fawns near wolves was four times higher than antelope in wolf-free areas. The reason? Wolves kill or expel coyotes, which prey on young pronghorns.

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There is a sucker born every minute … in Montana. Our neighbor to the north has been embroiled with the Cowboy State in a heated battle over water rights on the Powder and Tongue rivers. They went so far as to sue Wyoming in January 2007. Now, word out of Idaho’s Local News 8 is that Montana will settle for some prairie dogs.

Actually, the deal has nothing to do with the lawsuit. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has agreed to fill Montana’s request for white-tailed prairie dogs, even offering to provide the animals annually through 2010. Montana, apparently, has a shortage of the critters. Wonder if they’re in the market for some wolves, as well?

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“What I usually find is that if I stay out of their way, I’m more than welcome to photograph,” Shane Knight told Flagstaff Live. “I’ll just pick a spot and lay on the ground and just try to let them do their own thing. And sometimes they just come right at me, because they’re curious … to know why I’m laying on the ground.”
Knight let the Arizona art and entertainment source in on some of his trade secrets regarding the photography of dude ranch horses. Knight spent seven years in the valley shooting at area ranches like Triangle X and R Lazy S. His western flair is on display at his gallery in Flagstaff and will be headed to Jackson for both Art Fairs.

Courtesy photo
Shane Knight’s ‘Walking Tall.’

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Them on Us: We’re number two; wolf love; wolf hate; dude art | Planet JH News Article: General News

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