Incident with wolves has McGinnis Meadows couple on edge

Jan Bourdeau can point out each of her 15 cows and bulls by name. Some are named after old television shows – “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Little House on the Prairie” – while others have Gaelic names that stem from the breed’s Irish heritage.

The furry black Dexters are about half the size of common breeds and are also friendlier than other cattle, Bourdeau says. 

Bourdeau and her husband, Jean, live on 70 acres at McGinnis Meadows, about 45 minutes south of Libby. With the snow relatively low this year, they had let their Dexters roam the pasture, although now the animals are kept in the coral close to the house.

Since wolves killed Dolly – their milk cow named after the country music star – last week, the couple freezes in panic every time their dog yips outside.

“We sit on pins and needles now,” Jan Bourdeau said.

They attribute Dolly’s death to the Fish Trap Pack, the same group of wolves that killed two cattle on a ranch 10 miles from them in the fall of 2008.

Bourdeau begins to cry when she describes running out to her cattle unarmed to discover Dolly alive but with most of her hindquarters missing. It was too dark, too early in the morning Tuesday to catch sight of the wolves, but it was evident to her and to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – who inspected Dolly’s carcass on Thursday – that it was a wolf kill.

Bourdeau’s neighbor helped her sew up Dolly’s wounds Tuesday, but the cow died sometime during the night with blankets covering her.

While environmental groups continue to dispute the gray wolf being delisted from the Endangered Species Act in Montana and Idaho, ranchers like the Bourdeaus, who see wolves on their property regularly, believe the numbers are well above where they should be.

“I don’t hate wolves,” Jan Bourdeau said. “I believe they have a purpose, but I also believe we have the right to live in harmony, to have the freedom to not have to walk around with a loaded gun.”

Wolf packs in northwestern Montana have been increasing in size and dividing into new packs since government agencies began a concerted wolf recovery effort in 1995. Northwest Montana’s minimum estimated wolf population increased 65 percent, from 167 wolves to 256, between 2006 and 2008, even with the killing of 183 wolves statewide to prevent further livestock depredation.

Numbers for 2009 are not yet available, but will more than likely show another increase, even after 41 wolves were open for hunting in the northern half of the state this year.

Four cattle and one sheep were classified as confirmed or probable wolf kills in three different incidents last year in Lincoln County, according to George Edwards, coordinator for the Montana Livestock Loss Reduction Mitigation Program, which reimburses ranchers.

Though some investigations were still pending as of Monday, the cases of wolf predation on livestock statewide in 2009 was up to 361, far higher than 59 animals in 2005, though it can be partially attributed to increased reporting.

The Bourdeaus recall seeing wolves on their property 15 years ago, long before the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks thought the animals were in the area. The couple is in support of continued state management, believing there are many more wolves in the area than the state estimates.

U.S. Wildlife Services told the Bourdeaus of their legal right to shoot a wolf if it is attacking or threatening to attack their livestock. Jean Bourdeau wishes there was a less violent option, such as a wolf spay and neuter clinic.

“It would sure reduce the population,” he said.