Idaho Senator Jeff Siddoway
Owner of Siddoway Sheep Company
Confirmed Wolf Hater
Here's a bunch of news about him.
RANCHER - SENATOR BACKS OTTER'S WOLF CONTROL BOARD
Posted by Betsy
Jan. 8, 2014 9:17 a.m.
Here's a news item from
the Associated Press:
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho senator who ranches sheep is promoting Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter's proposed wolf population control panel, saying the $2 million the Republican governor has set aside will boost livestock and elk herds. Sen. Jeff Siddoway of Terreton told the Idaho Falls Post Register Tuesday (http://tinyurl.com/pptms6d) “anything that reduces the wolf population is good.” Siddoway has been behind many of the recent wolf control measures the Legislature has considered. In 2012, he pushed a failed measure to let livestock owners pursue problem wolves from powered parachutes or even use their own pets to lure predators into a rifle's scope. Otter's proposal foresees a five-member state board, including state agriculture and wildlife officials, along with ranching, hunting and wolf advocacy representatives, to help manage wolves, which now number 680 in Idaho.
September 16. 2013
ALLEGED SHEEP DEATH FROM WOLVES
AT ANOTHER SIDDOWAY RANCH RAISING SUSPICIONS
Thank you for your article, “Wolves suspected of killing 8 sheep in Wyoming” (Missoulian, Aug. 30). Does anyone else find it awfully strange that sheep at yet another ranch owned by Idaho state Sen. Jeff Siddoway have allegedly been killed by wolves? Has a nationwide wolf alert gone out to attack all things Siddoway? Or could something else be going on here?
Jeff Siddoway hates wolves. That is no secret to anyone in the country at this point. When the sheep died at his Idaho ranch after trampling on each other (and not from being killed by wolves), Wildlife Services, a federal agency constantly in the news due to their widespread slaughter of wildlife, came in and 13 wolves lost their lives. Nine of these were pups, who clearly were not attacking sheep. And the sheep were left there for days to rot and and send out a smelly message to wolves and other predators that there was a free meal to be had. Trying to attract more wolves to kill, perhaps? It was certainly irresponsible, at the very least.
So forgive me if I am not willing to condemn wolves in this latest incident. Because something really stinks here. Is it the smell of rotting sheep? Whatever it is, it’s enough to keep me, and others who come to the Rocky Mountain states to see wolves, from visiting. I, and my hard-earned money, can find other places to visit.
Janet Hoben,
Burbank, Calif.
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Here is the news from the Missoulian about Mr. Siddoway's report of sheep deaths by wolves.
WOLVES SUSPECTED OF KILLING 8 SHEEP IN WYOMING
August 30, 2013 3:24 pm • Associated Press
JACKSON, Wyo. — Officials with an Idaho company say wolves are suspected of killing eight of its sheep on a public land grazing allotment in Wyoming during the past 10 days.
The sheep are owned by the Siddoway Sheep Co., which is based in Terreton, Idaho. It is the same company that reported losing 176 sheep nearby in Idaho two weeks ago after wolves caused the herd to stampede and crush each other.
The eight sheep killed in Wyoming were located on a grazing allotment in the Bridger-Teton National Forest south of Hoback Junction.
J.C. Siddoway says that the company has had wolf problems there for about five years.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department officials are investigating.
Tags
Wolf, Wyoming Wolves, Wolf Depredation, Sheep Kills, Siddoway Sheep Company, Terreton, Idaho, Hoback Junction, Wyoming Wolf Kills
Photo credit: Wolves suspected in 8 sheep deaths in Wyoming | News - Home
www.localnews8.com
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LOOKING BACK. WAS 2009 "MASSACRE" OF SHEEP REALLY JUST ANOTHER FRIGHTENED SHEEP WRECK?
by RALPH MAUGHAN on AUGUST 25, 2013
We now know the true story of the recently deceased 176 sheep near Fogg Hill in Eastern Idaho — frightened into stampede, but not killed by wolves.
We have to ask ourselves, have past wolf “massacre of sheep” stories been similarly misreported?
Back in 2009 near Dillon, Montana, there was much outrage, but few facts ever established when 120 ”purebred Rambouillet bucks” all turned up dead on a private pasture. They were thought to have been killed by the Centennial wolf pack which previously had no record of livestock depredations, although there had been previous depredations by other wolves in the area.
The exact location of the pasture was not given, nor its topography. We know that topography is critical when sheep panic. We do know the sheep were left alone in the Blacktail Mountains, though they were reported to have been checked on every couple days. All the information the public received came from an article by Nick Gevock in the Montana Standard and another by Eve Byron in the Helena Independent Record.
When the “federal trapper” arrived to investigate, he found the “total included 82 confirmed kills and 40 carcasses that were classified as probable kills, including some that had been eaten by bears.” Given what we have learned about Wildlife Services in the years since, there is an open question how accurate this determination was.
The wolves indeed might have gone into a frenzy and killed and killed for some reason. We even editorialized that that wolf pack had to be terminated, and a bunch of wolves were killed.
On the other hand, additional facts were impossible to come by. We were especially interested in the exact location. Now hard experience tells us to be open-minded about what really happened. Other sporadic large kills of sheep ought to be reconsidered as well.
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DON'T TRAIN WOLVES TO EAT SHEEP
From WolfWatcher:
"Don’t train wolves to eat sheep" - http://bit.ly/17mdlov
~Dr. Chris Albert, Letter-to-the-Editor committee participant
For those who would like some background and the issue of grazing livestock on public lands, we suggest reading The Wildlife News's article - http://bit.ly/15gKd5O
Again, many orgs are doing fabulous work to foster peaceful coexistence with wolves and wildlife. We reported about them on Aug. 23rd (http://on.fb.me/1dqDPMF)
Kudos to conservationists and ranchers who are working together to save stock and save wolves. Isn't it time some farmers and ranchers who are stuck in the past join the rest of modern America? We say yes...what say you?
The letter from Chris Albert, DVM ~ Lebanon Junction, KY:
As we learn to live with predators, the first and most important rule is not to feed them. It's the reason we don't feed bears National Parks - and now they leave us along.
What does the Siddoway sheep farm do when 175 sheep are killed in a stampede? They blame the wolves and then leave those 175 carcasses in place so the predators will come and eat them. They claim that "wolves are devastating to sheep ranching" and will incur even more sheep loss to wolves, since, in effect, the wolves are being trained to eat his sheep.
Mr.Siddoway, you are an Idaho senator. Please show some responsibility and remove those carcasses. The wolf recovery was welcomed by the nation and funded with all of our tax dollars. Many Americans feel vested in this venture and want to see it succeed.
Chris Albert. DVM
Lebanon Junction, KY
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A Big Sheep Pile Up in Idaho.
A Senator in Idaho and his family in Idaho who raise Sheep and hate wolves.
Wolves in Idaho suspected of causing the sheep stampede.
Some dead wolves in Idaho.
Juniper Mountain Ranch
"A Great Place to Sit Back, Relax and Kill Everything."
Senator Jeff C. Siddoway's Biography & Contact info:
1. Idaho State Senator Jeff Siddoway owns Siddoway Sheep Company.
2. Senator Jeff Siddoway authors bill to kill wolves by any means possible.
3. The United States Congress shoots it down.
4. Senator Jeff Siddoway leaks story of 176 sheep killed. By two wolves.
Results in the Fed hunters killing 13 members of Idaho wolf pack.
The sheep here belong to Senator Jeff Siddoway, and his wife Cindy Siddoway.
They own Siddoway Sheep Company.
They suffered the "freak incident" that saw two lone wolves responsible for killing 176 sheep.
"Freak incident". The words used in the news report, not mine.
5. U.S. Forest Service prohibits public from site of sheep massacre.
Claims danger to public.
Art credit: Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, Gustave Dore art print www~dot~artsycraftsy~dot~com -
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IDAHO BILL TARGETS WOLVES
"BY ANY MEANS AVAILABLE"
by BRIAN ERTZ on FEBRUARY 13, 2012 · 134 COMMENTS · in DOMESTIC SHEEP, ELK, IDAHO, IDAHO WOLVES, POLITICS, PUBLIC LANDS, WILDLIFE, WOLVES
Senator Jeff Siddoway also pushes amendment to turn Land Owner Appreciation bill into a no access gravy train-
Idaho rancher and State Senator Jeff Siddoway has introduced a bill (S1305) in the Idaho statehouse that would authorize the slaughter of wolves involved in molesting or killing livestock by any number of creative ways.
Idaho State Senator Siddoway
Posted: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 4:48 PM
SENATE SENDS WOLF HUNTING BILL BACK TO COMMITTEE:
BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- A bill that would allow Idaho ranchers to use powered parachutes, helicopters and live-bait traps to hunt problem wolves has died in the Senate.
Senators agreed Tuesday to send the controversial legislation back to the Resources and Environment Committee -- a move that likely ends the bill's chances this year.
Republican Sen. Jeff Siddoway of Terreton is a sheep rancher and the bill's lead sponsor. Siddoway gave an impassioned speech defending his legislation and decrying the impact wolves are causing on livestock producers statewide.
But he also acknowledged how his bill could risk putting wolves back on the federal Endangered Species List, and he urged his colleagues to send it back to committee.
The legislation would let ranchers track and kill wolves for 36 hours after an attack.
Copyright 2012 The AP.
Senator Siddoway seems to have some sort of fetish for killing wolves via extravagant means. You may remember back in 2009 when Siddoway apparently authorized the private aerial gunning with – if I remember correctly a motorized parachute, to kill a wolf on his property in violation of the Airborne Hunting Act of 1956. Idaho authorities refused to cite the senator for the incident. ed. note. Idaho’s prisons are overflowing with the less well connected.
Of the proposed legislation Siddoway says:
“You can basically go after them [wolves] by any means available,” Siddoway said. “And when I say ‘get ‘em’ I mean kill ‘em.”
The bill would allow aerial hunting, use of any weapon, including artificial light night scopes on rifles. Live bait also would be permitted to lure wolves to traps. In Siddoway’s case, the bait would be several of his sheep, corralled behind a temporary fence. Others might use dogs as bait, he said.
The bill does not require a livestock owner with a permit to protect his live bait, or limit what it could be. It would allow use of a child (though other laws would prevent that).
The Siddoway Sheep Company Incorporated, which is partially owned by the Senator, received $865,952 in agricultural subsidies between the years 1995-2006. Siddoway has been president of the Idaho Woolgrowers, an Idaho Fish and Game Commissioner, but never a friend of wildlife or hunters, except the rich ones.
A few years back, Siddoway also fenced off 8 of his private square miles of his huge landholdings, which also include public land grazing permits. and carved out the “Juniper Mountain Ranch,” an elk farm where anyone can hunt elk behind a fence without a license or tag if they have a big wallet. A 231-285 size bull will cost-$4,4954, however a big 400″ is $12,000. Even larger bulls ares available . . . prices on request. So he has a sagebrush and juniper covered elk hunting farm, but he has more private property than that. For that, and presumably for other big Idaho land barons, he has introduced another piece of legislation that has already passed the Senate Committee — senate bill 1283.
If passed into law, Senator Siddoway’s proposal would amend fish and game code 36-104: 4-B 24-26 to read:
“any landowner issued a landowner appreciation program (LAP) controlled hunt tag may sell the tag to another person at any price upon which the parties mutually agree”.
According to the Idaho Wildlife Federation the purpose of the LAP program was to create a preferred tag draw for landowners to ensure a tag to those whose property lay in controlled hunt units in deference for them providing wildlife habitat and sportsmen’s access. These tags were designed for use by the landowner and family members only, not for selling the tags for personal profit. Senate Bill S1283 destroys the original intent of the LAP program and allows landowners to sell hunting tags off to the highest bidder and keep the proceeds, and its appears without providing access.
This is so typical of Idaho’s land barons, and it shows why the Idaho Fish and Game Commission with its tradition of land baron, or kin of baron representation, doesn’t represent the public interest or the more narrow interest of hunters.
Back to bill s. 1305, the wolf baiting bill. Every year the governor’s wolf compensation committee meets and hands out “reimbursement” for “wolf-killed” livestock for which there is no hard proof. Siddoway had some claims, and this year he complained there was not enough money in the fund. After the meeting ended he introduced the bill.
While Siddoway is doing all this, he is also sponsoring a constitutional amendment to guarantee the “right to hunt and trap.”
Folks ought to be able to see a diversion here. If there are few to no tags for you and public land is blocked off, what use is a right to hunt?
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WOLVES CAUSE DEATH OF 176 SHEEP OVER WEEKEND; FOREST SERVICE SAYS STAY OUT OF AREA
August 19, 2013
By Angela Montana
The first sentence of an article posted today on tetonvalleynews.net read “U.S. Forest Service officials are asking people to stay out of an area where a large sheep kill was reported over the weekend.” Wolves have been confirmed responsible for the death of 176 sheep, approximately 5 1/2 hours from Missoula.
If you are a Montana wolf hunter/trapper, and you want to hunt/trap in Idaho, out-of-state tags can be picked up over the counter. You can get more information on their wolf season dates and quotas by clicking HERE.
Check out the article:
5212495650a2f.preview-300
Billie Siddoway, whose brother, J.C. Siddoway, runs sheep near Fogg Hill, posted this warning about the wolf kill Saturday at the trailheads of Pole Canyon and Fourth of July trails.
U.S. Forest Service officials are asking people to stay out of an area where a large sheep kill was reported over the weekend.
Jay Pence, Teton Basin District ranger, said the sheep kill could attract a lot of people hoping to see predators coming to feed on the carcasses.
Ranchers and others are trying to deal with the situation, and visitors can hamper their activities.
“There are a lot more fun things to look at than dead sheep,” said Pence.
Idaho Wildlife Services confirmed Monday that 176 sheep were killed during a wolf attack near Fogg Hill and the Pole Canyon area early Saturday morning.
The animals belonged to the Siddoway Sheep Company and were grazing in the area about six miles south of Victor, according to a release from Siddoway. The attack, they said, occurred around 1 a.m.
Todd Grimm, director of the Wildlife Services Program, said his office confirmed the depredation Sunday. Many of the animals died from suffocation, since some apparently fell in front of the rest, resulting in a large pile-up.
“This was a rather unique situation,” said Grimm. “Most of the time they don’t pile up like this, but the wolves got them running.”
Only one animal seems to have been eaten in the attack, according to the Siddoway release.
“The sheep are not fenced,” said Billie Siddoway, in an email interview. “They move every few days to a new pasture within a designated area. The sheep are herded and monitored by two full-time herders, four herding dogs and at least four guard dogs.”
Grimm said there is already a “control action” in the area. Since July 3, 12 wolves have been lethally trapped, including nine pups. The goal is to take them all, he said.
“We expect that bears and other scavengers will soon locate the kill site,” said Billie Siddoway.
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WOLVES KILL 176 SHEEP NEAR VICTOR, GREATEST LOSS RECORDED IN IDAHO
Credit: Idaho Wildlife Services
by Associated Press
KTVB.COM
Posted on August 20, 2013 at 10:48 AM
Updated yesterday at 3:59 PM
176 sheep killed by wolves in 'freak' incident
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho -- A southeastern Idaho ranch lost 176 sheep as the animals ran in fear from two wolves that chased through a herd of about 2,400 animals south of Victor.
Sheepherders for the Siddoway Sheep Co. heard the wolves at about 1 a.m. Saturday, but didn't know the extent of the damage until they saw the sheep piled up on each other at daybreak.
J.C. Siddoway of Terreton says almost all of the sheep died from asphyxiation. About 10 died of bite wounds and one was partially consumed.
Idaho Wildlife Services State Director Todd Grimm says it's the greatest loss by wolves ever recorded in one instance in the state. About nine years ago, wolves killed 105 sheep on one night.
Grimm says a dozen wolves have been removed from the Pine Creek area this year.
176 SHEEP KILLED BY WOLVES IN 'FREAK' INCIDENT
by Matt Standal
Follow: @KTVBMatt
KTVB.COM
Posted on August 21, 2013 at 3:31 PM
Updated yesterday at 4:22 PM
VICTOR, Idaho -- Cindy Siddoway's family has raised sheep on the western slope of the Teton Mountains for more than 100 years.
In that time, the Siddoway Ranch has dealt with a variety of predators, including grizzlies and black bears, secretive mountain lions, and more recently -- wolves.
Siddoway says it's the reintroduction of wolves to the Tetons that has resulted in the largest mass sheep kill recorded in Idaho. The deaths happened early Friday morning.
That's when 176 of the family's sheep -- mostly lambs -- died in a frightened mass on a notch in a rocky ridge line south of Victor, Idaho. The animals were grazing on public land in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest.
Officials with the USDA say most of the sheep suffocated, while others were trampled to death as they piled on each other while trying to escape the wolves. Less than 10 were bitten. Only one was partially consumed.
Two gray wolves spotted by Peruvian shepherds the next day are the suspected culprits.
"We're putting out thousands of animals that are just sitting ducks," Siddoway told KTVB, as she tallied up the wolf kills from the 2013 season.
The numbers are startling for the Siddoways.
With more than 19,000 sheep, the family's livestock operation is big business. So far, they've had hundreds of sheep, several Great Pyrenees guard dogs, and even a horse killed by wolves in the last few months.
Each sheep is roughly valued at $200 a head, when it comes to USDA loss compensation. That means the Siddoways loss is on the scale of $35,000.
For Cindy -- whose husband is an Idaho senator and whose son manages the operation -- the killings are a continued financial drain.
"My husband and I have been fighting this whole issue our entire lives," she told KTVB
A 'FREAK INCIDENT'
Todd Grimm is the director of Wildlife Services for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Boise. He's charged with investigating wolf depredation in Idaho and documenting the findings.
Grimm says the mass sheep kill isn't anything he's seen before.
"I would consider this a freak incident," Grimm said. "We have had some pile ups from time-to-time, and most of those are because of black bears, and even [mountain] lions" Grimm said.
The reason: Grimm says wolves typically attack in packs, and tend to scatter sheep, not cause them to pile up and suffocate.
Grimm says he's absolutely confident that wolves were responsible for the Siddoway's loss. His reasoning: "We had an eyewitness account -- which is rare -- we had evidence at the scene, tracks and scat, bite marks on the sheep."
"The big question is, how many did they actually bite?" Grimm told KTVB.
Another big question: Will the Siddoway ranch get any compensation for the claims?
Grimm says he's not certain.
No herders have been compensated for wolf losses through Idaho's state-run distribution program in the last two years.
Grimm says although money is made available through the Department of the Interior, it's not always immediately distributed to the state, and has been lately delayed by the sequestration.
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WOLVES PAY FOR DEATH OF IDAHO SHEEP. FED HUNTERS NEARLY WIPE OUT PINE CREEK PACK AFTER ABOUT 175 SHEEP DIE.
At the scene of the sheep stampede, bodies were piled where the animals were crushed or suffocated after being chased by the wolves. COURTESY PHOTO
By Mike Koshmrl, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
August 21, 2013
A wolf pack that roams the south end of Teton Valley, Idaho, has been all but wiped out after a bizarre sheep stampede that’s been blamed on the wild canines.
U.S. Department of Agriculture officials have killed 13 wolves from the Pine Creek Pack, which occasionally ventures into western Wyoming in the area of Teton Pass, said Todd Grimm, Idaho director of the federal Wildlife Services program, which kills predators that cause damage.
“We had already removed 12 by the time this incident had taken place,” Grimm said. “And we’ve got another one since then.” “I can’t believe how many wolves we’ve got in there,” he said.
Of the 13 trapped and euthanized wolves, four were adults or sub-adults, Grimm said. Nine of the wolves killed were pups, he said.
The pack’s demise was already underway when two wolves thought to be Pine Creek members ventured into a 2,400-head sheep herd early Saturday morning. The herd, owned by the Siddoway Sheep Company of St. Anthony, Idaho, was bedding down on Caribou-Targhee National Forest land between Pole Canyon and Fogg Hill, about 5 miles south of Victor.
Running downhill in a panic, about 165 sheep from the Siddoway herd were killed, trampled and smothered in their terror. Two wolves, which were witnessed by a herder at the scene, killed about another dozen sheep. The final tally: 119 lambs and 57 ewes dead. Price tag: $20,000.
In the weeks leading to the sheep pileup, the Pine Creek Pack had been actively preying on the Siddoway sheep, Grimm said. “We’ve confirmed 10 other kills in that area this year,” Grimm said. “They’ve had a huge amount of problems over the years,” he said of the Siddoway Sheep Company. “It looks like about 15 to 20 depredations since 2006 that are confirmed.”
A press release sent out by company following last weekend’s fatal wolf encounter alleges much higher losses to predators.
“Siddoway Sheep Company has lost about 250 head of livestock to wolf, bear and coyote depredation since June,” the release said, adding that Great Pyrenees guard dogs and horses also have been killed.
At least one Idaho conservation group argues that the Siddoway Sheep Company should not be grazing in the Caribou-Targhee in such a predator-dense area.
“The problem is not the wolves, but subsidized domestic sheep grazing,” said Travis Bruner, public lands director for the Western Watersheds Project.
“It costs less than one penny per sheep per day to graze public land,” Bruner said.
The Caribou-Targhee’s Burbank allotment, where the sheep crush occurred, cost the Siddoway Sheep Company $866.70 for a three-month grazing permit, for example.
Ranchers are more willing to take risks with predators, Bruner said, because the government is “almost giving away public forage to wealthy ranchers.”
The loss of federal Endangered Species Act protections also indirectly helps ranchers graze livestock on predator-heavy public allotments, he said. Suspected livestock eaters now can be removed with a phone call.
“Given the de-listing of wolves, [public lands grazing] poses more of a threat to wolves today because there’s much less regulation over when wolves can be killed in response to depredation,” Bruner said.
According to the latest Idaho Wolf Monitoring Progress report, 73 wolves were killed in Idaho last year either by “agency removal” or from livestock producers who held legal take permits. Those wolves were suspected of killing 73 cattle, 312 sheep and two dogs.
Depredation and removal numbers are lower in Wyoming, where the wolf population is about half of Idaho’s.
Last year, 43 Equality State wolves were killed in response to killing 44 cattle, 112 sheep, three dogs and a horse. So far in 2013 another 14 wolves have been killed in response to the loss of 33 livestock.
The extreme loss of sheep last weekend was the largest livestock loss from one incident in Grimm’s 22 years on the job.
The “pileup” phenomenon is not a new one to sheep ranchers, said Stan Boyd, executive director of the Idaho Woolgrowers Association. “It’s the first time I’ve heard of wolves causing it,” Boyd said. “Every two, three, four years, it’ll happen from black bears.”
The answer to controlling livestock depredation on public lands grazing allotments, he said, is managing the predators.
“The wolves are here to stay,” Boyd said. “What we hope is that we can manage these populations.When you get severe depredation like that, the wolves need to be removed,” he said, “and by removed, I mean killed. You got to take them out.”
In the case of the Pine Creek pack, wildlife officials did just that. The Pine Creek Pack numbered six adult animals at the end of 2012, according to Idaho’s wolf monitoring report.
With nine pups and four of the six Pine Creek adults eliminated, the pack’s future is in question. That leaves two adult wolves — potentially enough to form a new pack — still standing.
