Protecting People Protecting Agriculture Protecting Wildlife

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Tamsyn Long
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1 Livestock protection dogs: Protecting the resource Enhancing Montana s Wildlife & Habitat Tools For Coexistence Between Livestock & Large Carnivores: Guard Dogs & Rangeland Stewardship October 29, 2013

2 Livestock protection dogs are an important component of managing predation on small-farm flocks and on large landscapes, including public lands (US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management grazing allotments).

3 Increasingly, more and more people are seeking to use public lands for a variety of purposes. This use includes hiking, biking, horseback riding, ect., in some areas historically utilized for livestock grazing. Unfortunately, harmonious co-existence is threatened by increased LPD/human conflict.

4 Additionally, increasing urbanization has led to a number of conflicts between livestock protection dogs and neighbors in historically rural areas.

5 U.S. & WORLD Ranching, recreation collide in the great outdoors The mountain biker was excited about her big race in Colorado's wilderness. And nothing irked the sheepherder like the sports crowd. It was a disaster waiting to happen. By Nicholas Riccardi November 27, 2009 Reporting from Camp Hale, Colo.

6 U.S. & WORLD Ranching, recreation collide in the great outdoors The mountain biker was excited about her big race in Colorado's wilderness. And nothing irked the sheepherder like the sports crowd. It was a disaster waiting to happen. By Nicholas Riccardi November 27, 2009 Reporting from Camp Hale, Colo.

7 Protecting the Resource

8 Protecting the Resource Education

9 Cooperative effort involving: USDA Wildlife Services US Forest Service US Bureau of Land Management American Sheep Industry

18 Protecting the Resource Producer Responsibility

Fierce sheepdogs alarming tourists in SW Colorado Modified: January 29, 2012 at 12:00 am Published: January 29, 2012 Photo by Gazette File SILVERTON Turkish sheepdogs prized for their fierceness are

19 Fierce sheepdogs alarming tourists in SW Colorado Modified: January 29, 2012 at 12:00 am Published: January 29, 2012 Photo by Gazette File SILVERTON Turkish sheepdogs prized for their fierceness are raising concerns they may be a little too tough for the southwest Colorado communities where ranchers are using them. The Akbash dogs weigh up to 120 pounds and are especially aggressive toward animals near the sheep they guard. But that can include hikers and other backcountry tourists, prompting debate about whether the breed should be regulated.

20 Livestock Protection Dog Best Management Practices

21 What are BMPs? Recommendations to enhance the professional qualifications and judgment of livestock producers utilizing LPDs. Optimizes the use of LPDs Minimizes conflicts

24 Playing in the Backcountry? Caution: Dogs at Work Public News Service - ID July 2012 PHOTO: Livestock protection dog with sheep in background. Photo credit: Deborah Smith July 19, 2012 HAILEY, Idaho - If you see sheep while in the backcountry, officials say, slow down and go around - whether you're on foot, horseback, bike or all-terrain vehicle. That message is aimed at people enjoying public lands, in order to reduce conflicts with "dogs at work." Livestock-protection dogs are used to keep predators at bay and sound alarms, but they might see you as a danger if they don't have time to check you out first. Michael Marlow, a wildlife biologist with U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, says it's also important to note that the dogs are not pets. "Once people realize the dogs are there to protect the sheep from predation - a form of non-lethal predation management - people embrace that idea. They realize that allows wildlife and livestock to coexist." Livestock protection dogs are usually white, and common breeds are Pyrenees, Akbash, Komondor and Anatolian shepherds. Predator threats to sheep in Idaho include coyotes, mountain lions, bears, wolves and domestic dogs. Marlow says livestock-protection dogs often appear shaggy, but that's normal and not a situation indicating the dog needs to be rescued. "A person may attempt to feed those dogs and may not understand the concept of what that dog's job is. We've even had situations where people have assumed that the dog's lost, and several times have been gathered up and taken to local humane shelters and rescue operations." If you have a pet dog with you, Marlow says, keep it on a leash. Livestock-protection dogs have been used around the world for centuries because they're so effective. Deborah Courson Smith/Deb Courson Smith, Public News Service - ID

25 Protecting the Resource Research

26 Wolves kill 120 sheep at ranch near Dillon By EVE BYRON of the Helena Independent Record Posted: Friday, August 28, :30 am HELENA

Wolves kill 120 sheep at ranch near Dillon By EVE BYRON of the Helena Independent Record Posted: Friday, August 28, 2009 6:30 am HELENA GYC News September 03, 2009 Carol Ryan Dumas Capital Press a

28 Wolves kill 120 sheep at ranch near Dillon By EVE BYRON of the Helena Independent Record Posted: Friday, August 28, :30 am HELENA GYC News September 03, 2009 Carol Ryan Dumas Capital Press a sheep producer from Terreton, Idaho,suffered $40,000 in losses this summer due to wolf predation. He said wolves killed more than 100 rams, ewes and lambs and six guard dogs in 11 separate incidents in his grazing areas in Eastern Idaho and Western Wyoming.

30 Research Operations Stakeholders

31 Questions?

SHEEP AND PREDATOR MANAGEMENT

SHEEP AND PREDATOR MANAGEMENT PREDATORS HAVE POSED A SERIOUS THREAT TO LIVESTOCK FOR AS LONG AS SHEEP, CATTLE AND OTHER ANIMALS HAVE BEEN DOMESTICATED BY HUMANS. MOST LIVESTOCK OPERATORS INCLUDING SHEEP