10 March 2022 — 2210 mst
Is Gov. Greg Gianforte the unluckiest hunter in Montana?
By James Conner
Jim Smith wrote a short letter wondering how wildlife chef Gianforte would cook lion steak. James Conner wrote a song for GG: D’ye ken Greg G., Eighteenth Century man.
Most hunters never kill a critter that has been tagged and radio collared by wildlife researchers — and they don’t want to, as the public’s reaction seldom is favorable. Gianforte, however, has twice shot radio collared prey since becoming governor.
28 December 2021. Hunting on national forest lands north of Yellowstone Park, Gianforte’s hunting party’s hounds tree mountain lion M220, a five-year-old male wearing an NPS GPS tracking collar. After ascertaining the cat was male, Gianforte shot it dead. As required, he reported the kill — his public relations person said he “harvested” the lion — to the proper authorities within 12 hours. [Joshua Partlow, Washington Post]
15 February 2021. Near Gardiner, Gianforte traps a wolf wearing an NPS tracking radio collar. He had the choice of setting the wolf free, but chose to shoot it dead. He conducted himself legally in the field, but ran slightly afoul of John Law by failing to complete a trapping certification course before working his trapline. Game wardens issued him a written warning, he admitted his error, and took and passed the certification course. [Tom Kuglin, Helena IR]
Note. Harvesting is a word I reserve for picking Uncle Orville’s corn. I do not use it as a weasel word for killing wild animals.
The incidence of radio-collared wildlife is much higher near national parks, centers for wildlife research, than in most other places open to hunting. Still, the likelihood of shooting a collared animal near national parks is quite low. And the odds that the same hunter killing two radio collared animals within a year are extremely low.
That mathematical fact, according to the drumbeats in the back channels to which I listen, is provoking conjecture that Gianforte, or a hunting buddy, may have used electronic equipment to locate radio collared animals for the purpose of hunting them. That would not be consistent with the fair chase ethic (I can see Jim Posewitz spinning in his grave at the thought of hijacking radio collar signals), and might well be illegal. But killing radio collared wildlife encountered by happenstance is legal, if not always wise.
There’s no proof that Gianforte or his friends were tracking the collars. And I find the conjecture far fetched. Gianforte loves hunting too much, and has such faith in his hunting skills, to cheat like that. He rolled double boxcars twice, which, given the unfavorable publicity killing two radio collared wild critters generated, makes him the unluckiest hunter in Montana — as as George Ochenski notes, perhaps the Treasure State’s most reviled.
Since that’s the second collared Yellowstone National Park animal Montana’s governor has shot — the first being a collared wolf that was already caught in a trap — it’s no surprise the reaction to these needless deaths of top predators in the immediate vicinity of Yellowstone is drawing widespread condemnation and revulsion.
No ethical Montana hunter would intentionally shoot a collared animal for one very good reason — because they know the research coming from the collar’s GPS unit is what biologists rely on to responsibly manage the public’s wildlife for the benefit of the ecosystem and the public.
To say that guest essayist Jim Smith took a mighty dim view of Gianforte’s lion slaying understates his disdain for the governor’s feat. Here’s his brief commentary on whether Gianforte’s dead lion is for the pot or the wall.
Gianforte’s Wild Animal Recipes
The Helena IR recently ran a story about how Governor Gianforte is an aspiring chef, with pictures showing him cooking in his kitchen here in Helena. At the same time, we all know that he is an avid hunter, especially it seems of predators.
Well, we hear once again that the Governor has shot another collared animal down around Yellowstone Park, this time a treed male mountain lion. Earlier it was a collared male wolf, caught in a trap. Maybe he can merge his two hobbies into a new pastime and write a cookbook on how to best prepare the meat from his hunting expeditions.
He could serve up such dishes as Collared Trapped Wolf Lasagna and Collared Treed Mountain Lion Fricassee. And we know he wants to kill a grizzly bear if he can ever get them delisted in Montana. Then he could add a recipe for Collared Grizzly Bear Stew. Of course, these will all be served with a side of Collard Greens.
And remember, if you notice that the Governor is not in his office, you can easily find him – loitering around the north side of Yellowstone, looking for another collared animal to kill.
And remember, if you notice that the Governor is not in his office, you can easily find him – loitering around the north side of Yellowstone, looking to kill another animal that may be radio collared.
Jim Smith chose prose. I chose music, writing new lyrics for the classic hunting song, John Peel.
D'ye ken Greg G,
Eighteenth Century Man,
He hunts with hounds when'er he can,
Trees mountain lions,
Then goes Bang! Bang! BAM!,
Bags a pelt for the wall in his mansion.
Twas the roar of his jet,
Roused me from my bed,
And the howl of the hounds,
That his partners led,
Greg's TallyHO! would awaken the dead,
Or the lion in his lair in the morning.
I’m sure Gov. Gianforte would welcome well considered, civil, comment on his excellent hunting and trapping adventures. Just leave a message via the contact form on his official website.