Spring usually renews Springville sheep rancher Lee Jarvis' hope for the future.
The fields turn green, the days grow longer and hundreds of his ewes give birth to healthy baby lambs.While Jarvis relishes the lambs' spirit as they frolic at their mothers' side, the threat of predators weighs heavily on his mind. Especially now. Environmentalists are scrutinizing predator control practices more closely than ever.
Activists have sought and obtained federal orders to halt predator control in several areas of the state. Last winter, for example, the federal government prohibited aerial shooting of coyotes, wolves and wild dogs on public lands in the Vernal area.
"In a period of 70 days we lost in the neighborhood of 400 sheep," Jarvis said.
Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan Jr. has since lifted the order until the matter can be considered on appeal, but predator control has been suspended on public lands in other parts of the state, largely because of protests waged by environmentalists, livestock producers say.
"As sheepmen we realize as long as we run on government lands there's going to be a certain amount of predator losses. It's been that way for 100 years. When losses get to 10 percent to 15 percent, it's unbearable. We can't stand those kind of losses," said Jarvis, president of the Utah Wool Growers Association.
The losses are particularly painful in a climate of poor market prices for lamb and wool. Bruce Godfrey, Utah State University Extension farm management specialist, described the market: "This past year has been one of the least profitable years experienced by Utah sheep producers in recent memory."
The issue of predator control came to the forefront again this week as state and federal investigators sought the people responsible for the deaths of 13 eagles, apparently poisoned by the illegal use of pesticide-laced baits intended for coyotes.
Speaking for the industry, Jarvis said sheep producers advocate humane means of predator control such as the aerial kills.
"We certainly don't approve of the illegal use of poisons. After all, we use guard dogs and other dogs to work the sheep. They're potential victims of canine poisons, along with coyotes," Jarvis said.
While the industry opposes the use of illegal poisons, Utah ranchers are frustrated that legal methods have been stopped on public range land because of the outcry by some environmental groups that say predator control results in the indiscriminate killing of animals.
Ranchers claim government officials suspended predator hunting in Utah simply because one environmentalist wrote a letter decrying the practice.
"One person can't shut down an entire industry. You can't spend 29 cents on a stamp and shut down an entire industry. There has to be a hearing on these things. There has to be documentation," said Van Burgess, deputy commissioner of the Utah Department of Agriculture.
If ranchers, environmentalists and wildlife enthusiasts do a better job of communicating, Burgess said he believes there's a place for everyone on public lands.
Since ranchers make their living off the land, few harm it intentionally. Environmentalists want to preserve the pristine nature of the wilderness. Seemingly, those two goals are not mutually exclusive.
Said Burgess: "We're known as the stewards of the land. But a lot of times, we don't communicate."
Perhaps this is a good time to start.