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The Triangle X Ranch is nestled in the Teton Wilderness region of the Jackson Hole Area directly south of Yellowstone National Park. It is considered a dude ranch and touts its beautiful area for all round family recreation. Read on and see if these are ethics you want your family and children exposed to on the vacation of your dreams. They boast: "Our region has unsurpassed opportunities for trophy elk and moose. Our hunting camps are located so that they give us a near monopoly on one of the finest and largest hunting areas in the state of Wyoming." What they do not say is they are accused of "Salt-Baiting." This is against the federal law but not against the law in Wyoming. Again we have a debate about ethics and money. Of course those that make money off this practice see nothing wrong with it....after all they need an edge and no one will know or care right? Right! hardly anyone knows about it....but WRONG! people would care if they did know. This practice is not ethical....the people who perpetuate this unethical standard are of the same mind set as those who purchase or raise animals in captivity and sell permits to shoot them for trophy.
I am not a hunter but honestly I can see no joy in shooting something standing 100 feet from you lured by bait and trusting man. Apparently so!! There will always be the hunter who has so little self esteem that he is willing to cheat nature to get the biggest rack....and of course you know there is going to be the outfitter who is more than willing to grab his money for it. This scenario I know does not bode well for outfitters in general. My commentary is if the shoe does not fit don't wear it and police your own industry. There are some good outfitters out there and this story has emerged from one such group. I commend them for their ethics and guts to stand against a very powerful group and bringing the information to the public eye. I understand there is photographic documentation to all of this but at this time I do not have access to it....perhaps in the future.
Anyone wanting to add to this story please feel free to e-mail me at: Here is the whole story as sent to me: ----------------------------------------
PRESS RELEASE WILDLIFE GROUP CHALLENGES SALT-BAITING NEAR YELLOWSTONE PARK Salt-baiting and the Triangle X Ranch
By Tom Beno The issues are hunter ethics, "fair chase," conservation of public resources and safety. Elk are "hunted," killed and dressed-out at salt baits within a few yards of the Yellowstone Park border, leaving gut piles and other remains which are an attractant for grizzlies and other predators (evidenced by repeated tracks). This is a human-grizzly conflict waiting to happen. It's preventable, but the "shooting fish in a barrel" aspect of elk "hunting" over salt bait – within the shadow of Yellowstone National Park - is too attractive for outfitters/hunters to resist: Trophy elk heads for big bucks ($$$) taken with minimal physical exertion are more important. Although USFWS and the Forest Service both claim that there've been no (proven) grizzly confrontations (yet) as a result of salt-baiting elk, it's logically only a question of time before a hunter or hiker meets the wrong bear under the wrong (salty) circumstances. USFWS Law Enforcement has insufficient manpower (USFWS Director Jamie Clark is being copied on this), USFS doesn't take the issue seriously enough (until someone is killed?), and Wyoming Fish and Game turns its back on the "non-issue.” Salt-baiting is a “federal” crime, but is legal under state (Wyoming) law – similar to how killing endangered wolves is a federal crime, but Colorado still has a state bounty. The agencies (except Wyoming F & G) agree that salt-baiting is unethical and unacceptable - but "catching someone in the act" is difficult. Some of the offending outfitters are rich, well-entrenched and politically powerful, and federal "prosecutors" - especially in Wyoming, it seems – need to have convictions gift-wrapped, airtight, and beyond the influence of the "good ol' boy" network before they'll consider "prosecuting." Salt bait was finally written up in the Billings Gazette, Associated Press and Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report, all on 10/12. The L.A. Times picked it up on 11/5. Another article is being readied (with pictures) for High Country News. Others are expected in Bugle and Field & Stream. Boone & Crockett has been copied, asking them to investigate the "fair chase" aspect of salt bait. Following is a letter I sent (by email - twice) to Harold and John Turner, owners of the Triangle X Ranch in Moose, Wyoming. The Turners have not responded to either message, sent to them personally AND to their business email address on their website. If readers would like to register their views or voice a complaint, the addresses and phone numbers are shown: ================================================
Harold Turner Subject: Salt Baiting Dear Mr.Turner - I represent the Wolf Justice League. We pursue the aggressive prosecution of illegal wolf-killings and other wildlife-related crimes. We lobby for harsh sentences for criminal activities and public disclosure of unethical behavior. We publish information by postings to the Internet, press releases to the media and also via email network. We interview biologists, law enforcement agents, trappers, outfitters, writers, ranchers, farmers, private citizens, wildlife supporters and others in attempt to get a clear picture of a situation. Recently the issue of salt-baiting has come to our attention. Your name and the Triangle X Ranch is linked to it, thus my letter to you. You are generally known to be a proponent of, and in fact have admitted salt-baiting at and near the borders of Yellowstone National Park. I'd like to offer you the opportunity to explain your position. For the record, please, Mr.Turner, as I'm copying the Boone and Crockett club on this as well. I'm asking them to investigate the "Fair Chase" aspects of this type of "hunt." A recent article in the L.A.Times quotes you: "I think (Law Enforcement Agent/Ranger) Bob Jackson is a loose cannon...I've questioned some of his actions in the past, and I think the information he has been putting out is self-serving and inaccurate." Would you please explain what information is inaccurate? What has Mr.Jackson said about you, the Triangle X Ranch and salt-baiting that is not true? And do you feel that Mr.Jackson is "self" serving because he serves the public? I'm going to write about the problem anyway, Mr. Turner - I'm offering you the opportunity to clarify your position. Do you use salt-bait or do you not? Are your salt-baits near (say, within a mile or so) of Yellowstone National Park? Do you and the Triangle X Ranch hunt within a mile or so of the Park? Earlier this year (1999) did your former packer admit - or did he NOT admit - to having packed in a ton of salt each year for you in the past? Is there any reason why the public should not be made aware of these..."coincidences"...linking the Triangle X with salt-baiting? It seems clear that you salt-bait AND that you know of others who do the same. Correct me if these assumptions are wrong - but please read the rest of this message first - to prevent any misunderstandings. I know that the legal technicalities of salt-baiting are murky and difficult to enforce, Mr.Turner, and that some agencies that SHOULD be deterring the practice are not. Agencies like Wyoming Game & Fish (which should be formally reviewed and reprimanded) and "Game Warden" John Hyde (who should be fired). The question is presently one of hunting ethics and citizen safety. If you and the Triangle X are convinced that salt-baiting is ethical, and that by baiting elk for target-practice "hunts," the possibility of human-grizzly conflicts aren't increased, then there's no harm in making that information public. Right? Last year, did you not tell the Jackson press and agencies that you needed to bait with salt to get out the elk harvest? In an article last year in the Jackson Hole News you were quoted this way: "We don't put (salt) out regularly every year...once in a while we do it. We don't put it on the border. For some reason, it really bothers them (Park Rangers)..." I'm told that you later denied making that statement. Is that true? If so, is it then your position that Bob Jackson AND the JH News AND your former packer, all at different times and in different conversations - all are "inaccurate?" Please explain. The JH News article plainly states: "Turner knows that salt will hold elk in an area. 'It certainly hasn't made the elk any less wary...just more plentiful.'" Therefore, you claim that you "don't put it on the border (of the Park)," but your website states "We have the advantage of hunting...the elk wandering out of Yellowstone Park." You admit to using salt baits, you advertise hunting the perimeter of the Park, but you don't "hunt" near the salt baits? That doesn't seem to make sense - does it? Please advise what you can about this situation. Thank you very much.
Tom Beno ----------------------------------- A letter from Karen Chapman to the Turners: Mr. Turner: It has come to my attention that your ranch is practicing "laying out of salt licks" abutting the border of Yellowstone Park. These salt licks lure the elk from within the parks' protection out into the open for a "crackpot" to sit and wait for "easy - no chase" prey to unsuspectfully walk from within the realms of Yellowstone. May I ask has hunting become so hard and are elk so scarce that you must "set a food trap" for these animals in order to wack them off one by one? That certainly does take a skilled hunter to accomplish that task I would like to ask if you do, in fact, use these as a practice, for how long, are you intending to continue this practice, and finally, have you given any thought to "human-grizzly" confrontation due to the guts of these animals lying about at the edge of Yellowstone? Should you so decide to avoid my questions I will dig alittle deeper Mr. Turner until I find out just how far back you go with these salt licks and how long you have been in the practice of doing so. Actually, how many animals have you killed in this manner? What exactly would it take to encourage you to halt this practice - an 800 pound grizzly flying out of the woods into your face - or that of your children/grandchildren? Give it some thought and I will anxiously await to hear your response. Be this legal or not legal - this is an Unacceptable Practice in the eyes of wilflife supporters, of which I belong to many. Please do respond at your earliest convenience. Karen Chapman ------------------------------------ My letter to the Turners:
Sunday, Mr. Turner,
Your practice of "salt-baiting" has been brought to my attention.
Unfortunately it is you and those like you who give all outfitters a bad name.
This is to inform you that I am making all of the data sent to me on this subject available to the general public by way of the WWW. It is unfortunate that you so far have chosen not to make comment.
Sincerely,
Thank you to Karen Chapman for sending this information in the first place and Tom Beno for being kind enough to share his material with the rest of us for publication.
This is a page you may mirror if you like....there is no zip file because you can grab the doc from the source file.
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