Wolf hunting.

Montana, and I'm sure Idaho and Wyoming would likely be more than happy to ship wolves to any state whose population opposes their hunting in Montana and Idaho. We might even be able to spare a few grizzlies as well. Having a pack of wolves and a couple of grizzlies in Central Park and/or LA might be interesting.

It's sort of strange that there are a lot of people who want wolves in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, but not where they live. It'd seem that if they're so wonderful and non-threatening that there'd be lots of states who'd want them.

As for the whacko environmentalists who don't think the wolves have recovered sufficiently let them try to raise livestock where the wolves have moved, or have dogs or cats outside.
 
I read the article entirely, and of course it is of interest to us hunters.

Some wolves can certainly be spared without endangering the recovery.

At the same time, no one wants to reverse the effort to restore some of these animals to their traditional range.

Ranchers vary a lot. Some want max protection from predators, while others are concerned about keeping a balance, and sustaining species viable in their region. In debates in the Montana Legislature about coyote cyanide guns, which I attended, it appeared that sheep ranchers were the most vehement advocates of killing predators using any means available. Of course, coyotes are almost impossible to eliminate. They are too smart. I expect wolves are also pretty smart critters.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
 
Pete, the only reason that Montana and Idaho have wolf hunting seasons is because throughout both states wolves are a protected species just like deer, elk, moose, &c. In Montana and Wyoming coyotes are not protected and may be killed wherever and whenever they are found. Wyoming wants to allow wolves outside the Greater Yellowstone area which includes a lot of country in NW Wyoming and SW Montana to be treated the same way coyotes are. The US Fish and Wildlife Service consequently didn't turn wolf management over to Wyoming.

Over the years there's been a lot of claptrap written and spoken about how humans are the only animals that kill for "sport". This doesn't explain why wolves have recently killed over 40 sheep without doing more than killing them. They prey on calves during calving season as well, and if they can will kill more than they can eat.

The wolves are here to stay in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. Let's put them back in ALL their natural range and watch people howl. Maybe we could run bison up and down from the Southern Canadian plains to Texas too. It might be a little hard on people who live in that area and the farmers and ranchers who supply food for much of the rest of the country, but hey the world's overpopulated anyway. Just don't cut food off from the environmentalists and elites though because they're special and need taken care of.
 
I agree with Larry. Send some wolves and grizzlies to central park and LA and see how they like them.

Have you seen the test about DDT. I think it was twelve years that several people actually were paid to drink the stuff.....no harm....yet the eviromentalists have now killed millions of people and millions of animals because of the spread of disease by insects that could have been controlled. I don't have anything against enviromentalist....I believe everyone should have at least one to use for a wheel chalk.

Hovis
 
Larry,

I have to agree with you you whole heartedly. Being 'native' to both Montana and Wyoming as well as former ranch stock I have watched this issue closely. I have some "outdoor life" books with stories (eye witness account) written by govt trappers of the past that chronicle the fact that wolves do kill for fun.

As a rancher I wanted the option of protecting my livelyhood from threats to their wellbeing, especially on private ground. I would hope the intention is not to plan for wolf et.al survival by feeding on domestic livestock.

Wyatt
 
Wyatt and Hovis,

I sure hope that you don't think that I believe that the radical environmentalists are useless. Properly prepared they'd likely make good coyote bait. Might work on wolves and bears too.... :eek:

As for DDT, if it's properly applied it is a great boon and would eliminate mosquitos that spread West Nile virus, malaria, yellow fever and other diseases with little or no damage to birds or anything else except harmful insects. Of course that seems to offend the same people who think we should be armpit deep in wolves.
 
There was an article about 2 weeks ago, in "The Missoulian" newspaper (Missoula, MT) about 140 adult male sheep having been killed in one day by wolves. This was near Dillon, MT, about 60 miles S of Butte. Biologists stated that the sheep were actually killed by the wolves, unlike some situations where the sheep run off of cliffs or into creeks or pile up and suffocate each other.
The value of each sheep was established at $350 each for payment to the owner. The owner did not want to "sell" the sheep in that manner and maybe not at that time.
ID F&G website has a "wolf harvest" page that shows the units and permitted harvest numbers. The area around Salmon is by far the highest amount permitted in a unit. That is because of the large number of wolves that have greatly reduced the elk herds in those drainages over the past few years.
It is just common sense to reduce the number of wolves in the NW.

Opinion of Jay, Idaho
 
Jay said:
There was an article about 2 weeks ago, in "The Missoulian" newspaper (Missoula, MT) about 140 adult male sheep having been killed in one day by wolves. This was near Dillon, MT, about 60 miles S of Butte. Biologists stated that the sheep were actually killed by the wolves, unlike some situations where the sheep run off of cliffs or into creeks or pile up and suffocate each other.
The value of each sheep was established at $350 each for payment to the owner. The owner did not want to "sell" the sheep in that manner and maybe not at that time.
ID F&G website has a "wolf harvest" page that shows the units and permitted harvest numbers. The area around Salmon is by far the highest amount permitted in a unit. That is because of the large number of wolves that have greatly reduced the elk herds in those drainages over the past few years.
It is just common sense to reduce the number of wolves in the NW.

Opinion of Jay, Idaho
Click to expand...

Could this be said article?

http://www.missoulian.com/news/local/article_5ff01772-938f-11de-9aca-001cc4c03286.html

D R
 
I have been muling over a reply to this post for a few days. I was informed about a friend and long time hunting companion's Son a few days ago. He is just out of the Bethel, Alaska hospital where he was recovering from a wolf attack.

A little background here would provide a better view of what is happening in this Alaskan world than just to let you stay uninformed.

The caribou herd has come back to numbers that are just crazy. The wolf population has come back the same way, this is without any government involvement.

We have come from just noticing the wolf kills on caribou where they just eat the tongues out of the downed caribou and move on, to more wolf/man encounters.

It is not uncommon for the younger crowd to go about their activities on the tundra unarmed, aside from the berry picking and water fowl hunting that they spend time at. Going unarmed has become a vary common practice.

Handguns even among hunters has become a most uncommon practice to even own them, much less carry them at all. Well times have changed. He had not armed himself prior to transporting himself to the tundra.

I don't care about any discussion about what caliber works best. A .22 rf is better than anything else for protecting yourself than nothing at all.
 
Big Al, how could the number of caribou and wolves have increased without government aid and assistance? I don't even think that's possible without some sort of government stimulus program or an Earthjustice or Greenpeace lawsuit. :eek: :eek:

BTW, the season in parts of Montana opened yesterday, but no wolves were taken.

Anyone who goes out in the wild in Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, or Idaho without a gun and/or bear spray isn't thinking too clearly since there are animals who are dangerous. In other parts of the country the dangerous animals tend to be two leggers, and can be dealt with the same way as the four leggers. Of course in enlightened places like The People's Republic of Kalifornia it's better to be eaten by a lion than to defend yourself.
 
It is an interesting story that predates Anglo history. I found out about this from the University of Alaska Dept. of Archaeology. Unknown by the people of this particular area were found great piles of caribou dropping that were hundreds of feet in depth. Tundra had grown over these great heaps and laid unknown for countless years. Archaeologist excavating in this hither to unknown area discovered this and were at a lost to explain their findings.

What surpriced me the most was my own investigations, talking to many of the elderly about the stories that these old people had grown up with. They only had knowledge of caribou from old ancient artifacts and not from any oral traditions.

What transpired is that the herds from further north had increased in size and began a more southerly migration pattern in to this region. This began in the early 1990's. By the year 2000, the fish and wildlife biologist estimated the herd had re-established itself when the number grew to several hundred thousand animals. Today that number has reached closer to one million animals.

Al of this went fairly unnoticed by State of Alaska officials. The attitude was rather one of nature taking it's own course.

Can this occur in other places? Remember that the top predator was not easily in this area., to remote for the casual top predator to get in this area for casual hunting.

In summation it would seem in most cases where the top predator (being man) does much to change environment. My observations have been that once man for what ever the reason has entered into any habitat system profound effects follow. Whether for good or evil.


Carring a firearm for your own protection or support is not unlike carrying a spare tire and a jack in you car or truck. You seldom give it a thou until you have a need for them, then they become a wonderful thing to have a long.
 
I have 10 wolfs behind my place i see them more in the winter then the summer. The wolf season by me opens Oct 1. The wolfs have killed off all the moose by me. i haven't seen a moose in three years And i would see at least 8or 9 every year the same thing with the elk i haven't seen a big bull in a long time. and i have about 30 head of elk in my back pasture at least once a week. .
 
A guy from Roberts, SW of Billings got the first Montana wolf up in the Beartooth - Absaroka Wilderness yesterday, and called it in to the state wolf hotline on his cellphone. One down, 74 to go....
 
What bothers me most about the wolf-grizzly thing in the lower 48 is that the officials lie to put forth their personnal hobby. Wolves and grizzlies aren't endangered. These guys just want some to play with. A couple of hundred miles north into Canada the populations are fine.
 
There have been several elk hunters in Montana who have been attacked and injured severely by grizzlies that have come to recognize the sound of a shot as the dinner bell. Imagine being up to your armpits in elk innards when a griz decides you're messing with its meal. Not fun.
 
Montana, and I'm sure Idaho and Wyoming would likely be more than happy to ship wolves to any state whose population opposes their hunting in Montana and Idaho. We might even be able to spare a few grizzlies as well. Having a pack of wolves and a couple of grizzlies in Central Park and/or LA might be interesting.
Click to expand...

This quote reminds me of a funny story.

We were on a vacation in Ireland and were on a bus touring the "Kerry Ring." This beautiful scenic area has thousands of sheep. From a scenic look-out, a person can see countless sheep. The hillsides are just covered with them.

The bus driver was also the tour guide, and was yapping endlessly about the scenery and sheep.

We stopped for a break. I told the driver, "what this area needs are a few packs of wolves. The sheep are totally out of control around here."

The poor guy apparently took me seriously -- he was just horrified. He said, "no, no, no, no!"

Frankly, I'm not real crazy about sheep. I still think they could use some wolves. Maybe Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming could ship some over there.
 
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