Wolves!! I had no idea...

R

RocketMan

New member
Okay,
As you can see by the number of posts I have, I'm new to this forum and also new to yote hunting.

That being said, my wife got me a subscription for Predator Xtreme magazine for CHRISTmas and I got my first issue today. There's a very informational article about the sad state of affairs our big game populations are in out here.(Wyoming, Montana, Idaho).

I had no idea the damage Wolves were causing. I'm sure most of you are aware of this, as you have been doing this for years and have seen firsthand the damage they can cause.

For you as uninformed as me, here’s some numbers to ponder:

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Reintroduction started in 1995-1996 and the plan was to bring the Northern Rockies 300 wolves...Our Government (Most likely underestimated dramatically) says there is now 10 times that...3,000 wolves.

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One Coyote will kill 20-30 deer, elk, or other BIG game animal. Thats potentially 60,00 big game animals per year...gone.

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10 years ago, the Yellowstone elk herd was an estimated at 20,000 elk. In just 10 years, this herd is now estimated at 4,000. (No, I'm not missing a zero)

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The Federal Gov. has left it in the hands of each individual state. What the @#$% is going on?? I have always thought the problem has to be Washington... Guess not.

So, other than declaring war on the Wolf (poaching not being the answer), what can we do? Who do we need to lobby?

I've lived in the Denver area for the past 4 years and just sat back as Colorado got Bluer and Bluer and more and more liberal. Now, the tree huggin, environmentalist Wackos have us by the nuts. I don't know about you, but I don't like that feeling. I now live in Wyoming and I thought it might be different up here. That goes for Montana and Idaho as well. Our Big Game animals are being spread all over the Northern Rockies as compost.

So, I ask the question again, What can we do??

Thanks to Predator Xtreme and Judd Cooney for a great article and a great magazine.
 
Part of the deal, from what i understand, was that with the implementation of wolves there would also be an opportunity to buy hunting liscenses to hunt those wolves once the numbers were up to what their target was in order to keep that target in check (management). Now all the "Save the Wolf Foundations/PETA/Name your own left wing group" have made enough stink to where that has been delayed... Thus the wolves are overpopulating and thinning out the other game animals. The Left wing groups would rather see the wolves around and less Elk, deer, etc in my opinion just because of the controversy it creates. Let a couple of them get snatched by a wolf or two and see what happens. At some point they will have to declare war on the wolves especially with the Elk foundations, deer foundations etc... probably getting fed up that there population in certain areas are thinning much faster than can be replaced.

Thats is what i understand mixed in with a little of my opinion. It will happen (the ability to hunt wolves) but not until we have a crisis on our hands
 
Hey fellas, hunting took place in Montana, quotas were filled and the gov. guys are still a killin. In Idaho, the hunt is still in progress and their hoping to kill 200 by end of March. Wyoming's not hunting, their standing their ground and suing the government.
 
Right on 4100FPS. The feds have not released the management of wolves back to us because we are standing firm on our belief that they are a predator. That position may, or, may not change; mostly due to Judge Molloy's 'recommendation' to the wolf huggers on how to get them ALL re-listed again and some weakening in the resolve to resist. And, the FEDS continue to 'remove' them with prejudice here. There are now existing wolf pack(s) in the Bighorns and as far down as Sweetwater BELOW South Pass city. Thats a LONG way from the wolf zone.

4100FPS Glad you guys got your chance to thin 'em out and hope you were successful(yourself) in(get this) 'harvesting' one.
 
Shoot, shovel and shut up is what I say. What wolf? I've never seen a wolf in my life. I'm glad we don't have a wolf problem up here, the day I lost a pack of dogs to them it would be all out war until I was hauled away.
 
Great to see some of the 170+ that have viewed this decided to post.

The article did mention the 2 seasons in Idaho and Montana and here's some #'s for you. Don't get me wrong it's about time they let the people manage these populations but the #'s still don't add up.

The Montana fish and wildlife estimate the wolf population to be 500. I guess wolf biologists and sportsman in Montana feel this is a very low ball figure. Montana only allowed a 75 wolf quota or 15% of the population. The Idaho wolf population is estimated at 1,500+ and they allowed a 220 wolf quota or roughly 15%.

The issue here is the population growth for wolves is 25%-30% per year. We still aren't cutting back on the growth rate. In other words, there will be more wolves next year than there is this year and the estimated 1,300 wolves still out there will take out 30,000 to 40,000 Deer, Elk, and Moose etc.

Before long, Elk will be on the endangered species list up here and we'll all be wishing we would have stood up and done something about this.

What can we do? Who do we need to target? This is the question!!

If you all think it's just a Northern Rockies issue wait until they've overpopulated this area and begin to really spread out. I have family in South Dakota and I was told they found wolves in Sturgis, SD. If these wolves are indeed in the Black Hills, you can just about kiss any big game hunting there goodbye in a few years.

Do others see this issue as serious as I do? Or, is everyone just waiting around for someone else to step up? My questions above still remain. I don't have faith that any government agency will straighten this thing out. I guess I can stop big game hunting all together and just keep coyote hunting. It pains me to think every time someone buys a tag, it's money in the pockets of the same mental midgets that got us into this mess. At least for now it's still free to kill the little dogs here in WY.
 
How do you silence these PETA pricks? That seems to be the issue. When did we go from being hunters and gatherers to a bunch of pansies who think all animals should be "protected"?!?!
 
TA17rem,

There was also 20,000 Elk in Yellowstone 10 years ago. Be careful what you wish for. Oh wait, you're in Minnesota. I'm fully aware of the present deer population in SD. My father lives in Hot Springs, SD and there are deer everywhere. Time to start putting venison on the menu at soup kitchens.

Yoteblasterz,

I couldn't agree with you more. You'll love TX. If there was ever a state that could rectify this problem, it would be TX...IMO
 
I think Yoteblasterz it the nail on the head. But the sad thing is, nothing we say or do is gonna change these "extreamists" minds. It's a shame we have to deal with the guys.
 
Quote:It pains me to think every time someone buys a tag, it's money in the pockets of the same mental midgets that got us into this mess

Not exactly. I lived in Cheyenne and attended several public meetings leading up to the reintroduction of wolves. The State game pros (and the vast majority of the WY public) opposed the reintroduction. Unfortunately, while the law required public hearings (though the feds attempted to skip that step entirely), it didn't require that the feds pay any attention at all to public opinion. There was no vote, the feds basically said "screw you, we have the power and will do what we want".

The reintroduction was implemented over the strong objections of both the public and the state.

The money you spend for licences and tags goes to the State and (generally) does a lot of good.

The "mental midgets" were (as usual) the feds, not the State.
 
I USE TO GET REAL MAD AT PEOPLE LIKE AT REM17 BECAUSE THEY JUST DONT WHAT THE [beeep] HE IS TAKING ABOUT . I LIVE IN IDAHO AND THESE WOLVES ARE JUST KILLING ALL THE ELK IN THE CLEARWATER N.F. THEY RUN THE COWS DOWN IN THE SNOW KILL THEM THEN JUST EAT THE UNBORN CALF AND LEAVE THE REST FOR THE BIRDS. BUT PEOPLE THAT I HAVE TALKED TO IN OTHER FORMS THINK THAT THE WOLVES ONLY EAT OR KILL VERY LITTLE AND IT JUST THE STATE OR THE HUNTER KILLING ALL THE ELK . THESE WOLES ARE THE BIGGEST KILLING MACHINES THAT YOU COULD HAVE IN THIS STATE OR ANY OTHER
 
Wyoming is doing the only thing we can do to contain the population.
we didn't want them to begin with and wish they were gone.
you wonder why we took them out in the first place it wasn't just livestock.
we need to take them out again. completely.
i could care less if some out of stater wants to shoot a wolf or if the bunny hugger thinks they are cute and cuddly
it was a complete mistake to reintroduce them and the experimental population has failed
GET THEM OUT!
as far as coyote hunting enough wolves there will not be any coyotes to hunt and they dang sure will not be coming to a call or howling. wolves are better coyote killers than any of us could ever dream of being.
it will take 100 years to regain the money already spent by selling wolf tags.
 
Rocketman, you are absolutely right this is a big problem.

The states don't have complete control of the wolves, Montana, Idaho, And Wyoming were asked to present the feds with a management plan that would meet certain criteria (number of wolves and number of breeding pairs) in order to take over management of the wolves. Idaho and Montana presented plans that met the criteria although maybe not as aggressive as they (or us) would want and now have a season for them. But even with a season they still don't have the management tools I think they want to have.

Wyoming has taken a harder stance with their plan wanting more control. Although WY's plan met the criteria it was not accepted because of methodology and labeling, as a consequence we have not been granted permission to manage the wolves here yet.

The fight is still ongoing for us but, Idaho and Montana have their foot in the door hoping to be able to open up more liberal seasons later.

Wyoming is still fighting but the outcome will be a long time coming.

As to who to fight against or for, that is a tough one.

The problem is that a lot of fed decision makers are too far removed from the real world here in the west.

The liberal media glorifies the fabled wolf and villianizes the hillbilly hunters complaining about them.

It just pains me that those who came before us worked so hard to make civilized life possible for us, and those decision makers who claim to be the most civilized want to throw away their hard work and make it harder for use to make a living and live in the west.
 
TA17

I would love to herd up about 50 wolves and haul them down to you. the northern zone I hunt and live in is being over run by the [beeep] things. I am 37 years old lived here all my life the first 34 years i maybe saw 5 wolves total. the last 3 years it is closer to 30 it doesn't matter if you are in the woods or farm country they are there and in abundance. The problem is they run the deer out of the forest then they follow them to the farm. top that off just 40 miles from us we have the TB zone where they are trying to kill all the deer. so any wolves that were in that zone have left for more abundant pastures. It is easy for you to sit in S.M. and be happy you don't have to deal with the [beeep] things.
 
oh yeah i forgot the government just prints money when they want it.
where does it come from?
our pockets.
it wasn't money put in by the tree huggers (there is no taxes on marijawanna) specifically for wolf reintroduction it was taxes. and now they are using our tax money to sue us.
Wyoming's plan is the only one that will keep wolves from spreading the way they are now. it is a necessary tool in wolf management.
we do not want wolves in the black hills, snowy range, and medicine bow or the bighorns.
that is why we are fighting. any wolves that are there now need to be removed.
mule deer are suffering state wide the money could have been better spent there.
elk populations are out of whack due to anti hunting land owners. tree huggers do more damage then good.
in my area and Laramie peak, its the lack of hunting on private land that causes the over population, in the black hills its the same way with the whitetail deer.
if all landowners would see game management as a tool to keep populations to the carrying capacity instead of a cash cow the population could be leveled out to the right numbers.
cooperation would be a better way to do this then wolves.
wolves kill and populate tell they have nothing left to eat then they die off and the game and the wolf go on a roller coaster ride from then on. natures law of supply and demand.
deer and elk will run cycles just like rabbits. only now there is livestock and pets to fill in the low spots for the wolf.
every time the game increases the wolves do too. when they run out of easy pray there is plenty of livestock to keep the numbers of wolves to high to let the big game come back. seasons with low quotas will not stop this.
300 wolves total in the greater Yellowstone area should be all that is allowed. if they can't maintain that, ALL WOLVES should be removed, experiment failed.
big game would have never came back from the market hunting days if wolves would not have been removed.
it was one of the dumbest thing our government has ever done in a vary long list of vary dumb things.
its all a game to do away with us the hunter.
as far as I'm concerned there should be open season on wolves and liberals. shoot them all and let God sort them out.
where does my money to RMEF go if it isn't my money? where is the 40,000 a quarter my company pays in taxes go? where does the tax money on my sporting goods go? my hunting licenses? my access yes money? and my personal taxes?
yes the fed IS spending MY money and yours on foolish endeavors.
greed is the reason for more tags its all about the mighty $$$$$$$$$$$
the fed (aka usfws and the liberal courts) is still pulling the strings in the states as far as quota's and not delisting
 
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