Doesn't take long for the wolf haters to show up--next thing we know it'll be the wolves fault women and children in Syria were gassed......
Yes the hungry kind. The USFS had a "target population" OF 300 WOLVES IN MONTANA WHEN INTRODUCED INTO YNP. THIS MAP IS 15 YEARS LATER. These dots are packs, not individuals. With enough food (our elk) they multiply like rats.
There is the United States Forest Service (USFS) and the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) but I've be darned if I've ever heard of the USFS.....United States Flounder Service?
Then again, it seems that elk numbers are growing in Montana--even in the highest density wolf areas...
http://fwp.mt.gov/fishAndWildlife/management/elk/http://www.greatfallstribune.com/st...as-elk-hunting-season-expanded/74421088/KC,
There is no federal mandate to restore wolves to Colorado. When wolf restoration in Montana and Idaho was being planned, the ESA required a review of all potential wolf habitat and most likely areas for wolf restoration, at least in the Western US. Based on a literature review, the Uncompahgre Plateau and RMNP were chosen as the best habitat for Colorado. Also, the state legislature passed legislation that prohibited the CPW from restoring wolves and wolverines in Colorado, but knew better than to attempt to antagonize the feds.
Ironically it was Vail Resorts who intervened on behalf of restoring the lynx in Colorado (long, long story that has everything to do with Vail Resorts and their "investment" in the Blue Sky expansion--the last known habitat of the last known lynx population in Colorado) and convinced the legislature to light a fire under CPW to restore lynx and retain management control (with USFWS's legal permission and whole-hearted blessing). Otherwise, at least during that period of time, CPW couldn't have cared less about the lynx.
That decision to restore lynx here has insulated Colorado from having to deal with all the crap that the feds (USFWS) has to go through if they are required to begin restoring lynx in other states.
Colorado could do the same thing with wolves. And what would make it even easier for Colorado is a nice, healthy wolf population one state to the north. That way Colorado wouldn't be dealing with a species that is edge of extinction, instead they would have a lot of leeway.
For others:
Currently, nobody has seen a wolf in Colorado in a couple years, and when occasional individual does show up they tend to have a short lifespan--and not from SSS. I-70 has killed more wolves than anything else here in Colorado.
What can happen is that a breeding pair appears in Colorado, and then the ESA can potentially kick in (with a lotta help from lawsuits). I've been arguing for a while the smartest thing Colorado can do is the same thing they did with lynx. That way Colorado can keep management control of wolves.
The wild variations in snow storm and then heat and ice killed off the lead cows that liked to stay high so the migration occurs earlier - couple that with slightly less population and the numbers go down.
Of all the myths and old wives tales I've heard about wildlife, this one has gotta rank right up there........
So Spotshooter, answer me this; So as all these elk descend (except for the now perished lead cows) at what altitude do elk turn back into deer?...............
Casey
