Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Killing wolves is not the answer to saving elk!

Sure, wolf season is now open in some areas. Many hunters are blood-hungry to 'nail one to the wall' but that needs to be thought through properly before indiscriminantly shooting wolves just for the sake of bragging and shooting one before quotals expire.

Wolves should not be indescriminantly destroyed. They play a vital role in nature and are intimately attached and part of our American Wilderness Heritage; the sounds of wolves in the mountains symbolizes the American Pioneering Spirit combined with the raw wild of nature...something very prescious that we do not want to lose but share with our children and grandchildren.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "wolf predation of live-stock; sheep, poultry, and cattle does occur, but it is uncommon enough behavior in the species as a whole to be called aberrant"

To help protect the wolf, we will need to help protect the wilderness that is left and not overshoot them. Look at the way Canada is living with Wolves- they're doing a great job of coexisting together.

We understand the science of the wolf, but the soul seems to be lost among many so-called hunters who would prefer to bag one for bragging rights and to protect his?? elk. The once crafty wolf revered and respected is now seen as vermin by some of the people on this site and that I disagree with.

Is the cry of the wolf a mournful farewell? or does it announce his return. Will we grant him a place to live? and in turn give ourselves something more valuable? We all must work together to ensure that the songs of the wolves will always be heard in all the wild places of our earth.

The wolf has been part of the natural balance for thousands of years, in less than 100 years man through ignorance and misinformation has almost made wolves disappear forever.

Part of the solution to increasing elk populations is:
1. less habitat destruction
2. less logging
3. less mining
4. less pollution
5. less ATV access
6. less housing development
7. less road construction into wilderness areas
8. less cattle and sheep ranching/grazing

...humans are the largest issue for elk.

Best of success this elk season and share your success!!

Happy hunting
Brooks.

P.S. Going moose hunting in a few days!

Mr. brooksrange;
As a Canadian member of the Campfire, I cringe a wee bit whenever comparisons are made between our two neighboring countries, whether it be health care or wildlife management.

I tend to think that in both instances our population densities of humans and animals are dissimilar enough that comparisons might not reflect the reality of the situation.

Thus, I really don�t believe I have either the right to comment on how wolves are managed in the US, nor enough information to intelligently do so.

With that said, you mentioned how well we in Canada are getting along managing our wolves. The following link may be of interest to fellow Campfire members:

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/hunting/regulations/

It shows how wolves are managed here in my home province of BC, where we apparently have a healthy enough population of wolves to allow hunting:

While it is a little tedious to go through the entire province by each game management region, an overview would look something like this:

� BC resident hunters can hunt wolves in all regions except my home region which is Region 8. From what I hear, there may soon be wolf hunting available here as well.

� BC resident hunters can hunt wolves with no tags required. Possession of the BC Hunting License is all we need.

� With the exception of Region 8, all regions allow at least 2 wolves per year to be shot per hunter, many allow 3 per year and where wolf populations have been seen as too high there is No Bag Limit (NBL) annually.

� In addition to annual hunting seasons, we are allowed to shoot predators that threaten livestock year round, providing it can be reasonably proven that was what was taking place.

As I say, I�m not sure what conclusions if any can be drawn from that information. I�ll remove myself from this now and let my fellow Campfire members derive what they can from the information provided.

Good luck to you and all other members on your upcoming hunts.

Regards,
Dwayne

Yes, you proved my point. Thank you. There are 'enough' wolves in B.C. to be managed effectively with generally liberal seasons, and because the seasons are long and liberal many people do not feel the 'blood-rush to go out and kill every one of them'.

Your elk populations and trophy potential is not what it used to be in many areas. B.C. faces the same 'human issues' that I outlined above when it comes to impacting elk populations. Once the elk populations are seems as decreasing in trophy quality (even with mostly 6 point antler restrictions), the B.C. hunters may also begin to blame wolves when what is really to blame are the logging industry, Alcan, new housing development, ATV hunters, road access, Native indians, and poaching, and habitat loss and destruction, pollution, etc. that are mainly responsible. JMHO.

BTW, I love Canada and I hunt up there every year as a non-resident and love hunting in areas with a guide that competes with the locals! Oops...another problem of mis-management and human over-population...must be the fault of wolves...:)

Why don't you wolf/bunny/tree huggin troll SOB's take a long walk on a short Pier?
You hunt? I call BS
Go post on your wolf lovers site to those that care.

I think every game animal should be managed by the voters within the state. The wolf reintroduction was shoved down the throats of people out West and has been a problem for the people who live there for many years. Now it is time to regulate that population with hunting to set the balance. I am for the hunting of the wolf to help keep things in balance. How would some of the bunny huggers like it if they were told that a wolf was going to be put in the back yard with their little fee fee the dog.

You missed a few things. These imported, non-native wolves are breeding our native subspecies out of existence. The ESA is being completely ignored.
The wolves are completely uncontrolled. The antis have stated in their own publications that their intent is to use the introduction of large predators to reduce game animals to unhuntable levels. They've been seen in almost every country in Idaho and game numbers have plummeted in some areas due to predation.

You don't live here. We do. You can manage wolves any way you like in AK, but we demand the same privilege. We don't need outsiders telling us how to run things here.

I agree that they should be managed, not necessarily exterminated (although perhaps some places can't actually support them in today's world...Issaquah, WA comes to mind, even though deer sometimes think they still belong where their ancestors lived in recent times.)



And I can think of no more fitting way to accomplish this in a very practical way than to tan the hide of one and have several very useful fur ruffs made. Properly cared for, a fur ruff can last for many years protecting the cherubs in posterity. There truly is nothing like a warm, furry piece of wolf hide to protect one's otherwise unprotected hide (face) from the nasty elements.

Uhhhhhhh......

From the Anchorage daily news...


http://www.adn.com/front/story/934085.html

State: Wolf, bear hunts increasing moose, caribou
Since program began, more than 1,000 wolves and hundreds of black bears have been killed


By Mary Pemberton | The Associated Press
ANCHORAGE - An Alaska wildlife management program in which wolves are shot from low-flying airplanes and black bears are baited and snared is helping to increase the numbers of moose and caribou, state wildlife officials say.

The program has long been the target of wildlife conservation groups who view it as state-sponsored slaughter. Last fall, one of those groups launched an ad criticizing then-Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, for expanding the program.

State officials contend the program is aimed at helping rural Alaskans, who rely on hunting to survive and had complained there wasn't enough game to hunt and eat.

The program began under Palin's predecessor, Gov. Frank Murkowski. Private citizens are permitted to shoot wolves from the air or conduct land-and-shoot hunting of wolves in six rural areas of the state.

Since the program began in 2003, over 1,000 wolves and hundreds of black bears have been killed in an effort to drive down the number of predators.

"I think there are some real success stories here," Bruce Bartley, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said.

The agency recently released its 2008-09 predation management summary that indicates that moose and caribou numbers in six predator control areas have increased. The agency points to two areas in particular as examples of where the program is showing strong results: the Nelchina Basin area and the southern Alaska Peninsula.

The program is getting substantive results in the McGrath area, where it began in December 2003. Last winter and spring, 28 wolves were killed in the McGrath area. Nineteen were taken under the program and nine were hunted and trapped.

The agency said the moose population there has grown from 2,774 in 2004 to an estimated 5,500 moose now. The goal is to reach 6,000 to 8,000 moose.

"Moose numbers have come up substantially," Bartley said.
In the Nelchina Basin area - one of the more contentious predator control areas because it is accessible to urban hunters from the Anchorage area - 119 wolves were killed. Fifty-five of those were taken under the control program and the other 64 were hunted or trapped.

That, the state said, helped the moose population increase 27 percent. The harvest, meanwhile, went up 18 percent.

The situation is so improved in the Nelchina Basin that for the first time in more than a decade nonresident hunters will be allowed to hunt bull moose.

Bartley said the 50-permit, nonresident hunt should not interfere with the supply of moose for Alaskans because it is being allowed in more remote areas only. Nonresident hunters have been "frozen out" of hunting in that area of the state for years, Bartley said, and there is a benefit to the state to have them in it.

"Everybody loves to beat up on the ugly, old nonresident but the fact is they pay a lot of the game management bills in Alaska," he said.

Critics say the nonresident hunt being allowed in the Nelchina Basin reveals the true intent of predator control in Alaska. They have said the predator control program is nothing more than a front for big game guides who pay big fees to the state and need trophies for their out-of-state clients.

"Predator control programs are simply perpetual killing events designed to give nonresident trophy hunters access to Alaska as a game farm," said John Toppenberg, director of the 1,200-member Alaska Wildlife Alliance, a conservation group.

The program is meant to meet the needs of commercial guides and nonresident trophy hunters - not the subsistence needs of rural Alaskans, he said.

Wade Willis, a former Fish and Game biologist and outspoken critic of the program, agrees. It looks like predator control is never going to end, he said.

"It is a perpetual predator control program, artificial manipulation of the game to create nothing short of a game farm," said Willis, who was formerly associated with Defenders of Wildlife in Alaska.

It is up to the Alaska Board of Game to end predator control, but Bartley said the board likely won't stop intensive management in the control areas anytime soon.

"I think the board wants to see that they do function normally for a number of years in a row," he said.
_________________________

So, when you can't deal with the real issues, you resort to name-calling, mild threats and accusations? That is an immature way to respond to a fellow hunter who also happens to share the wilderness with you.

Thanks to the others for sharing their perspectives. Good stuff!

Huh? Tell that to my friends and neighbors here in Montana who've lost everything from the family pet to livestock due to wolf predation. They've decimated some game populations to they point that to survive they're dining on fresh T-bones and lamb chops. Wolf predation of livestock in this state has become common enough as a whole to be called, well, common.

Where do you hail from brooksrange?

Not the Brooks Range for certain. (He's only a name caller.)

2. less logging
3. less mining

THE ABOVE ARE WRONG AND WRONG

IN IDAHO:
1.LESS OUT OF STATE HUNTERS KILLING IMMATURE BULLS BECAUSE THEY DONT KNOW WTF THEY ARE DOING WOULD GO A LONG LONG WAY.
2. PREDATION

WE DONT HAVE A HABITAT PROBLEM , WE HAVE A PREDATION AND OVER HUNTED PROBLEM.

Wrong on that one.
For what I pay for NR tags I ain't shootin a fuggin dink.
Lots of NR's feel the same way.
I think locals are more likley to shoot meat sized peepers.
I burned a $1,000 Wyoming elk tag last year looking for a good bull.
Saw 5 points & a small six by & let 'em walk.
Didn't need a guide to lead me round either.

I know that this falls on deaf ears and eyes. Here goes anyway. They main reason our big game herds are on the decrease is our LEGISLATURE. They legislated the slaughter us, we, hunters have joined in on. Through A-9, B-12 (second elk tag), to either sex mashem up season that run over 9 Weeks (rifle). We have shot our way to the low levels we enjoy today. The fact that Bio's are taught that predation has no impacts on big game and the liberal seasons have left us with real low numbers in many districts. Many parts of Montana will experience this stupidity again this year.

Discussing this is like the definition of insanity.
Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Timothy Treadwell + Bears = Bear Crap
Brooksrange + Wolves = ?

You do the math.

Apparently there are lots of stupids in your life
...
Stupid Geese...................
No Stupid Squirrels...........*grin*
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