Wolves impact on your hunting future!

400, I live and hunt in the heart of the Bitteroot. So far, wolves have had little, if any impact on the elk hunting here. But, I know it is coming as the wolves are here to stay. I see more and more sign of wolves every year. Right now, some hunters blame their lack of success on the wolves. That said, I will be packing a wolf tag if the huggers don't get the season tied up in court this year. A hunting season is the only hope that us hunters have as a way of possibly controlling the wolves. I could live with the current poulation we have here now, but not any more. There has to be a balance acheived. mtmuley
you must be hunting on the Cb ranch
 
I completely agree with all of you and loved what WyomingShooter had to say. Although I cant compare with some of the situations you have out there, right now I live in MI and have a group of coyotes thats been around for quite a bit. Just 3 or 4 years ago the rabbit hunting around here was great we didn't have a problem kicking up 10 or so in a relatively small area now we're lucky if we find one. Getting some time soon to find these coyotes :). Anyway this fall I'm actually moving out to Utah and would love to do my part in helping I'd hate to see all these great animals disappearing.

BTW: first post, been lurking quite a bit after finding the site from Snipershide
 
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A while back Fiftydriver had some great post's on this subject, well worth rereading! I'm hoping he will jump in again this time. I used to live in Minnesota where they have quite a few wolves in about the northern 1/3 of the state, but since the Moose herd up there is crashing those wolves will have to move. Mostly north into Canada I'm guessing, but my niece and her husband saw one last fall within 30 miles of Iowa border! We occasionally get a young confused moose wander thru , but that's about it. Now I think all bet's are off ,last summer the Mn DNR caught a bear in Minneapolis!
 
Wyoming shooter, good point, Grizzlys dont apply hear. In Wisconsin our bears are sleeping. I live in the central part of the state and the wolves have been here for quite some time and populations are growing. One nieghbor claims to have seen a pack of 11. One fellow shot one and the wardens were their in 1/2 hour. Some are chipped, I personally have seen 3 this year, all from the highway. Wolves killing dogs is a common occurence and no longer news worthy.
 
smoknclays, I've never set foot on the C.B. I am real familiar with it, but my hunting is done further North. I moved back to Montana (born and raised native) in 1999. So far in those 8 years I have killed elk every year but one. That year I had a premium muley tag, not 270, and concentrated on that. There is a butt load of elk here, and I'll kill another bull this year. And maybe a wolf. mtmuley
 
The wolf is here to stay. The hunting quotas will never be high enough to keep the wolf numbers down at current or lower numbers. The only thing that will drop the number of wolves is the lack of food source.

Wolf re-introduction never had anything to do with the wolf. It has everything to do with stopping hunting. It has everything to do with gun controll. It has everything to do with people have no right to be here, we are not natural, only animals are.

A quota of a few hundred wolves will not make a dent when you figure that every pack will produce twenty pups per year, (as long as they have enough food).

Our only chance of getting wolf numbers down is when they make a dent in our food supply. (beef) As long as the beef imports stay high and it doesn't effect the amount of beef in the grocery then there will not be a significant public outcry to get rid of the re-introduced wolf. We got rid of the wolf the first time because it effected our nation's food supply. We didn't have the imported beef. Everybody that is effected by the wolf now, is a minority. It took a hundred years of hunting these animals using every means available, from poison to hunting from airplanes, to get rid of them.

I feel like I can go on and on. In a nut shell I think our hunting heritage is in grave danger.

One last thing I feel the need to say, is that it's not the wolfs fault. The wolf is only doing what he was made to do. They are the perfect preditor. Blame the anti-American, anti-capitalist whack jobs that call themselves environmentalists.
 
Thought this was one of the best, fact-based letters I have read on the subject. It appeared in an online blog as a response to comments supporting the wolf re-introduction. Well worth the read.


> Dear sportsmen,
> > I just read the original post regarding the negative impacts wolves
> > are having on our elk, and I read the almost unbelievable replies
> > from people who are supposedly sportsmen. The
> > wolf-worshippers/anti-hunters/eco-freaks have certainly done a fine
> > job of brainwashing. I live in Wyoming and have been heavily
> > involved in the wolf controversy from the beginning. We have seen
> > how many lies have been told regarding the wolves, and unfortunately
> > they are very good at telling the lies to get you to believe it is
> > just returning Yellowstone to "natural conditions".
> > Here are the facts:
> > 1. The US Fish and Wildlife Service introduced a non-native specie
> > to the Yellowstone region. The native wolf was the Rocky Mountain
> > Wolf, which hunted in pairs and weighed 80 pounds maximum.
> > The Canadians
> > hunt in packs, sometimes as large as 27 wolves, and weigh in excess
> > of 150 pounds. NOTHING in the region can stand up to them. So the
> > USFWS, controlled by the wolf-worshippers, broke the Endangered
> > Species Act by introducing a non-native specie.
> > 2. Wolves did not commonly inhabit Yellowstone.
> > Strong evidence shows
> > that wolves rarely entered Yellowstone in the 77 years prior to 1913
> > (National Park Service Documents, "The Wolves of Yellowstone" Weaver
> > 1978). Also, an official government document, Yellowstone Animal
> > Census, 1912, lists various animals and their numbers, but under
> > Gray Wolves the total is listed as NONE (Hornaday, Our Vanishing
> > Wildlife, pg 336).
> > 3. Wolves don't kill only to sustain themselves.
> > They often kill for
> > sport. In 2005 in one night a lone she-wolf killed
> > 29 sheep in
> > Pinedale. The USFWS came the next day, tracked it down by air from
> > its radio collar and found that it was 20 miles away, so they left
> > it alone. Two weeks later it returned to the same herd and killed 13
> > sheep. At the Camp Creek elk feedground a lone wolf killed five calf
> > elk, eating about 5 pounds of meat. Just having fun.
> > In spring of
> > 2006 about 40 sheep belonging to Jim Magagna were killed in a
> > pasture near Farson, Wyoming. Many many times we have found deer and
> > elk carcasses killed by wolves with only a little bit of meat eaten.
> > My friend, Royce Hoopes, resigned as elk feeder in the Gros Ventre
> > because every morning he would have to shoot 3 or 4 elk who were
> > maimed overnight by wolves. The most common maiming would be that
> > the noses and lips of the elk were eaten off, leaving the elk alive.
> > The wolves would run them out into the deep snow and when the elk
> > were so exhausted they couldn't go further, the wolves would eat on
> > them without killing them.
> > 4. The Dunoir Valley, northwest of Dubois, Wyoming was the home of
> > over 100 moose for the past 60 years. Now there are almost no moose
> > in the Dunoir, the Washakie Pack of wolves having eliminated them.
> > One of the very last moose calves was killed in the Dunoir within 20
> > feet of the house of Budd Betts. It had been living right next to
> > the house trying to avoid the wolves.
> > 5. The Betts family dog was killed on their front lawn in broad
> > daylight by two wolves right in front of Budd and his wife and kids.
> > Budd and a hired hand ran the wolves off by shooting over their
> > heads. You are damned right we are scared of the wolves!!!!
> > 6. The Northern Yellowstone Elk Herd numbered over 19,000 when they
> > introduced the wolves. Now they number about 7,000.
> > The only thing
> > that has changed is wolves.
> > 7. The Final Rule For Introduction of the wolf promised that when
> > there were 100 wolves for 3 years, they would delist the wolf and
> > turn management over to the state. That threshold was met in 2002.
> > There are now over 1,700 wolves. The Environmental Impact Statement
> > examined the effect of 100 wolves on the Yellowstone ecosytem, and
> > 300 wolves in the tri-state areas of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.
> > The present number of wolves exceeds the study by more than 5 times.
> > 8. If you wonder what the wolf is doing to our huntable wildlife out
> > west just do the math. According the feds, each wolf is responsible
> > for killing 1.9 elk per month or the equivalent.
> > That is 20 elk per
> > year killed per wolf. We have, officially, 1,700 wolves. That is
> > 34,000 elk killed by wolves each year. It doesn't take much of a
> > mathematician to understand that there is a crash of epic
> > proportions happening.
> > I could go on and on about this. In conclusion, it is painfully
> > apparent that the wolf-introducers are not wanting to "balance"
> > nature, but are mainly interested in killing off the surplus game so
> > there will be nothing left for us to hunt. If you have too many deer
> > in your neighborhood, please come get some of our wolves. Then you
> > can watch as your game and your livestock is destroyed, and you will
> > have to drive your children to the bus stop and keep them in the car
> > until the bus comes, because the wolves are sitting there in the
> > snow watching them wait for the bus. That is happening.
> > Yes, we are mad as hell about you eastern ignoramuses cramming the
> > wolf down our throats and destroying our way of life. Please study
> > up on this issue before you defend the indefensible position of reintroduction of wolves.
 
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Great info Drake4 !!!!!!!!!

As i said earlier -the anti-hunters love that the wolves are killing so many game animals there are none left for the hunters to hunt/eat.

They would love to lobby the feds into making laws for harming/harrassing a wolf =life in prison.
I don't want to see wolves wiped off the face of the earth nor does any other hunter/outdoorsman -just keep them in check -and that -i'll do !!!!!
 
The reintroduction on the wolf in the United States is an outrage and we as sportsman deserve a better explanation than anyone at USFWS has given thus far.
This is pure special interest politics. While sportsmans dollars have been providing and protecting the great outdoors for generations, liberal animal rights advocates and environmentalists have been lining the pockets of crooks (politicians).
It's time we send them, the wolves and washington's finest, straight back to hell where they belong.
Heaven help the flea bitten beast that accidently steps in front of my bumper, I follow a strict "no swerve" policy when I drive.
 
Volumes can easily be written on the horrific kill sights of wolf murders that were just thrill killings and the animals left to rot. I visited a rancher out toward Cody last week who owns and leases thousands of acres that in the past was a wildlife paradise. His family has ranched that land since the turn of the century. Hunting was an important part of that family tradition up there. He was extremely grim about hunting's future in the area. He carried me up through the ranch that in the recent past before the wolves moved in wintered over a thousand elk, 300 bighorn sheep, 150 moose, along with numerous deer and antelope. Hunting access fees were an important part of the ranch income. This year there are less than a hundred elk, they have found only 11 bighorns remaining, The moose were eradicated by the wolves a couple of years ago, the deer and antelope are sparse instead of numerous. This is only in a few short years. That is an entire drainage that went from super hunting opportunities to zero in a short period. Numerous moose and sheep tags to zero. Elk, deer and antelope from over the counter tags to maybe 5-10% in the draws and then the hunting isn't worth driving up there. The rancher has lost that hunting herritage for future generations and the income that helped the ranch stay afloat.

This is just one ranch among hundreds experiencing the same thing since the relentless thrill killing mass murders of the wolves have been allowed to go unchecked. Billions of dollars and wise management through many generations provided hunting opportunities for us. Now in a few short years it has all been for nothing. Most top areas within 150+ miles of yellowstone are not worth going into any more. Now all those hunters are being dispersed into ever shrinking hunting areas where tags are being more limited every year. It gets very old every year wondering if you have enough points this year to draw a tag. Kids are just not going to be recruited very easily into hunting when they get a tag every five years. They grow up now in a fast paced world where things are happenning now and waiting to draw a tag for hunting just isn't going to get much attention. They will continue to find something else to do and a hunting herritage will be lost forever.

I tried my best to educate hunters about wolf introductions into Yellowstone and to stop it 12 years ago and I was dead on about where we would be right now. I am just as dead on about where it is now headed if we don't take drastic action now! And it may be to late already, but we have got to join together immediately and try to eradicate the problem. I you have a vacation to take this fall for hunting come up into this area and help us take care of the problem. I know if we get enough guys out there we can at least have a little impact. It is already to late for my generation. I know that I will never be able to hunt a moose or bighorn in Wyoming because of all the areas already wiped out by the wolves. To get those populations back to where we had them will take more than 50 years and that is only if we completely eradicate all the wolves today and immediately begin restocking efforts. Neither is going to happen so it is lost folks.

The newspapaers out here are full of attrocities just get on the internet and look for yourselves. Last weekend in the Billings newspaper a rancher watched their sheep herd get attacked by a lone wolf that thrill killed about a dozen sheep and then left. It was just a fun day in the park for the wolf enjoying all the fun we have provided for him. Five died right there and then after vet bills a few more died plus others are walking wounded. That is just one incident of hundreds and it was only one wolf. What if the pack had got into the poor ranchers herd. A U.S fish and wildlife manager spoke publicly that wolves were not a threat to bighorn sheep populations because wolves did not prey on sheep. Don't laugh, this is actually on a USFW website. This is the kind of nonsense every american and tourist to this area is being brainwashed with. I thought every kid by the age of three knew wolves liked sheep by watching that big shaggy cartoon dog sitting on that cliff protecting his flock of sheep from the dumb ole wolf. I guess they just figure that is just cartoons.
Please Help.
 
Wyomingshooter ,

I'm new to idaho -so i've met and talked to many people and they have all told me about how they were able to get an elk/deer every year at such and such place.Those days are over unfortunately ,it has gotten worse every year since the late 90's and some say they haven't even bothered buying a license.

I remember 7-8 years ago when a person would mention the "conspiracy theory" that wolves were a plan to help destroy hunting -many people would give it the -eye roll- -well it's happening !!!

There was a article in the newspaper here in boise reporting -that in years to come there could be houses in the valley where elk winter -and a comment on the huge decline of the numbers now wintering in the valley -but no mention of why the numbers have dropped off so sharply.

You are again right about the young folks and hunting .

I'm at the library using a computer 'broke mine' and there are about ten pictures colored/painted by children of wolves and hung up on display.Can you imagine the answers you's get if you asked those kids to tell you about wolves ? -and if you told them the real story their moms would blow a fuse.
The general public is truly brainwashed by the media -believing the wolf is a great creature to have around.

We need to have about 10,000 hunters show up w/ rifles in hand and and let anyone who's interested know we're here to get the wolf problem in check......
 
ol mike, funny you should say something about the "wolf conspiracy". I was just called a conspiracy theorist on the predator masters forum for telling them that the wolves were brought in as a back door route to close hunting. The guy that called me this is supposedly a hunter...how can people be so blind??

Now, heres for another "conspiracy theory"....in my opinion its a push towards stricter gun control, as most of the gun-control advocates cite hunting as the main purpose for owning a gun......so, no more hunting, no need for guns! Another reason the Heller vs. DC case is so important.


Hope I didn't frighten anyone with my whacko theory.:D
 
400 class, if you need some wolf help, let me know. My son and I would love to come your way and do some wolf demolition, and I know others that would come too. We'll get tags anyway, for elk hunting but after the season we could still help.

Let me know.
 
Timberbeast,
I sure have had a problem over on pm, it sure seems to be very pc in the last year or so. Since one of the moderators left and started his own list I don't go to pm much at all. Since my coyote hunting wasn't very good this year I haven't been on Finsandfur as much as usual.

Mike
 
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