MT Wolves

rnream

rnream

New member
Just got back from an elk hunt around Lima, MT and boy there were tons of wolves in the area. Everywhere we went we saw more wolf tracks than anything else. The wolves are really killing our elk. In 4-5 different areas we must have seen more than 100 different tracks following elk. Sad. Cannot wait till our wildlife management guys get into the courts and trying cases, makes about as much sense as a dumb a__ judge managing our wildlife.
 
This has been a surprising hunting season. I have my favorite spots and always see lots of deer (Whitetails) and elk......until this year. Nothing, zip, nada. Lots of wolf sign and NO game. No tracks, no scrapes, nothing. The game check station reported at least a 25% decline from last year. The thing that is interesting is that those I know who are very good hunters saw very few does. Just bucks and not many of them. When you do see a herd of elk, there is very few or no calves. The Feds say there are around 400 wolves in this region. That is nuts. The wolves are everywhere. I'll bet more like a couple thousand. Here are pictures taken Dec 1st off of a friends trail cam. Check them out.

http://www.chasingame.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=11587

Scroll down and read "oneguys" comments. Very interesting stuff.
 
Only thing I can tell you is it will get worse before it gets better. Everyone should have seen the mess ocmming back when the program was first introduced. The states have no control which should be a major violation of our political system. The Feds have no real idea what they are doing. Originally the plan was a few hundred now they have no real end in sight. Most of the western states have bent over backwards to teh feds and they are still getting it in teh end. The one state that really fought for what they wanted has been singled out as a cause of the issue. It is simply a mess. In the process I ahve been quoted on teh issue a few different times regarding hte WY management plan. My state has no plan as to what to do when the wolves get here. Basically put there is almost no movmement anywhere on the issue at all. So my vote and my dollars will have to try and get some movement. As such I let me RMEF membershiup expire, and My MDF member expire this year and have sent my extra money to teh SFW in Wyoming. The only group that has taken a strong line against the wolves and the issues at hand. The RMEF and MDF are too politically correrct to say kill the wolves. They always try and present both sides. etc. The same is true of drilling and devleopemnt in my state. Unfortunately I am considering sending money to "environmental" organizations because they are the only ones really against the devleopment. Again the other groups are to PC and do not have the guts to stand up and say enough is enough.

Again I am not saying all wolves have to die, but maybe we should have paid a little more attention to those who cried wolf a long time ago. Those who were saying our herds will be gone. Hunting opprotunity will dcreased if not lost. etc. Same thing happened here in CO when I was in High School. They banned trapping, then spring bear, then baiting, now looking at Pdogs, etc. When will the crap end and science with common sense be allowed?
 
Don't blame the wolves - they do what they do. Wolves were placed (replaced might be a better word) here in the Rocky Mtn West strictly as a tool for the Fed's to control people. The wolf population is WAAAAY over the set population limits decided on years ago.

Before a wolf season will be open anywhere out here, it first would have to run a gaunlet of activist judges and 16-20 enviro whack groups lawsuits. It may be years (if ever) that wolves will be controlled to be in balance with the rest of the ecosystem
 
Quote:


Before a wolf season will be open anywhere out here, it first would have to run a gaunlet of activist judges and 16-20 enviro whack groups lawsuits. It may be years (if ever) that wolves will be controlled to be in balance with the rest of the ecosystem



Maybe not. Check the link to the Drafted Bill for the Montana legislature. It was crafted by Gary Marbut of the Montana Shooting Sports Association. I will help sponsor this bill.

http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2009/lchtml/LC0792.htm
 
wolves are a great thing to have ....in moderation.

its too bad what you guys are going through. A lot of people still see the wolf as an threatened species. Sadly I bet nothing will done before the game #'s are at an all time low. Then they will cut down on hunting tags then MAYBE debate whether they should do anything about the wolves.
 
Quote:
wolves are a great thing to have ....in moderation.

its too bad what you guys are going through. A lot of people still see the wolf as an threatened species. Sadly I bet nothing will done before the game #'s are at an all time low. Then they will cut down on hunting tags then MAYBE debate whether they should do anything about the wolves.



I must disagree with your statement. Thye might be ok in your neck of the woods due to the large tracks of open land etc. In the states they simply do too much damage and should have never been brought back. Take Colorado for example. The winter range of elk and deer are getting developed all over. If not for fancy big homes then for oil and gas. The animals become too concentrated and very succeptible to predation. At one point in time it probably would have been ok, but now the winter ranges are getting so concentrated in much of the state the wolves would enjoy a literal shootign fish in a barrel. Other western states are getting the same way. Look at hte area around Jackson hole, White Fish Mt, etc. Devleopment is putting enough strain on teh animals with out introducing a predator the size and skills level of hte wolve.

Greg,

Your ppost is exactly what I was thinking. There has to be a major violation of state rights in this process. Forget all teh numbers etc. The orignal plan was the wildlife belonged to the people even further back it bloonged to the people of the state. As such it should be our decision to allow or not allow wolves to populate our area. Like the post mentioned, they are not a public commodity, nor is there interstate trading etc. Hopefully this will fly. I am sure that if MT, WY and ID all came to gether with te same claim it would have some power.

Good luck.
 
The wolf is a big problem in N.Wisconsin,Michigan.Minnesota and probably into Canada.I know that they are also a problem in Idaho,I was out there this past fall and saw alot of the wolf sign.Our guide told us that the elk have literally shut down bugling cause the wolves hear and come for dinner.I guess Idaho had a season on the books but was blocked,to bad.If it aint broke don't fix it.The opinion is not good about the wolf either here or there.....
 
I skipped my U.P. of MI hunt this year & went to IL of all places. I just read where some game officials took out 27 wolves in MT/WY? in the recent past. A wolf is good at being a wolf. I think with the way the courts are going(no state control) more guys will just say 'the heck with it, I'll do what gramps would of done'.
 
the wolf situation IS my pet peeve.
the biggest fights i have ever been in have been over the friggin feds and this issue.
now i just bite my tounge and say "i told you so"
this experiment needs to be terminated.
 
Quote:
developers and subdivisions are probably a bigger threat then wolves, at least in some areas...just a thought



Yes, but the wolves add to the problem greatly. The wolves need to go, Atleast with developing we have a say in what gets built where especially on public lands.
 
Went out cat hunting saw 6 wolves that were in the open guessing more in the trees and tracks everywhere the next day in another area.
 
I've hunted in Idaho since I was 13 years old. What I have noticed over the past severl years hunting is downright shameful.
First off, it's taken biologists far to long to admit that the wolves are causing greater depredation to big game then they originally planned. Secondly, the States rights have gone out the window because of the Fed. Government. Thirdly, there are far too many animal rights, save the whole world groups that will put a damper on hunting them anytime soon. With all of those cards stacked against us...their populations for the most part continue to grow unchecked. Taking out a troublesome pack here and there don't even come close to the amount of new pups that survive each year.

In northern Idaho, fish and game finally stated that the cow/calf population is below 70% (lowest all time) and in order to maintain a healthy population that number has to be a minimum of 76%. Well your not gonna get a 6% increase in a few years, it's going to take twice as long to rebuild whats already lost.

In my travels hunting, I've seen fewer elk together meaning smaller groups of elk all spread out. Sometimes I've seen none at all in places that used to be covered. What I do see, which I found odd, a higher number of smaller bucks and lots of does, but fewer elk. I've seen a lot of elk hang out around or on ranches..I guess they have figured it's safer down there than up there. North of Stanley, ID this year a friend of mine hunted for 8 days, saw 16 wolves and not one elk. This year north of Challis, I saw 0 elk, minimal sign in 7 days of hunting and tons of wolf sign, heard them, however I didn't see them.

All the states that are currently in this battle need to come together with the same plan. Fish and game has to grow some balls and do what they know is right..however even that is going to be hard for them to do. I believe that without a checks and balances system in place...were doomed. Our States have enough land to maintain a small population of wolves..but just like any other big game species they have to be given equal opportunity to be hunted.
 
I pretty much agree with all that has been said. SureShot 77 summed up all that I hear in our neck of the woods. Most elk hunters that I've talked withhave noticed a marked change in their behavior and numbers. Deer seem to be changing too.

The part that gets me is that the Idaho F&G doesn't have the kahoonies or morals to handle this right. They won't stand up to the Feds and they bend their morals by down playing and/or misgathering/reporting the numbers.

One other bur under the saddle. I don't like it when we use the phrase "bring them back" when talking about the plan. The wolf brought back is from Canada, and a larger, more powerful one than the one that disappeared decades ago. They figured it was similar enough, but I don't think they really had any idea what they were doing then, and I STILL don't think they have a clue. I do know a lot of Idahoans have had enough, and basically lost all respect with the IF&G.

My opinion and two bits...if they're worth even that.
 
Back
Top