WDFW hiding Wolf Killed Livestock from the Public

[wolfbait]

An e-mail I received this morning:

Larry Richter at the Golden Doe had a calf killed a month ago by wolves, WDFW investigated, then refuse to go public as a confirmed livestock kill by wolves, but they are going to pay for the calf.
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WDFW do quite well at hiding the impact of their wolves, how long before hunters realize the game herds are in a predator pit?

[turkeyfeather]

Of course they are. But Iam sure it's not cause it was a wolf kill. They are just doing it to help the guy out. 

[wolfbait]

Are The Northern Rockies In A Predator Pit?
http://mtnchronicle.blogspot.com/2013/02/are-northern-rockies-in-predator-pit.html

[Boss .300 winmag]

I have read this artical before, just makes you want to puke.  The decades long conservation of big game aimals has been sold down the road by tree hugging fools in the USFWS with the taxes we paid to get them back from over hunting that occured during the settler times. 

[WAcoyotehunter]

Do a request for official information and get back to us... I doubt they're hiding it, if it happened.

[bearpaw]

There was a calf killed over here in the wedge a week or so ago, it was confirmed, it was reported on the radio but I've seen nothing else about it. It appears to me that the WDFW is keeping these kills as quiet as they can.

[bearpaw]

Are The Northern Rockies In A Predator Pit?
http://mtnchronicle.blogspot.com/2013/02/are-northern-rockies-in-predator-pit.html

good story, here's just the first few paragraphs...


Just what is a "Predator Pit"?

            Wolf researchers have come to use the term when referring to an area where predators have pulled prey populations down so low that recovery of those populations is impossible, unless there is a drastic reduction in the number of predators. The situation results from how predators affect prey numbers in two different ways. One is the manner in which predators, especially wolves, kill far more adult prey animals than needed to survive, commonly referred to as "surplus killing". The second is the destruction of the prey age class, due to the loss of newborn young of the year.

            The loss of that recruitment can be either due to outright killing of fawns and calves in the spring (with excessive surplus killing), or due to the stress predators (especially wolves) place on pregnant females in winter, causing them to abort their fetuses. In the classic predator pit situation, a rising number of predators results in a constant decline in prey numbers, with the average age of surviving prey animals becoming older and older with each passing year - to the point that reproductive growth becomes impossible and the prey base begins to die off from old age.

            This accurately describes the situation in much of the Northern Rocky Mountains of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming today.

            Through the 1970s and 1980s, populations of elk, moose and other big game had recovered well from the record lows of the early 1900s, and by the mid 1990s many areas of the Northern Rockies boasted record wildlife populations. And through all of that recovery from the market hunting era of the late 1800s, there were still viable populations of mountain lions, black bear, and in some areas even a few grizzlies. The only missing predator was the wolf. America's sportsmen had poured billions of dollars into modern conservation projects, many of which took decades to accomplish, and they had been rewarded with an abundance of game. So much so, that during the 1980s and 1990s many joked that "The Good Ol' Days Are Now!".

            Now, they know there was more to that feeling than anyone at that time could have realized.

[stocmamu]

WDFW in their latest weekly wildlife report did report a predation in the Wedge area.

http://www.wdfw.wa.gov/about/wildlife_weekly/2013/wildlife_weekly_2013jul22.pdf

[bobcat]

Why is it necessary for the WDFW to make a public announcement every time a wolf kills a domestic animal? I don't get it. Do we really need to hear these things in the news every day? It's going to happen. Everyone knows it. It sucks, yes. But I just feel there must be better things to complain about.   

[Houndhunter]

Why is it necessary for the WDFW to make a public announcement every time a wolf kills a domestic animal? I don't get it. Do we really need to hear these things in the news every day? It's going to happen. Everyone knows it. It sucks, yes. But I just feel there must be better things to complain about.   

How else is the public supposed to see the effects of wolves? Yes we, hunters, know its going to happen but most people have no idea. A little concrete information can go a long ways for managing wolves, or we can just sweep it under the carpet so no one knows..........

[bobcat]

That's fine, and I agree. However I don't feel it's the WDFW's responsibility to make sure every instance is published in the newspapers. It's just not their job.

That's all I'm trying to say. It gets old seeing the WDFW getting blamed for every little thing. They didn't put the wolves here. You want to blame someone? Blame the federal government.

[ribka]

That's fine, and I agree. However I don't feel it's the WDFW's responsibility to make sure every instance is published in the newspapers. It's just not their job.

That's all I'm trying to say. It gets old seeing the WDFW getting blamed for every little thing. They didn't put the wolves here. You want to blame someone? Blame the federal government.

as a tax payer I would like to know how my hard earned money is spent. In this case the state uses my money and your money to monitor wolves, pay ranchers for losses, pay salaries of WDFW to respond to wolf kills etc etc. money well spent as a sportsman to know how much damage Canadian wolves are causing and where they are killing animals.  I grouse hunt that area with my dog and would like to know wolves' Active areas and if I should bring buck shot to shoot aggressive big coyotes if they try and kill my dog.

[bobcat]

Ribka, so call and ask for that information. I'm sure they're not "hiding" it as wolfbait says. He's just upset every time this happens and it doesn't end up on the front page of every newspaper in the state.

[JLS]

That's fine, and I agree. However I don't feel it's the WDFW's responsibility to make sure every instance is published in the newspapers. It's just not their job.

That's all I'm trying to say. It gets old seeing the WDFW getting blamed for every little thing. They didn't put the wolves here. You want to blame someone? Blame the federal government.

as a tax payer I would like to know how my hard earned money is spent. In this case the state uses my money and your money to monitor wolves, pay ranchers for losses, pay salaries of WDFW to respond to wolf kills etc etc. money well spent as a sportsman to know how much damage Canadian wolves are causing and where they are killing animals.  I grouse hunt that area with my dog and would like to know wolves' Active areas and if I should bring buck shot to shoot aggressive big coyotes if they try and kill my dog.

File a Public Disclosure Request and you can get all of the information you want.  Except maybe the mileage for the UPS truck.

[ribka]

last time I filed a FOIA request it took over a year to receive info.  this was after multiple requests .

About 30 per cent was blacked out. so much for open Govt and transparency

A monthly update is nice to have from WDFW. If I bird hunt with dogs or had small children and went hiking or camping in active wolf areas would be nice to know.

For years WDFW denied there were wolves up in the Blewit Pass area while my neighbor would horseback ride and see them every time she rode up there and would report to WDFW.

 Would be nice to be able to trust at least some of the info coming  from WDFW in regards to wolves. So far they have proven to have an unreliable track record when it comes to their information. Some might even label them as outright liars.

That's fine, and I agree. However I don't feel it's the WDFW's responsibility to make sure every instance is published in the newspapers. It's just not their job.

That's all I'm trying to say. It gets old seeing the WDFW getting blamed for every little thing. They didn't put the wolves here. You want to blame someone? Blame the federal government.

as a tax payer I would like to know how my hard earned money is spent. In this case the state uses my money and your money to monitor wolves, pay ranchers for losses, pay salaries of WDFW to respond to wolf kills etc etc. money well spent as a sportsman to know how much damage Canadian wolves are causing and where they are killing animals.  I grouse hunt that area with my dog and would like to know wolves' Active areas and if I should bring buck shot to shoot aggressive big coyotes if they try and kill my dog.

File a Public Disclosure Request and you can get all of the information you want.  Except maybe the mileage for the UPS truck.