Lawsuit: Timber sale threatens den where Oregon's wandering wolf has settled to

[Curly]

So the 30 bp's the wolf huggers wanted would be 60 pair?   

Aren't you glad the WDFW didn't listen to them?

Without management it'll be 100+

Maybe so, but would a change in the wolf plan make any difference?   

Probably not much difference in the amount of wolves around.  But I think it would help hunters feel better if the wolves were delisted and we could shoot them without getting arrested.  It would be good PR for wdfw with hunters, but bad PR for wdfw with the wolf huggers.  Seems like they'd rather piss off hunters than the wolf lover crowd.  They are scared of HSUS, PETA, and the like..........but not worried about hunters. 

[AspenBud]

So the 30 bp's the wolf huggers wanted would be 60 pair?   

Aren't you glad the WDFW didn't listen to them?

Without management it'll be 100+

Maybe so, but would a change in the wolf plan make any difference?   

Probably not much difference in the amount of wolves around.  But I think it would help hunters feel better if the wolves were delisted and we could shoot them without getting arrested.  It would be good PR for wdfw with hunters, but bad PR for wdfw with the wolf huggers.  Seems like they'd rather piss off hunters than the wolf lover crowd.  They are scared of HSUS, PETA, and the like..........but not worried about hunters. 

I think it's something much simpler than that. I think the aim is to have wolves state wide so they'll do it through numbers instead of physically distributing them in various areas.

The whole problem could be "resolved" quickly if the state would relocate some wolves to every corner of the state. But no doubt there is some legal restriction for all I know that prevents that.

[rim_runner]

They are scared of HSUS, PETA, and the like...

  These groups have a lot of money behind them and are very adept at PR work. They were able to overwhelm the trappers and hound hunters. We all need to take these groups seriously no matter how misguided they are. What is in our favor is the fact even though they get money and support from all over the country they still have to make their case to the Washington state voters.

[bearpaw]

Had WDFW put out a reasonable wolf plan for WA it would still be that way, 

I’ve never seen a plan, especially a government plan, that couldn’t use some improvement. Sometimes that kind of plan needs lots of improvement. So what can be done? Can the plan be revised or changed?

Yes the wolf plan could be changed if you had a commission with the desire and fortitude to change it.

But the bottom line, I think only public pressure and the legislature will change anything and it's going to take wolf problems in western WA before there's enough public pressure. Eventually wolves will multiply in western Washington and start eating pets, livestock, and invading neighborhoods. When western Washington residents get fed up with wolves like we have in E WA, then we may see meaningful state management. In the meantime I think KFhunter is correct, it really doesn't matter what the left side of Washington does, many eastern Washington residents are going to take care of things quietly when problems occur. This isn't the way I like to see things occur, I would rather see legal management, but this is how it is being forced to happen, just as I have predicted all along as a result of the flawed wolf plan.

Eastern WA isn't Idaho or Montana, that was a correct statement. There are so many people living through the countryside that these wolves are being seen all the time, as more wolves cause more problems more people are getting fed up and taking action. One wolf even had to be spayed that bred with a local dog. In addition three (3) of the collared wolves were killed and eaten by our over-populated cougars since last year. It appears E Washington may be at the point of predator oversaturation. Add to that the fact that many wolves are leaving E WA and going back to Canada, Idaho, or toward W WA and it's becoming evident that E WA just may not be the best home for wolves. I now have less concern about a wolf overpopulation because it's beginning to seem that wolves don't fit in that well, there are too many people, pets, livestock, and cougars. We saw 7 cougars while turkey hunting this spring, two called in, one random sighting, and a female with 3 nearly adult kittens walked past one of our hunting blinds.

GO COUGS 

Another Wolf Prediction
Much the same thing will happen in W WA. The masses of wolf lovers living in urban Seattle/Tacoma/Everett/Bellingham are going to try and prevent reasonable wolf management. Even if they raise penalties and offer huge rewards, I predict that W WA will end up just like E WA, which followed the footsteps of Idaho. As wolves multiply the rural residents in W WA will end up quietly taking care of wolf management. Some wolves will leave and others will be eaten by cougars, but the fact is, unmanaged numbers of wolves simply cannot fit in WA.