Pro Wolf Hunters?

[clockwork]

I'll probably get bum rushed here but are there any hunters out there that welcome the recovery of Washington wolves?

Gonna be rough while a balance is achieved and I'm no biologist but I like my wilderness as wild as possible. Isn't that what makes alaska awesome?

It's the wilderness, not a game farm, anyone else have this perspective?
With all this talk about gut shooting every wolf you see it seems strange coming from a group that shares the same background as me.

[Houndhunter]

Troll

[JJB11B]

Ill go get the popcorn

[singleshot12]

Gonna be rough while a balance is achieved and I'm no biologist but I like my wilderness as wild as possible. Isn't that what makes alaska awesome?

I think I see your point,but having a balance with wolves here in the western states is really not going to happen with so much livestock and people.
Alaska is more wild and can handle a balance of wolves.

[idahohuntr]

I'll probably get bum rushed here but are there any hunters out there that welcome the recovery of Washington wolves?

Gonna be rough while a balance is achieved and I'm no biologist but I like my wilderness as wild as possible. Isn't that what makes alaska awesome?

It's the wilderness, not a game farm, anyone else have this perspective?
With all this talk about gut shooting every wolf you see it seems strange coming from a group that shares the same background as me.

I find it best to focus on current and future management...not so much on "should they be here", or "isn't it neat they are here" etc.

I accept that wolves have returned, they need managed, and like all other wildlife (including predators) hunters need to demonstrate that we can play an important role in conserving/managing them.  Any hunter who speaks publicly of SSS, gut shooting, or poaching wolves is being counterproductive to their de-listing and proper management in the future...whether hunters "welcome" recovery or loathe the idea that wolves are in Washington we should be able to agree on those facts. 

[mazama]

If you think its a game farm post up all the pictures of your group and all the animals they have gotten,if there were a lot of animals they wouldnt have cut season from 3 weeks to 1 week for deer.

[snowpack]

Man, I thought this was going to be about questions for professional wolf hunters and I might get to pick up some tips. 

[hogsniper]

Pro Wolf?? I wouldn't say that I am pro wolf but I am fine with them being here but they need to be managed like any other predator.  I feel for some of the cattle ranchers in my area as they have taken some considerable losses but that is for another thread.  In my opinion cougars are far more destructive than wolves right now on our game herds. 

And just because someone has cool pictures or none at all doesn't give them a relevant opinion!

[clockwork]

I'll probably get bum rushed here but are there any hunters out there that welcome the recovery of Washington wolves?

Gonna be rough while a balance is achieved and I'm no biologist but I like my wilderness as wild as possible. Isn't that what makes alaska awesome?

It's the wilderness, not a game farm, anyone else have this perspective?
With all this talk about gut shooting every wolf you see it seems strange coming from a group that shares the same background as me.

I find it best to focus on current and future management...not so much on "should they be here", or "isn't it neat they are here" etc.

I accept that wolves have returned, they need managed, and like all other wildlife (including predators) hunters need to demonstrate that we can play an important role in conserving/managing them.  Any hunter who speaks publicly of SSS, gut shooting, or poaching wolves is being counterproductive to their de-listing and proper management in the future...whether hunters "welcome" recovery or loathe the idea that wolves are in Washington we should be able to agree on those facts. 

Agreed. I think a lot of the apparent blind hate for wolves just motivates the anti hunters that much more. We need to show constructive criticism and solutions rather than the "gut shoot em all" rhetoric. Might work out for us better.

[KFhunter]

I'll probably get bum rushed here but are there any hunters out there that welcome the recovery of Washington wolves?

Gonna be rough while a balance is achieved and I'm no biologist but I like my wilderness as wild as possible. Isn't that what makes alaska awesome?

It's the wilderness, not a game farm, anyone else have this perspective?
With all this talk about gut shooting every wolf you see it seems strange coming from a group that shares the same background as me.

I find it best to focus on current and future management...not so much on "should they be here", or "isn't it neat they are here" etc.

I accept that wolves have returned, they need managed, and like all other wildlife (including predators) hunters need to demonstrate that we can play an important role in conserving/managing them.  Any hunter who speaks publicly of SSS, gut shooting, or poaching wolves is being counterproductive to their de-listing and proper management in the future...whether hunters "welcome" recovery or loathe the idea that wolves are in Washington we should be able to agree on those facts. 

Agreed. I think a lot of the apparent blind hate for wolves just motivates the anti hunters that much more. We need to show constructive criticism and solutions rather than the "gut shoot em all" rhetoric. Might work out for us better.

While you're all talking about it an SSS'r is managing a wolf.

So continue to talk about it until you're blue and in the end the SSS'r will be the only one in the woods actually doing something about it.

 

[ICEMAN]

    I think a lot of the apparent blind hate for wolves just motivates the anti hunters that much more. We need to show constructive criticism and solutions rather than the "gut shoot em all" rhetoric. Might work out for us better.

Let me get this straight.

You feel that anti hunters are motivated by the hate that hunters may have for wolves. 

You feel that we will win over the anti hunters by showing constructive criticism and "solutions".

What are you smoking? If you were a hunter, you would probably know by now that "anti hunters" are just that....anti hunters. They could care less what we think, it is what we do that bothers them.

Will they hate us less if we adopt their mindset? Yes. Yes they would like us more if we stopped killing all their forest friends and eating them.

Are you a hunter? Have you shared your thoughts on this topic before?

[pd]

What Iceman said, plus:

1. I have no problems with wolves.  Get rid of the invasive species that the government imported from BC.  Would you be happy if they brought African lions here?

2. I have no problem with wolves.  Introduce them into your metropolitan suburbs, and see how it works for you.  Cattle ranches in Okanogan need to be treated the same as soccer fields in Kirkland.

[Special T]

Wolves HAVE BEEN HERE for a LONG time... just not as many of them from N canada...

WDFW COULD have handled this differently and taken a lot of the aggression out of hunters but botched that up badly.  This state loves ALL predators wolves are just the ones that get hunters fire up.

We could be hunting more cougars and bears but we dont for some damn reason.

WDFW is not run by sportsmen. Its run by people who play defense against Bunny huggers and wacko enviros. Sportmen are just starting to get thier crap together and getting organized to set the department straight.

[idahohuntr]

I'll probably get bum rushed here but are there any hunters out there that welcome the recovery of Washington wolves?

Gonna be rough while a balance is achieved and I'm no biologist but I like my wilderness as wild as possible. Isn't that what makes alaska awesome?

It's the wilderness, not a game farm, anyone else have this perspective?
With all this talk about gut shooting every wolf you see it seems strange coming from a group that shares the same background as me.

I find it best to focus on current and future management...not so much on "should they be here", or "isn't it neat they are here" etc.

I accept that wolves have returned, they need managed, and like all other wildlife (including predators) hunters need to demonstrate that we can play an important role in conserving/managing them.  Any hunter who speaks publicly of SSS, gut shooting, or poaching wolves is being counterproductive to their de-listing and proper management in the future...whether hunters "welcome" recovery or loathe the idea that wolves are in Washington we should be able to agree on those facts. 

Agreed. I think a lot of the apparent blind hate for wolves just motivates the anti hunters that much more. We need to show constructive criticism and solutions rather than the "gut shoot em all" rhetoric. Might work out for us better.

While it can motivate the base of anti-hunters to raise money, push for legislative change and push voter initiatives like the hound and bait bans, the real damage is when it pushes away non-hunting voters, which is something we can't afford to lose in Washington.  Hunters have a remarkable history of wildlife conservation and we can sell the very compelling reasons we hunt to non-hunters and gain their acceptance...but nobody should accept poaching, gut shooting, torturing, or vilifying wildlife...even wolves.

You are also very correct that we need to be more constructive and lose the poaching/gut shooting attitude.  Its illegal and unethical and while it might make for entertaining campfire talk it has no place in the public forum.  Sadly, many who participate in the wolf threads are playing checkers while the anti's are playing chess. 

If you keep up your rationale, level-headed thought process regarding the best path for wolf management in Washington you can expect to be constantly attacked and accused of all kinds of things...if you are a hunter you should establish yourself as such quickly...or you will be labeled an imposter and likely banned. 

[GameHunter1959]

This outta be good...

The mods are watching...