Pro Wolf Hunters?

[Landowner]

Wolves suck. 

That's all. 

[idahohuntr]

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.

 

Sadly, you may be correct.  Certainly you would agree that poachers are scumbags who should be subject to prosecution though??  I really hope you don't condone poaching wildlife. 

[ICEMAN]

idaho, you know better.

Most hunters are convinced that non native wolves introduced and allowed to roam our wild areas benefit only the giddy joy that city loving metrovironmentalist experience wet dreams over; wolves howling in the distance, and hunters losing opportunity. The wolf is their tool. They don't hunt, they don't want you to hunt. Show me the average wolf enthusiast who kills their own meat. You are amazed that hunters would secretly cheer over a wolf shot down?

 wild·life
/ˈwīldˌlīf/  noun
1.wild animals collectively; the native fauna (and sometimes flora) of a region.

[bearpaw]

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.

I think WDFW created most of this problem. They rarely used any input from hunters/ranchers and forced a wolf plan on WA with 50% higher wolf numbers than other states and then told everyone in NE that we are stuck until there are wolves in the whole state, don't matter what the impact, they will have to study it before any action will be taken. Seems like they brought this attitude about themselves.

[wildweeds]

No what makes Alaska AWESOME is 10 wolves per day,with no flight restriction................

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.

[idahohuntr]

idaho, you know better.

Most hunters are convinced that non native wolves introduced and allowed to roam our wild areas benefit only the giddy joy that city loving metrovironmentalist experience wet dreams over; wolves howling in the distance, and hunters losing opportunity. The wolf is their tool. They don't hunt, they don't want you to hunt. Show me the average wolf enthusiast who kills their own meat. You are amazed that hunters would secretly cheer over a wolf shot down?

 wild·life
/ˈwīldˌlīf/  noun
1.wild animals collectively; the native fauna (and sometimes flora) of a region.

I don't care what people do secretly...but publicly, no hunter should condone any poaching.

I find this thread very interesting...folks really like to bash wdfw, wolves etc...but we had Bob Ferris, Executive Director of the environmental group leading the petition to effectively end lethal removal of wolves as a tool in cases of depredation (and you can darn well bet if they succeed in not allowing lethal take for depredation, there is 0 chance there will EVER be any hunting of wolves or lethal take if elk numbers decline because of wolves!) over on one of the hoof rot threads doing a little tap dance...and I was practically the only person really taking him to task over his absurd petition.      Those of you who think I am some pro-wolfer...why don't you go look at some of what I asked Mr. Ferris to respond to regarding his wolf petition.  http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,154835.125.html  better yet...maybe ask ol' Bob if he could explain under what circumstances we should expect his group to support lethal wolf removal in the future.

[bearpaw]

idaho, you know better.

Most hunters are convinced that non native wolves introduced and allowed to roam our wild areas benefit only the giddy joy that city loving metrovironmentalist experience wet dreams over; wolves howling in the distance, and hunters losing opportunity. The wolf is their tool. They don't hunt, they don't want you to hunt. Show me the average wolf enthusiast who kills their own meat. You are amazed that hunters would secretly cheer over a wolf shot down?

 wild·life
/ˈwīldˌlīf/  noun
1.wild animals collectively; the native fauna (and sometimes flora) of a region.

I don't care what people do secretly...but publicly, no hunter should condone any poaching.

I find this thread very interesting...folks really like to bash wdfw, wolves etc...but we had Bob Ferris, Executive Director of the environmental group leading the petition to effectively end lethal removal of wolves as a tool in cases of depredation (and you can darn well bet if they succeed in not allowing lethal take for depredation, there is 0 chance there will EVER be any hunting of wolves or lethal take if elk numbers decline because of wolves!) over on one of the hoof rot threads doing a little tap dance...and I was practically the only person really taking him to task over his absurd petition.      Those of you who think I am some pro-wolfer...why don't you go look at some of what I asked Mr. Ferris to respond to regarding his wolf petition.  http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,154835.125.html  better yet...maybe ask ol' Bob if he could explain under what circumstances we should expect his group to support lethal wolf removal in the future.

All I did was state the facts, please show how I was not factual, it was WDFW that forced the wolf plan through, every option they offered provided for 15 bp's.... FACT

[bearpaw]

I get accused of being anti-wolf and kill them all. Nothing could be further from the truth. I advocated for 8 BP's, 2 BP's in each of the 3 wolf regions and 2 additional anywhere in the state. Washington is roughly half the size of Montana with probably 7 times the human population. Given that the MT/ID/WY plans called for 10 BP's, it seems only reasonable that WA should manage for 6 to 8 BP's.

WDFW stood in front of the people of Stevens County and told us that even if herds declined it would take several years to study the problem, management would not happen right away. That is my biggest problem with WDFW in a nutshell. They really don't care what happens to the herds, especially in NE WA. One way or another they are going to get their 15 BP's, no matter at what expense.

[grundy53]

I'm not necessarily against wolves. But I know how our game department loves predators. They actively try to save cougars and their management of bears is a joke. I don't foresee any actual management of wolves ever happening in this state. Therefore I despise wolves in this state.

sent from my typewriter

[grundy53]

idaho, you know better.

Most hunters are convinced that non native wolves introduced and allowed to roam our wild areas benefit only the giddy joy that city loving metrovironmentalist experience wet dreams over; wolves howling in the distance, and hunters losing opportunity. The wolf is their tool. They don't hunt, they don't want you to hunt. Show me the average wolf enthusiast who kills their own meat. You are amazed that hunters would secretly cheer over a wolf shot down?

 wild·life
/ˈwīldˌlīf/  noun
1.wild animals collectively; the native fauna (and sometimes flora) of a region.

I don't care what people do secretly...but publicly, no hunter should condone any poaching.

I find this thread very interesting...folks really like to bash wdfw, wolves etc...but we had Bob Ferris, Executive Director of the environmental group leading the petition to effectively end lethal removal of wolves as a tool in cases of depredation (and you can darn well bet if they succeed in not allowing lethal take for depredation, there is 0 chance there will EVER be any hunting of wolves or lethal take if elk numbers decline because of wolves!) over on one of the hoof rot threads doing a little tap dance...and I was practically the only person really taking him to task over his absurd petition.      Those of you who think I am some pro-wolfer...why don't you go look at some of what I asked Mr. Ferris to respond to regarding his wolf petition.  http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,154835.125.html  better yet...maybe ask ol' Bob if he could explain under what circumstances we should expect his group to support lethal wolf removal in the future.

I definitely don't trust Bob Ferris and have called him out on that thread. I also said I was against working with his group.

sent from my typewriter

[Special T]

Politics makes for some strange bed fellows for sure

“the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Sun Tsu

[AspenBud]

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.

If I'm out grouse hunting and my bird dog gets run down and killed by one or more wolves how welcome do you think I'll see them? I don't even legally have the option to defend my dog without a lot of hassle.

Bearpaw is right, a lot of the resentment has been brought on by Federal and WDFW rules that leave people helpless to do anything when a bad situation arises. The lake states have griped about that for a lot longer than Washington and it's one reason they opened seasons on them. All of the restrictions were actually hurting wolves.

[KFhunter]

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.

 

Sadly, you may be correct.  Certainly you would agree that poachers are scumbags who should be subject to prosecution though??  I really hope you don't condone poaching wildlife.

Poachers are scumbags unless they're poaching wolves, then they're DIY wildlife managers. 

I've come to the conclusion that WA is a wolf sanctuary state and legal means of management will be .nil
 
DIY wildlife management is the only option left on the table.  This is what angers me; that otherwise law abiding hunters will be reduced to poaching, folks who'd never dream of taking any other animal out of season, folks who stop fishing when they reach their limit, folks who make sure to use a single barbless hook in a selective gear rules area,  folks who have six copies of the fish and game regulations scattered through their house and hunting rigs, folks who wouldn't even shoot a grouse from the highway....I know plenty of folks like that, but if they see a wolf they're going to take a shot at it, if they see one on the highway they're going to swerve to hit it, not miss it.

[AspenBud]

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.

 

Sadly, you may be correct.  Certainly you would agree that poachers are scumbags who should be subject to prosecution though??  I really hope you don't condone poaching wildlife.

Poachers are scumbags unless they're poaching wolves, then they're DIY wildlife managers.

I've come to the conclusion that WA is a wolf sanctuary state and legal means of management will be .nil
 
DIY wildlife management is the only option left on the table.  This is what angers me; that otherwise law abiding hunters will be reduced to poaching, folks who'd never dream of taking any other animal out of season, folks who stop fishing when they reach their limit, folks who make sure to use a single barbless hook in a selective gear rules area,  folks who have six copies of the fish and game regulations scattered through their house and hunting rigs, folks who wouldn't even shoot a grouse from the highway....I know plenty of folks like that, but if they see a wolf they're going to take a shot at it, if they see one on the highway they're going to swerve to hit it, not miss it.

I don't think it's unfair to say that a lot of those people were planning on doing that from day one, management or not. I know more than a couple of guys here west of the mountains who have said if they ever see a wolf it's dying and the body will take a trip down the river. A lot of it is driven by fear and essentially they just don't want the dogs here, period. It's why I don't really buy into the "you're forcing us to poach" argument. People were going to poach them no matter, the lack of management is just often used as a red herring to justify it. The state's management policies, or lack of it, just magnified that inevitable fact as it built more resentment to their presence than was already there.

[jasnt]

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.

I think WDFW created most of this problem. They rarely used any input from hunters/ranchers and forced a wolf plan on WA with 50% higher wolf numbers than other states and then told everyone in NE that we are stuck until there are wolves in the whole state, don't matter what the impact, they will have to study it before any action will be taken. Seems like they brought this attitude about themselves.

This is exactly how I feel