Wolves

[ctwiggs1]

Guys,

I'm not nearly as well read on this as bearpaw or wolfbait, but I've been reading for awhile now and one thing I just don't understand yet is this: Why now?  Why is it that we now have wolves and we didn't before? 

Yes I understand the basics - we killed them all decades ago, blah blah blah.

But if the WDFW didn't actually re-introduce them (per WDFW website), then why is it that they are just NOW starting to come back into Washington?  Meaning why not in the 70s or  80s or 90s? 

Curtis

[bobcat]

There were wolves in the north cascades in the 80's, maybe earlier.

[idahohuntr]

The wolves showing up in washington now migrated from Idaho as their wolf population expanded.  Wolves were reintroduced into Idaho and YNP in the mid 90's.  It took a while for the populations in Idaho to expand, thus starting in the 2000's we start to see more and more wolves in Washington. 

[GrainfedMuley]

SSS

[boneaddict]

There have always been wolves here ctwiggs.   It used to be cool to see one, like seeing a wolverine or Marten even, but all of a sudden they seem to be instantly everywhere like locusts.   There are lots of theories from expansion to releasing.

The Lookout pack that they finally confirmed had been there for a long time in Libby Creek.  That was 88-89ish.  We were warned not to tell anyone about them when I worked for the USFS.  Had a meeting about it.   If you remember back they actually closed the deer season for three years in Alta, and also closed coyote season for a bit up there.   They finally disappeared and things returned to normal, then all of a sudden they "were back."  I wish I had kept better written records of such stuff.  I "fought" one sometime in that period on the face of Booth and Davie, which is now ground zero for that pack.  For some reason they settled and denned up in Alder Creek.  That's when Whites were having so much trouble.  The den was literally feet from their property line.   The next den I found was on top of the ridge in Booth.   

[boneaddict]

The first wolf I seen along with its den and pups was back about 83ish.   It was in the Sawtooth.  There was a male, female and at least one pup.   I jumped the male, thought it was a deer at first.  It ran over to where the female was sitting in front of a hole.  I sat and watched as a pup came out and played.  Both parents sat there watched myself and my mother cross the meadow. 

I would swear these wolves were different.  More red, leaner.   Will never forget that thing though when it ran across the meadow in front of me.    At that point in my life it was a true highlite.  Not so exciting anymore.

[Skyvalhunter]

Sure it was nice to see them on a rare instance when they didn't have such an effect on the game but the amusement has worn off. Too much future and current cosequences with the increase in population.

[boneaddict]

When you have 12 of them trailing you as their next meal perspectives change a bit as well.

[bhawley76]

I just wish I could get twelve of them to trail me. That would be a real Kodak moment.

[buckcanyonlodge]

" Wolves were reintroduced into Idaho and YNP in the mid 90's...."    If they were reintroduced into Idaho and Montana, why were they not reintroduced here in Wash.

[idahohuntr]

" Wolves were reintroduced into Idaho and YNP in the mid 90's...."    If they were reintroduced into Idaho and Montana, why were they not reintroduced here in Wash.

Many reasons. Idaho and Yellowstone offered far more habitat and a higher chance for successful recovery then probably anywhere in Washington or other parts of their range.  Releasing them in these large wilderness expanses minimizes human/livestock conflict as well.

[Alchase]

As others have said, they have been here the whole time. Through the 80-90s the lettered government entities were denying the existence of "establish" wolves.  They were on a blitz to discredit all wolf sightings as coyotes. Yet at the same time those flyers showing the differences between wolves and coyotes started to appear LOL.
Using the Lookout pack as an example, they blamed this pack for all the kills from Alta to Winthrop, some times on the same day!
That has got to be the biggest baddest most traveled pack of 6-8 wolves to ever exist. They denied the existence of a NW corner pack, yet pictures appeared of wolves the had been collared by a "Wolf Support group" years before their denials.

What has everyone going "Huh!"

Is the fact that they were here for decades, why the population "pack" explosion between 2008 (the first acknowledged pack) and now?

For decades, no measurable increase, in the six years they "admit" to wolf packs being in Washington, the acknowledged packs have grown to 14 Packs and over 60 animals.

Do the math:
1 pack, 6-8 animals in 2008
14 packs over 60 2014

That is over 1000% increase in six years!
This represents only the wolves they "admit" to being here.

Previous countless decades, with more game, more territory, no measurable gains.

[greenhead_killer]

I'm with some of you on this too. even just 3 years ago you might have heard of one being seen. Now it seems every year there are a handful of encounters and even more sightings. I get that there have been wolves in this state for a long time, I just don't get how the numbers have exploded all over so fast. And if they weren't transplanted/released in a few of these areas, why do I see so many federal vehicles where I have never seen one in over 15yrs time I. These places. Seems like an awful lot of resources being pissed away for the pleasure of a few...

[gr8whthunter]

" Wolves were reintroduced into Idaho and YNP in the mid 90's...."    If they were reintroduced into Idaho and Montana, why were they not reintroduced here in Wash.

because us here in washington would say its just a really big coyote... TAKE EM! 

i remember the first wolf i ever saw i was about 16 years old over in montana for my first montana hunt and it was black, about 6 feet long and i swear to it it was about 6 inchs off the ground to the top of its head, ok maybe a little taller, but that thing was haulin a$$ and it took down a doe easy, doe didnt even know what was goin on.

[jstokes12]

I met a guy today that lives in Nebraska and he told a story about a mountain lion he kept seeing in Nebraska, while deer hunting.  He kept telling the fish and game that there was a mountain lion in Nebraska when there hadn't been one for years.  They told him there are no mountain lions in Nebraska and you didn't see what you saw.  So he went out and shot it to prove his point.  Upon showing them the proof they fined him over $6,000 for shooting a mountain lion.  Interesting enough this lion happened to have a radio collar from the fish and game of Nebraska.     Now how to you think these wolves started showing up in greater numbers in the interior of the Cascades?  Hmmm?