Predators, another point of view

[Sitka_Blacktail]

While I don't necessarily agree with all this writer's claims, he makes some good points and leaves out a few.

http://newwest.net/topic/article/why_state_fish_and_game_agencies_cant_manage_predators/C564/L564/

[CementFinisher]

  Keep buying into the cool aid

[JimmyHoffa]

 
About 6 million two legged predators in this state.  If ungulates are really so detrimental to the ecosystem, then take a few more restrictions off the two leggers.  Humans are by far the most efficient and accurate of all choices of predators in nature.
Just some wild dreamed bios wanting 'their theory' to push them to the top in either an office or academia.

[jasnt]

About 6 million two legged predators in this state.  If ungulates are really so detrimental to the ecosystem, then take a few more restrictions off the two leggers.  Humans are by far the most efficient and accurate of all choices of predators in nature.
Just some wild dreamed bios wanting 'their theory' to push them to the top in either an office or academia.

Keep buying into the cool aid

   

[mfswallace]

 "I find little good scientific support for any predator management."   

[idahohuntr]

Wildlife is a public resource managed in the interest and desires of the public.  No state manages any native species for extinction or extermination anymore.  If they want to set low population objectives for lions, wolves, and bears...not sure what the problem is.  And to be fair, we do the same with deer and elk in some ag areas...they are not really tolerated due to crop damage and so the state manages accordingly.

[Bob33]

"And because of the single-minded bias of state wildlife agencies for maintaining large numbers of huntable species, they fail to even ask whether predation might have a positive influence on ecosystem sustainability."

The author must not visit Hunt WA.

[Humptulips]

In spite of what the author George Weurther says he is an anti-hunter. It is pretty clear if you have read much of his tripe.

[wolfbait]

Informing the ‘misinformed’ about wolves

http://www.heraldandnews.com/breaking/informing-the-misinformed-about-wolves/article_f7e15630-e381-11e3-811c-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=story

[bearpaw]

Informing the ‘misinformed’ about wolves

http://www.heraldandnews.com/breaking/informing-the-misinformed-about-wolves/article_f7e15630-e381-11e3-811c-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=story

That's a great article written by David Allen of RMEF regarding the author of the OP! Here's a quote from the article:

Statewide elk populations are irrelevant to impacts by wolves. When you talk about wolves, you must address areas where they live — not where they don’t. Elk numbers in the Missouri River Breaks of eastern Montana are unaffected by wolves as there are no wolves in that area; it is an apples to oranges comparison.

Since the reintroduction of wolves in the mid-1990s, the population of the Northern Yellowstone elk herd is down 80 percent from nearly 20,000 to less than 4,000 today.

In the mid-2000s, some biologists claimed the elk population stabilized in the 6,000 plus range, yet since that time the herd dropped another 30 percent in size and is now below the 4,000 mark for the first time ever!

See more here: http://bit.ly/1kbZ3zX.

The story is similar in central Idaho where the elk population dropped

43 percent since 2002. Those are just two examples and there are other pockets with high concentrations of wolves having an effect on elk populations.

Having said that, it must be stated wolves are not the sole cause for elk decline, because habitat issues and other predator populations such as mountain lions and bears also come into play, however wolves play an obvious and significant factor in those regions where their numbers are high.

However, it is no coincidence elk numbers declined significantly since the 1995 wolf reintroduction. This fact cannot be explained away.

[Spawnstar]

There is no way this guy has ever hunted a day in his life. I used to live in Oregon when hound hunting was legal for bears and cougars and hunting was great, you could actually go out and harvest mature animals instead of shooting whatever is barely legal and in the late 80s early 90s they shut down hound hunting. Now when I return to go out with friends and family not only are the deer scarce but the elk herds are dwindling. As sportsman we need to stand up to this BS and do what is right for the protection of our game animals. I wish we could either stand together and not buy hunting licenses for a couple of years so they realize that they shouldn't bite the hand that feeds them or dump every wolf we see. Our fish and game are not managing game there managing us, and I'm sick and tired of it. Washington has some of the best elk hunting in the west and if we don't band together and do what we know we should do then you better kiss it goodbye in the matter of ten years. I want my kids to hunt and my grandkids to hunt and have the same experiences that I have had and if we give in and think this idiot that wrote that article has valid points then the blinders are over our eyes and by the time we can see the light everything is gone.