Meateater podcast on Mountain caribou in the Selkirks

[kellama2001]

Thanks for the link...Steve Rinella is one of my faves 

[Karl Blanchard]

Just playing devils advocate here but how many saying we need to invest in this native species also thinks we need to wipe out every wolf and griz in the state?  All native species.  For the record, I say wipe out all the griz and wolves

[superdown]

tag

[7mmfan]

Just playing devils advocate here but how many saying we need to invest in this native species also thinks we need to wipe out every wolf and griz in the state?  All native species.  For the record, I say wipe out all the griz and wolves

Canadian Gray Wolves are not native to Washington State. Its not proven that they were released here but migrated naturally, that still doesn't make them native. The Caribou are actually native and deserve to be protected from the non-native wolves that prey on them. Griz are actually native as well, and as scary as they are, I'm glad to have a few of them back. They are awesome animals. Shoot the wolves.

[bobcat]

I'll have to listen to the podcast at some point but it probably isn't going to change my mind. I'd rather not have money wasted on caribou in Washington. Someone said we can't have them go "extinct." That's not the issue. They won't be extinct, there just may not be any on the Washington side of the Canadian border. So what? Why do we need to have them? If they're going to be there, then fine, protect them, obviously don't hunt them, and don't destroy their habitat, but I see no need to spend a ton of taxpayer money on trying to "save" them.

[Karl Blanchard]

I'll have to listen to the podcast at some point but it probably isn't going to change my mind. I'd rather not have money wasted on caribou in Washington. Someone said we can't have them go "extinct." That's not the issue. They won't be extinct, there just may not be any on the Washington side of the Canadian border. So what? Why do we need to have them? If they're going to be there, then fine, protect them, obviously don't hunt them, and don't destroy their habitat, but I see no need to spend a ton of taxpayer money on trying to "save" them.

agreed.  And more importantly my license dollars.  Just another reason we need a game department not a wild life department.  And yeah, shoot the wolves.  Until we address the elephant in the room (predators) I see zero reason to waste time on stuff like this.

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

I'll have to listen to the podcast at some point but it probably isn't going to change my mind. I'd rather not have money wasted on caribou in Washington. Someone said we can't have them go "extinct." That's not the issue. They won't be extinct, there just may not be any on the Washington side of the Canadian border. So what? Why do we need to have them? If they're going to be there, then fine, protect them, obviously don't hunt them, and don't destroy their habitat, but I see no need to spend a ton of taxpayer money on trying to "save" them.

Listen to the podcast I think your position would change.  There isnt a lot of money being spent on them.  One of the biggest proponents is the tribe.  The population is low in other areas as well, so actually rebuilding the herd here is becoming more and more difficult.  If they can, then they can be used to help out the other herds north of the border. 
What if our ancestors had said the same thing about elk?  We wouldn't be enjoying the populations we have today if they had just given up on them and not saved the species.       

[HighCountryHunter88]

so by some people logic on here, if moose, elk, deer populations took a huge dive and we had very few here in WA we should just say screw it and give up. sound logic there. moose used to be pretty dismal here and no one here is complaining that fish and wildlife spent some of your money assisting bringing them back also look at wild turkeys across the nation 

[bobcat]

Many of our elk herds are actually not native and didn't exist in certain areas until we decided to bring them here on a train from Yellowstone. Yes, elk on the east side of the Cascades are an invasive species.   

[bobcat]

Moose? I really don't think the WDFW can take the credit for the increase in the moose population. All they do is allocate the number of tags each year. It's the change in habitat that allowed moose to thrive, and the state had nothing to do with that.

[jackelope]

so by some people logic on here, if moose, elk, deer populations took a huge dive and we had very few here in WA we should just say screw it and give up. sound logic there. moose used to be pretty dismal here and no one here is complaining that fish and wildlife spent some of your money assisting bringing them back also look at wild turkeys across the nation 

Moose populations are taking a huge hit from the wolves.

I'll have to listen to the podcast at some point but it probably isn't going to change my mind. I'd rather not have money wasted on caribou in Washington. Someone said we can't have them go "extinct." That's not the issue. They won't be extinct, there just may not be any on the Washington side of the Canadian border. So what? Why do we need to have them? If they're going to be there, then fine, protect them, obviously don't hunt them, and don't destroy their habitat, but I see no need to spend a ton of taxpayer money on trying to "save" them.

Listen to the podcast I think your position would change.  There isnt a lot of money being spent on them.  One of the biggest proponents is the tribe.  The population is low in other areas as well, so actually rebuilding the herd here is becoming more and more difficult.  If they can, then they can be used to help out the other herds north of the border. 
What if our ancestors had said the same thing about elk?  We wouldn't be enjoying the populations we have today if they had just given up on them and not saved the species.       

Pretty sure the majority of effort to save the caribou is coming from the Kalispell tribe. Maybe @WAcoyotehunter can clarify that.

[HighCountryHunter88]

Quote from: HighCountryHunter88 on Today at 08:58:44 AM

    so by some people logic on here, if moose, elk, deer populations took a huge dive and we had very few here in WA we should just say screw it and give up. sound logic there. moose used to be pretty dismal here and no one here is complaining that fish and wildlife spent some of your money assisting bringing them back also look at wild turkeys across the nation 


Moose populations are taking a huge hit from the wolves.

exactly, so if they get down to dismal numbers we will see how many people here want to just let them go, they wont be extinct in other places right? lol

[bobcat]

Well, kind of like Mtn Muley said, I just feel it's a lost cause. If it's an Indian tribe that wants to spend money on it, fine. I just imagine our state and federal governments spending lots of money on study after study that accomplishes absolutely nothing. But I could be wrong.

[WAcoyotehunter]

Wdfw is not paying for any of this effort.  The tribes (Kalispel and Kootenai) are doing most of it, along with some federal partners and BC ministry and a little from IDFG

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

If the biologist is a member on here, I would love to receive a PM from him.  I know right now there isn't much volunteers can do per the podcast, but I would donate some time. 

As hunters we should be leading the push to save species like this, not for the sake of potentially getting to hunt them, but because its the right thing to do.  I think the biggest reward would be to just see them in the wild, but that could even be a long shot.   There are other species that are not in as much danger of disappearing receiving way more help, the money is out there, whether private or public, and some funds could be diverted. 

I know a lot of guys on this forum love the bighorn sheep, what if no effort had been made to save them?  They were in pretty rough shape in the early 20th century, now look what we have!