I love wolves. Seriously.

[yakimanoob]

OK, that's an admittedly click-baity subject line, but I do have an honest question.  Why all the hatred of wolves?  Reading this forum, you'd think wolves were ruthless demons who slaughter all others and infect those they leave alive, and are only liked by corrupt and/or witless lefties who control the evil gov'ment in Olympia. 

It seems like a good time to mention I moved to Yakima two years ago from my home state of Alabama, so I'm new to co-existing with large predators (and elk and bighorns and goats and cougars, for that matter). 

I get thinking that wolves in Washington are mismanaged.  I get thinking they're overpopulated.  I get wanting to hunt them and manage them like any other state wildlife species.  But I really don't get all the drama and talking about them like they're evil, or their presence is a sign that the world's going to pot. 

Wolves are beautiful and fascinating and majestic creatures.  Should there be as many as there are in Washington?  More?  Less?  I don't have the slightest clue what the answer to that question is, but I don't hate the creatures themselves, and I have a hard time understanding why so many people seem to. 

Am I missing something?

[Mr Mykiss]

What you're missing is---> Wolves make it much harder to kill elk from the road...mic drop.

[WapitiTalk1]

They eat my food!  I think wolves are beautiful creatures and have no abnormal will will towards them where they belong, above the big border.  The problem is that the powers that be have re-introduced an apex predator into systems in the lower 48 that already have their fair share of predators and its not working out so well.  I'm originally from NW MT and I have seen the devastation they've caused to the MD pops in particular (MD aren't so smart I guess) as well as WT deer and wapiti.  I currently hunt ID most falls and the big dogs are also having a very negative effect on the indigenous ungulate population there (although ID is not as hampered as other regions by the wolf hugging masses and will still go in with choppers and knock down a pack that is getting out of control).  Can they exist in a relative healthy balance down here?  Possibly with the "right" management techniques allowed but therein lies the problem!  Anytime a state hints at increasing bag limits or methods to take them (trapping included) the lefties soil themselves and emphatically march in masses to stop what needs to be done to maintain said balance.       

[Katmai Guy]

Oops, i shold have read your response, Mr mykiss, before posting my question/response in the spring bear thread.

[KFhunter]

Am I missing something?

Yes. Everything.

I don't even hate wolves, that would be to anthropomorphize them which I do not do, they simply are.

[elkinrutdrivemenuts]

I don't get it either.  Everyone I talk to here in Idaho acts like they have ruined hunting.  Id say the hunting has never been better.  Maybe they don't  stand out in the open all day like they used to, but that just means you need to adapt and change your tactics. I haven't had an issue with them being here. They aren't around every corner, and the animals are adapting.  I suppose new things scare people, but if we want to promote the idea that hunters are conservationists and care about all animals, we better change our tune.  Advocating for the extermination of a species is giving hunters a bad image.  We need to promote management of them like any other predator.  Coyotes kill more livestock than wolves, but I don't see people up in arms over that.  We need to keep a calm head, make sure we have a seat at the table, and lose the all r nothing mentality when it comes to wolves.  Go to Alaska, if they ruin hunting, why is Alaska such a prime destination for hunters world wide?  Hunt them, manage them, and learn to live with em. 

[KFhunter]

What you're missing is---> Wolves make it much harder to kill elk from the road...mic drop.

You're so wrong, wolves make it far easier to kill Elk from the road.  I'm seeing Elk on roads I've driven daily for 20+ years and never seen an Elk until recently, the wolves scatter them and drive them from traditional holding areas which makes them more visible. 


It's like hunting big mules in a burned area  "OMG there's so many big bucks this year!"   No, you just see further.  Same with wolves and elk, they make the elk more visible due to constant movement.

[idahohuntr]

Wolves are symbolic of the polarization or value differences between rural and urban communities in this country - and to a larger extent what control the federal government should/should not have in the West. 

So...all the drama about wolves is part of a much larger debate/disagreement than it is about wolves themselves.

There are extremists on all sides of wolf issues...they all lie, distort the truth, and selectively use information to push their agenda.  As usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle...but its not always easy to hear it over the screeching from extremists on both sides of wolf issues. 

[KFhunter]

I don't get it either.  Everyone I talk to here in Idaho acts like they have ruined hunting.  Id say the hunting has never been better.  Maybe they don't  stand out in the open all day like they used to, but that just means you need to adapt and change your tactics. I haven't had an issue with them being here. They aren't around every corner, and the animals are adapting.  I suppose new things scare people, but if we want to promote the idea that hunters are conservationists and care about all animals, we better change our tune.  Advocating for the extermination of a species is giving hunters a bad image.  We need to promote management of them like any other predator.  Coyotes kill more livestock than wolves, but I don't see people up in arms over that.  We need to keep a calm head, make sure we have a seat at the table, and lose the all r nothing mentality when it comes to wolves.  Go to Alaska, if they ruin hunting, why is Alaska such a prime destination for hunters world wide?  Hunt them, manage them, and learn to live with em.

Idaho is irrelevant to the conditions in WA,  Idaho is extensively managing wolves, WA is not. Idaho has more Elk but require less wolves than WA does.

If you've hunted Idaho for years then tell me how many more Washington license plates you see now than 5 or 10 years ago?

Idaho is what Washington should be emulating.

[ghosthunter]

I don't have a problem with wolves. I have a problem with the state or feds deciding we need any large animal transplanted here. If the animals come on their own fine.

And if wolves prey on livestock than they need to be shot with little or no concern.

[2MANY]

I love dead wolves.

They are soooo stinky, stiff, and they have a smile that lasts until the maggots come.

[b0bbyg]

There are extremists on all sides of wolf issues...they all lie, distort the truth, and selectively use information to push their agenda.  As usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle...but its not always easy to hear it over the screeching from extremists on both sides of wolf issues. 

I agree with idahohuntr  I think much of the arguing about the wolves is more an argument of control and who should/should not make these decisions.  The quoted statement is dead on for many issues as well as this one, and the reason many will chose to just not debate online.

If the people / regions who are the most affected got to have to loudest voice to how they managed and reintroduced wolves I would probably not have an issue with it.   But that is not how it works currently.

Personally I hope they don't make it to where I hunt, but I expect they will. 

[Buckewe]

I don't think it is the hatred for wolves themselves as much as it is the the misinformation and lack of management.

[Gringo31]

Can't blame the wolf....blame the mgmt!


In a state that does a horrible job of predator management (coyotes, bears, cougar, sea lions, pelicans, cormorants, hawks, etc) we didn't need to add another apex predator.  (I realize some of the predators I mentioned are very protected). 

Let me say it this way....

Farmers grow crops.  They protect them, care for them and then EAT them.  They don't want the bugs to eat the crop or they don't get any.  They don't eat all of it because they need seed for future years.  Management decided to add bugs and tell me that they are good for me and I should be enjoying watching my wormy field and I shouldn't be eating my crop anyway.  Or that the bugs will make my crop healthier.

This concept makes people like myself angry.  Mostly because the bugs don't care for, manage or protect the crop we all love.

Gringo

[kentrek]

I think once you invest a good decade into learning an area and then watch the wolves come in an completely destroy it, then think of how the wolves got there...you might understand

Think of walking up on a dozen elk that were killed for sport and left to rot, then you might understand

Think of having one of your prized hound dogs youv invested years into ripped to shreds and wonder how the wolves got there and then you might start to get the idea

Think of having your income get gobbled up one calf at a time, then you might get the idea

Think of having to sell your family guiding business because the hunting just isn't there any more....

Now imagine if you got to experience all of this...how would you feel about an invasive species???