Washington House committee OKs bill to move wolves

[KFhunter]

Ya, I'd still do it too 

[Ridgeratt]

I would help out with fuel and I have spare time on my hands. 

[JimmyHoffa]

Honest question - would wolves remain near populated areas if they were released there?  Clearly WDFW isn't going to release them in Seattle, but I'm curious if they were released somewhat near a populated area if they would even stay there?  Given how far they move and how quickly, it seems like they would end up 100 miles from where they were released in no time.

I think they just keep roaming through 'their' territory like a cougar does.  They kill whatever they can in the time they can before feeling they need to go patrol the next section of territory.  A bear will more or less camp out in a place until all the food is gone.  Coyotes seem to change up behavior around farms/ranches and get a regular daily routine, so maybe wolves would start behaving more coyote like given all the roads and population on the westside.

[HighCountryHunter88]

Honest question - would wolves remain near populated areas if they were released there?  Clearly WDFW isn't going to release them in Seattle, but I'm curious if they were released somewhat near a populated area if they would even stay there?  Given how far they move and how quickly, it seems like they would end up 100 miles from where they were released in no time.

i doubt they will move too far from where they would plan on releasing them. they are going to dump them in the best areas to survive, they'll dump them in areas of higher elk numbers. randle, packwood, st helens, white river, ect..

[Harbor_hunter]

Honest question - would wolves remain near populated areas if they were released there?  Clearly WDFW isn't going to release them in Seattle, but I'm curious if they were released somewhat near a populated area if they would even stay there?  Given how far they move and how quickly, it seems like they would end up 100 miles from where they were released in no time.

i doubt they will move too far from where they would plan on releasing them. they are going to dump them in the best areas to survive, they'll dump them in areas of higher elk numbers. randle, packwood, st helens, white river, ect..

That's one of my concerns.  They won't dump them anywhere near urban populations.  They will go in more remote areas of the west side, putting more pressure on our deer and elk that already have enough predators after them. 

[slavenoid]

Give the people what they want. Drop them off in neighborhood parks besides it's in the wolves best interest to be released in non hunting areas. Got to keep the hunter wolf interactions low if we want them to make a comeback in our state.

[huntingfool7]

I bet wolf lovers will love having wolves in and around all the big cities on the West side of the state. They will be able to go out and hear them howling at night. A wolf lover’s dream come true. Myself, I just see it as a big waste of money.

This!  Those that want them will love having them over here.  Meanwhile the rest of us in more rural parts of Western WA will get to carry the issues.  I feel for you in the NE but burning everyone because you're getting shafted isn't a solution to your problems.  Wolves will never be reasonably controlled in this state, delisted or not. 

[DOUBLELUNG]

Honest question - would wolves remain near populated areas if they were released there?  Clearly WDFW isn't going to release them in Seattle, but I'm curious if they were released somewhat near a populated area if they would even stay there?  Given how far they move and how quickly, it seems like they would end up 100 miles from where they were released in no time.

Wolves really only have two habitat requirements: adequate prey base and limited human-caused mortality.  They could stay near populated areas if they aren't persecuted too severely, but there are no guarantees they wouldn't pick up and move - maybe even home back to where they were trapped from.  A lot would depend on how the releases were accomplished.  The Yellowstone introductions were extended stays within large wolf-proof enclosures prior to being released, one objective of which was to reduce post-release long distance movements.  Since wolves in the park aren't hunted, snared, poisoned, etc., and only occasionally run over, they don't show much avoidance of the heavily visited parts of the park. 

[Special T]

Since many of you don't read Wolfbaits posts....

I distinctly remember him posting an article about how wolves had to be lactating with pups, or pregnate to get them to accept the new location.

Kind of like how you need to put a cat in a box and spin it before you move them to a new location... Or so I've experienced...

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[mallard]

I can think of a few great relocation areas...
Orcas Island
Tiger Mountain
Capitol State Forest

With about 0% chance of that every happening.

[hunter399]

Since many of you don't read Wolfbaits posts....

I distinctly remember him posting an article about how wolves had to be lactating with pups, or pregnate to get them to accept the new location.

Kind of like how you need to put a cat in a box and spin it before you move them to a new location... Or so I've experienced...

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Don't worry we can send pregnant wolves,no problem,about ready to start a gofund page and get this started.

[Humptulips]

If they move them they will not go to any populated area. You're dreaming if you think this will stick it to Seattleites.
The greenies will love this as they have been crying the Peninsula needs wolves for years and that's the first place they will go. The other place is likely the Willapa hills or maybe North R.. Any place in the Cascades will be out as the wolves are already moving in so a waste of money.
To top it all off I doubt this will speed up delisting but what it will do is send more hunters to the eastside. So you'll lose a handful of wolves which will be made up for with new pups and you will gain a few thousand more orange vests.

[hunter399]

If they move them they will not go to any populated area. You're dreaming if you think this will stick it to Seattleites.
The greenies will love this as they have been crying the Peninsula needs wolves for years and that's the first place they will go. The other place is likely the Willapa hills or maybe North R.. Any place in the Cascades will be out as the wolves are already moving in so a waste of money.
To top it all off I doubt this will speed up delisting but what it will do is send more hunters to the eastside. So you'll lose a handful of wolves which will be made up for with new pups and you will gain a few thousand more orange vests.

We have already gained a few thousand hunters over the past few years from the wet side , They have already made hunting on public land crapy, so send them,i will welcome more hunters any day of the week instead of wolves

[Cylvertip]

I say send the wolves. Let's get on with it.  Since we are stuck with this, let's press forward.  The sooner we have them in all the required regions, the sooner we can hope to manage them. 

     That's of course assuming we get to.... I'm thinking how successfully we are allowed to manage bear and especially cougar....   

[huntingfool7]

Aren't the cougar quotas getting smaller?