Were wolves imported into Washington on the downlow?

[bearpaw]

So, to all of you guys that think this is from just "spreading".....where were all the wolves from 1950- 2010 and what caused the population explosion we have today. 

I saw my first Washington wolf pack in about 82.  Male, female and pups

There was a wolfpack in Libby Creek almost two decades before they finally admitted it.  Todd and I know they knew about it because we were in the same conference room where they told us to keep our mouths shut about it and to deny it if asked. THey were actually trying to teach us that....let that sink in.     If you think they closed Alta for deer hunting and coyote hunting for several years because of deer management, you should go back to your cubicle. 


Wolves have been here since the dawn of time, why now the problem?

and remind me again when they discovered our first wolfpack?

We know wolves were released in the GYA in 1995, so I'm not sure I understand your disbelief that they spread into the northwest. As far as the WDFW actually acknowledging packs later than they were present, they still do that.

Piano, please read my previous post, that WDFW meeting when they stopped coyote hunting to protect the wolves was several years before 1995.

[KFhunter]

Colorado has wolves too, always had them, just like WA always had them.       Yet.....

[boneaddict]

....their first thought process is to transplant some in.  What a novel concept

[Curly]

Just because wdfw knew wolves were in the state in the 80's and early 90's doesn't mean they planted them,  right?

The wdfw signs I saw in '91 were warning people that there were wolves in the area and to be careful to identify them and not mistake them for coyotes.  I never took it to mean that they released them......maybe I'm just naive? It wasn't that far from B.C. so I just always assumed they traveled down from there?

[KFhunter]

Just because wdfw knew wolves were in the state in the 80's and early 90's doesn't mean they planted them,  right?

The wdfw signs I saw in '91 were warning people that there were wolves in the area and to be careful to identify them and not mistake them for coyotes.  I never took it to mean that they released them......maybe I'm just naive? It wasn't that far from B.C. so I just always assumed they traveled down from there?

So we acknowledge Washington's always had wolves. 

So why their sudden and rapid explosion this last 10 years? 

It certainly wasn't due to a corresponding explosion of our game herds this last decade was it? 

[boneaddict]

as they had for decades Curly without a problem.

and what I was also trying to illustrate is that they had intent to deceive, cover up, and issue propaganda without being upfront to the public.

They screwed up with the grizzly bear, making the mistake to ask the public what we really thought.  I bet they wished they kept their mouths shut, but might have found it harder to get away with.  
 

[JimmyHoffa]

Change in behavior?  Were the original wolves elk and moose eater?  Maybe they only had small litters? 

Washington has had cougars forever.  They didn't seem as abundant and rarely seen until about thirty years ago.  The numbers harvested back then were similar to now.  Now, you can find tracks/kills and see a cat with less relative effort compared to the past.  I doubt any were imported.

[Curly]

Maybe a pack moved in and found that no one was chasing them with hounds, shooting at them and discouraging them from hanging around.  Then they stay and reproduce and disperse some more. 

I'm not totally against the idea that wolves got help from humans by being released, but I really doubt the state government did some secret operation.

When did the ban on hunting bears and cougar with hounds start (1996)?  And when did WDFW make using dogs for coyote hunting illegal?  If hounds were still out there chasing stuff, I doubt wolves would find it as appealing to set-up shop. 

[boneaddict]

Change in behavior?  Were the original wolves elk and moose eater?  Maybe they only had small litters? 

Washington has had cougars forever.  They didn't seem as abundant and rarely seen until about thirty years ago.  The numbers harvested back then were similar to now.  Now, you can find tracks/kills and see a cat with less relative effort compared to the past.  I doubt any were imported.

Cats can be directly linked to the hound ban.   

[kentrek]

Could the explosion be a result of shooting the wolves and disrupting pack dynamics and creating alil wolf sex party ??

Legitimate question 

[Curly]

Just because wdfw knew wolves were in the state in the 80's and early 90's doesn't mean they planted them,  right?

The wdfw signs I saw in '91 were warning people that there were wolves in the area and to be careful to identify them and not mistake them for coyotes.  I never took it to mean that they released them......maybe I'm just naive? It wasn't that far from B.C. so I just always assumed they traveled down from there?

So we acknowledge Washington's always had wolves. 

So why their sudden and rapid explosion this last 10 years? 

It certainly wasn't due to a corresponding explosion of our game herds this last decade was it?

Another reason for the wolf explosion is likely found in Wolfbait's posts #'s 59, 60 and 61.  The wolves released in 1995 were Yukon wolves and were much larger than the Timber wolves that previously existed in this State.

[pianoman9701]

So, to all of you guys that think this is from just "spreading".....where were all the wolves from 1950- 2010 and what caused the population explosion we have today. 

I saw my first Washington wolf pack in about 82.  Male, female and pups

There was a wolfpack in Libby Creek almost two decades before they finally admitted it.  Todd and I know they knew about it because we were in the same conference room where they told us to keep our mouths shut about it and to deny it if asked. THey were actually trying to teach us that....let that sink in.     If you think they closed Alta for deer hunting and coyote hunting for several years because of deer management, you should go back to your cubicle. 


Wolves have been here since the dawn of time, why now the problem?

and remind me again when they discovered our first wolfpack?

I was at the WDFW meeting years ago when the game commission passed the rule to stop coyote hunting in parts of the Okanogan to protect the wolves that the Dept testified were in those areas. So make no mistake, WDFW knew there were wolves long before the claimed first "Lookout Pack" was widely publicized.

Could this have been to protect the last of the resident WA timber wolves? I thought those were in the N. Cascades but just wondering.

[KFhunter]

That's a legitimate theory.

"The Mackenzie wolves are more prone to rapid expansion than our native timber wolves"


Which begs the questions:

(1) why are they protected if they are not native
(2) if these non-native wolves are so prone to rapid expansion,  why haven't they already done so 100's or 1000's of years ago? 

[Curly]

1) liberals are crazy
2)  100's of years ago they were controlled by poison.  As far as 1000's of years ago..........

[buckfvr]

Deny Deny Deny..........whos going to do anything about it, who CAN  ??  Its calculated and they dont give a darn what we or anyone else thinks about it.