Wolves, Who's In Charge?

[bearpaw]

The more I think about this situation the more I smell sour apples.

Who is in charge of wolf management in Washington?

Who is influencing the wolf program in Washington?

Who is in control of the wolf program, WDFW or Defenders of Wildlife or Wolf Haven? 

I am going to show you some facts, make up your own mind regarding the answers to these questions. If you have the same concerns as I have, I hope you will click on this link and send a short email to the legislators, county commissioners, and WDFW Wildlife Commission.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,31831.0.html

Ask why there are links to WolfHaven and Defenders of Wildlife on the WDFW Wolf Management Page but there are no links to SCI, INWWC, WWC, or any sporting group allowing them to present the other side of the wolf debate. This is both unfair and unprofessional. This a travesty since it is hunters dollars being used to fund wolf management and wolf monitoring in Washington. Groups like Defenders of Wildlife spend much of their money on employee salaries or lawsuits which hamper modern game management. Ask why hunters have no representation on the Wolf Management Page. Send an email today and copy it to everyone on the list.

Check out the links on the left column of the WDFW Wolf Page.
WDFW Wolf Page: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/gray_wolf/

Defenders Propaganda on WDFW: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/gray_wolf/livestock_wolves08.pdf
Wolf Haven Propaganda on WDFW: http://www.wolfhaven.org/
Defenders Propaganda on WDFW: http://www.defenders.org/programs_and_policy/wildlife_conservation/solutions/carnivore_conservation_fund/index.php

Who Is Running the WDFW Wolf Program?
Do you think wolves will be managed properly in Washington with these groups influencing the WDFW?

http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2009/08_21_2009_conservation_groups_challenge_wolf_hunting.php

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[bearmanric]

Wolf Haven suck's. i live on offut lake Road. they are my nieghbors. they wrote a full page add againts bear baiting when they took it away. also last year i was heading out back to call coyote's. and a weird ass long haired coyote short Fox looking thing run by me with a wide white collor on it. when i go to cabelas the have a poster there not cool. this wolf stuff is very fishy. there buying up land for them and hush hush about stuff. have less cougar and bear hunting now. the game department are in the process of wiping out the deer and elk herd's. it will be permit only in the next few years serios. Rick take a look at yellowstone and idaho elk and deer herd. some great ones are gone. Rick

[WDFW-SUX]

The department is not looking out for the best interests of washington's hunters... Its a total joke.

The issues with personal run so deep that I dont think there is any hope of having a positive outcome of a myriad of issues... sad but true.

[dreamingbig]

My conspiracy theory tendency leads me down the road of the game department preferring wolves to help control the population instead of hunting seasons.  That means fewer permits, shorter seasons, etc. needed, but they will still want just as many people or more buying licenses and competing for those few precious tags.  We need to unite and fight for our hunting seasons and for strict limits on the wolve population.

[bearpaw]

The best chance I see for hunters, is for us to get as many elected officials in the effected counties to make a big deal about wolves. As individuals we have no impact, but if enough of us send email messages to the right people, those people may realize the public outcry and the importance of this issue. They can make a difference, then we have a chance of seeing hunting for wolves in WA someday.

Right now it is important to:

Convince County Commissioners and Legislators that "Hunting" must be included as the eventual management tool in the wolf plan.

Explain to them that the Wolf Plan is being written now and will be adopted in early 2010 and the wolf plan does not currently include "Hunting" in it's language.

Explain to these elected officials that the WDFW has strong ties with Defenders of Wildlife and Wolf Haven and promote those groups on the WDFW website.

Explain to them that Defenders of Wildlife is a primary anti-hunting group that has used lawsuits to prevent wolf mananagement in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, and Wisconsin even though recovery goals were exceeded years ago.

Explain to them that you do not want to see Washington's rural county game herds and economies devastated by wolves like central Idaho counties have been affected.

Ask these people to contact the Washington Wildlife Commission now.

List of email addresses:
http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,31831.0.html

[shanevg]

I'm not saying any of this to try to discourage any activism, especially on the part of Bearpaw who has been very helpful to everyone on this site, but this thread seems to be somewhat misinformed.

Yes, Wolf Haven and Defenders of Wildlife have played a role in establishing Washington State's wolf management plan, and I agree that the wolf management plan without any intent of hunting as a tool of management is misguided and we need to make our voices heard that we are not satisfied with it.  But if you look on WDFW's website at who the participants were who helped draft this plan, hunters voices should've been heard and were given seats on the committee. 

According to WDFW, (http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/gray_wolf/members.htm) we were represented by:

Duane Cocking
Board of Directors
Inland Empire Chapter
Safari Club International

Tommy Petrie, Jr.
President
Pend Oreille County Sportsmens Club

Ken Oliver
Former County Commissioner, Pend Oreille County

Jeff Dawson
Director
Stevens County Cattleman
Cattle Producers of Washington

John Stuhlmiller
Director of State Affairs
Washington Farm Bureau

Jack Field
Executive Vice President
Washington Cattlemen’s Association

Arthur Swannack
President
Washington State Sheep Producers

As well as many members of the WDFW staff.  Overall, I would state that in addition to wildlife biologists and pro-wolf conservation groups, a wide variety of voices were heard regarding the issue. 

Again, let me say that I am not trying to discourage activism, I am merely trying to state the facts.  It's better to be informed on everything than not informed at all.  The fact is that despite having many different viewpoints represented on the committee, including many people who you would think would favor hunting as a management tool, hunting is still not a part of the current wolf plan.  We as hunters need to make sure we do write letters to the people and addresses that bearpaw has provided us with and let them know that despite our representation, our viewpoints are not implemented into the working wolf plan.

[bearpaw]

shanevg you have fallen for the oldest trick in the book my friend......

There are 17 active members on the wolf working group.

7 members are pro-hunting and if you look at page 247-248 of the most recent version you will see their minority recommendation which includes hunting.
http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/gray_wolf/rev_wolfplan_cleanaug0309.pdf

10 members are opposed to hunting wolves so the current wolf plan does not include hunting. Those 10 members outvoted the minority 7 members.

I know one of the pro-hunting members quite well. This committee was appointed by the previous WDFW director and the committee was stacked with wolf lovers from the beginning. The outcome was predictable before the meetings ever started.

Washington sportsfolks have been duped into beleiving a fair process is occuring....

If you want to see wolves hunted in WA, you need to send some email messages to the elected officials soon, otherwise you are part of the problem that allows a wolf plan without hunting included in the language.....

[bearpaw]

Incidentally, I was told by a cattlemen's association member that the sheep association representative (a hired lobbyist) was fired by the sheep association for voting with the anti's on this wolf plan, so there are only really 6 pro-hunting members on this group.

[Wenatcheejay]

What is going to happen is like in Idaho tag sales will drop of the cliff. WDFW already took a 25% budget cut. That's probably not going to ever be fully funded again. When the tag sales no longer sustain the program there will be more cuts. More cuts mean less surveys which mean less season, less special draws, less cow and doe tags, thus, less tags purchased, and in the end even less revenue resulting in farther cut backs. It seems to be what they want. So, they will probably get it. If we can't win in a Pro-hunting State like Idaho, how can we win in a Anti-Hunting State like this one?

Maybe, one day we will all pay to hunt on the Reservation?

(SERIOUSLY )

[bearpaw]

I think the WDFW would rather get general fund money without strings attached by sports folks.

[shanevg]

I'm not saying that they weren't a minority position, but your first post said that hunters were not even represented on the committee.  I'm probably getting a little bit nitpicky here, but if I were a government official or a county official, I would read a letter saying from hunters saying "We got no representation" as a bunch of balogney when it is obvious that hunters were represented.  Maybe we should just point out that although hunters were represented, they were promoted to a committee in a pre-established minority position which gave them no leverage in helping to form the current proposal.

[Wenatcheejay]

Shane, how I read Bearpaw's call to arms is that they are linking anti-hunting-pro-wolf websites using State dollars on a very hot potato subject, stacking the deck in the favor of the groups that do not want hunting as a solution to the general public. What I understood is that we need to write elected officals and inform them of the bias in doing that.

[runamuk]

Well where do I start and how bad of a day do I feel like having  

Here is the thing.... the people such as wolf haven started the wolf reintroduction many many years ago on the down low......WDFW can really only operate within the rules that govern them and wolves unfortunately are still a protected species.  This means they can only manage them as such.  My opinion is that is the first thing that needs to be changed....change the status to match the TRUE conditions, wolves are no longer nearly extinct in the lower 48, they are thriving and taking over and now threatening other predators positions.  That is not WDFW's fault nor is it in their control.  The delisting must happen in order for WDFW to come up with a real management plan until there is delisting their hands are tied because it is basically hands off on threatened species.

The budget oh the delightful governor from hell and her sticky fingers .  Normally many of these departments raise funds (you know license sales and such) and then have control of these funds and they used to but that slimey pond scum in Olympia has decided to take all funds into the general fund and then distribute what she wants to each department....just because her and her overpaid goons couldn't balance the budget on their pet programs she takes control away from the departments that are making the money then also takes stimulus money to boot and NONE of it is channeled to the departments it was meant for......this is where my head explodes  

[shanevg]

Shane, how I read Bearpaw's call to arms is that they are linking anti-hunting-pro-wolf websites using State dollars on a very hot potato subject, stacking the deck in the favor of the groups that do not want hunting as a solution to the general public. What I understood is that we need to write elected officals and inform them of the bias in doing that.

Good way to state it, I like it.

[bearpaw]

Ask why there are links to WolfHaven and Defenders of Wildlife on the WDFW Wolf Management Page but there are no links to SCI, INWWC, WWC, or any sporting group allowing them to present the other side of the wolf debate. This is both unfair and unprofessional. This a travesty since it is hunters dollars being used to fund wolf management and wolf monitoring in Washington. Groups like Defenders of Wildlife spend much of their money on employee salaries or lawsuits which hamper modern game management. Ask why hunters have no representation on the Wolf Management Page.

shanevg I should have been more clear....my point is why are no sporting groups represented on the WDFW Wolf Management page. Only pro-wolf groups have links on the WDFW Wolf Management page.

Check it out for yourself, why are there only pro-wolf links on this WDFW page?  

WDFW Wolf Page: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/gray_wolf/

If hunting is not mentioned in the wolf plan as the eventual management tool, it is far less likely that hunting wolves will occur in WA's future. They are drafting the wolf plan now, now is when you need to have your voice heard in support of wolf hunting.

In 5 years the state will simply tell you hunting is not in the wolf management plan.