I know that this meeting has been mentioned in prior posts, but I wanted to remind everyone again along with a brief summary of my concerns. I may not be able to attend the meeting, so if someone has similar concerns, please feel free to add them to the long list of concerns you already have.
On August 4,2011, the Fish and Wildlife Commission will be holding a meeting (
http://wdfw.wa.gov/commission/meetings/2011/08/agenda_aug0411.html ) regarding the Wolf Conservation and Management Plan (
http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_wolf/ ) at the Natural Resource Building, First Floor, Room 172, 1111 Washington St SE, Olympia, WA 98501 (10:00AM - 5:00PM). Based on their published agenda, it appears that there will be opportunity for public input at some time between 1:00PM and 5:00PM. I would highly recommend attending this meeting to learn about the proposed plan and take the opportunity to present your views.
My concerns and views:
I have concerns about introducing predators into the state that will most likely significantly reduce elk and deer populations along with eventual, and very likely conflicts with humans, domestic animals, and livestock. If large elk and deer populations are becoming an issue, then the WDFW should consider issuing additional hunting permits to reduce those populations before using vicious predators as a game management tool. WDFW will not be able to tell the wolves how many elk they can harvest each year. “There has been about a 70 percent drop in the size of the northern elk herd from the 16,791 elk counted in 1995 and the start of wolf restoration to Yellowstone National Park.” (Quoted from:
http://www.nps.gov/yell/parknews/11005.htm ). How many elk does one wolf kill in a year? Predators such as wolves fear humans because we have hunted them; we are viewed as the top predator. If they are not hunted, they will lose their fear.
I personally may not be able to attend the meeting, but I intend to try to express my concerns to the Commission prior to the meeting.
