The Predator Spiral! HAPPENING NOW HERE!

[Dave Workman]

Dave,
Any chance we will see some of newspapers in the state pick up these articles so the public gets something besides predator love?

Not a snowball's chance in Hell.

[Axle]

The underlying cause of this phenomina is when a wildlife agency attempts to hide or “pad” their big game population estimates when over predation begins to take hold.

I've been saying this for years now. We have not been getting the real harvest numbers. Cougars have devistated the herds for the past 25 years and most hunters are unaware of it. They are simply seeing less animals and don't know why because they spend little time in the woods the rest of the year.
If the harvest numbers weren't 'exagerated', many hunters would not buy a tag.
Our game herds have been poorly managed for too long and we don't need wolves.

[Skyvalhunter]

Our game herds have been poorly managed for too long and we don't need wolves.
2nd that!!!

[bearpaw]

If you don't let them know how you feel they'll never know. One voice seems like nothing but added with your breathren it matters. That's why we must all speak up.
If they vote against your opinion then help to vote them out.

Very well stated, this is our only chance, BE VOCAL.... 

[GrainfedMuley]

Just what can WE do?   

S S S     

[KillBilly]

Just what can WE do?   

S S S     

Join WFW and have a larger Unified Voice

[GrainfedMuley]

Join WFW  [/quote]







??  What is WFW? I know it's not what Google told me, the urban dictionary say's it stands for Waah F*@#king Waah..........

[Kain]

http://www.washingtonforwildlife.org/

[GrainfedMuley]

Thanx Kain

[pianoman9701]

I sent this to my two state congressmen and state senator today:

Dear Congressman Harris,
 
I write to you as a registered Republican voter, but more importantly to me, as an American who exercises his 2nd Amendment rights and who carries on the tradition of hunting and conservation. I spend many months of the year hunting, pay large amounts of money for licenses and sporting goods (of which 11% get paid into Pittman Robertson Fund), and volunteer many hours of my time each year to conservation projects for habitat enhancement.
 
Our Department of Fish and Wildlife has embarked on a dangerous path, one that is predictable because of the experiences of Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, to not only reinstate the gray wolf here in WA, but to do so in numbers that exceed the recommendations of the US Fish & Wildlife Service, and are completely out of whack with our population density and wilderness land area. My hunting heritage and that of all WA hunters is in serious jeopardy.
 
The DFW has proposed, in opposition to recommendations made by hunters, land owners, and cattlemen, a recovery so drastic that many believe that it will seriously reverse the conservation efforts made by hunters since the beginning of the last century to restore our wildlife to healthy, manageable populations. Many of us see this as a vehicle by the anti-hunting minority to end hunting permanently. It may just work.
 
The plan calls for 15 breeding pairs of wolves and then a 3-year waiting period before any control efforts are embarked upon, meaning that the population of wolves could well exceed 1,000 animals before anything can be done to curtail their growth. The experiences of ID, WY, and MT have shown us that this path is reckless and will lead to decreased hunting opportunities and drastically reduced ungulate numbers. All three states have experienced the loss of non-resident tag sales, as well as resident tags, and in some cases, decreases in herd sizes of up to 90% in the 16 years since the program was commenced. In addition, with half the land mass of MT, twelve times the population, and 15 times the population density of MT, WDFW plans to allow 50% more breeding pairs than MT's plan has. Add that to the three year waiting period before culling can commence and we will have an environmental disaster the likes of which we haven't seen since contract killers decimated our buffalo, elk, and deer prior to the early 1900s. Please review their proposed plan here. http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/00001/wdfw00001.pdf
 
Congressman Harris, I implore you to take a look at this proposal, which will go into effect in early December, and do what you can to convince the WDFW that this is the path of self-destruction for them, as well as our state's hunters. When the dust settles, their revenue will greatly decrease (this is not a good time for any state department to decrease their revenues), due to lost tag sales, and my hunting opportunities will greatly diminish after working so hard to keep them.
 
Thank you for your time and consideration of my request. I look forward to answering any questions you have and to working with you to keep our hunting heritage safe.
 
Most Sincerely,
 
John W
 
Master Hunter for WA
Washington for Wildlife - Legislative Chair
Member NRA, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, US Sportsman's Alliance

[KillBilly]

Just what can WE do?   

S S S     

Join WFW and have a larger Unified Voice

My apologies for using the Acronym and not including a Link.  thanks Kain.

[Fireant11]

John W - Great letter!   

The WDFW is all about managing dollars instead of wildlife!  I think if more letters like John's are sent to our Reps and Senators (both in Olympia and DC), accompanied by the Eastmans' letter that Wyoming08 started this thread with, it would have more impact.  Once they see how this spiral effects their revenue, their eyes will open and they'll start to listen.

I think it's insane that we (Washington) have half the elk population that Idaho and Montana have, yet the wolf management plan calls for the same number of breeding pairs!  If it goes through, our big game population will be completely decimated!  We've got to level-set the direction of those in charge.

[wence5]

A very enlightening and disturbing read. I pray it isn't too late for Washington, but I fear enough of the environmental mental cases have taken over positions of power. I tried watching the "Crying wolf movie", but it has been pulled, however there were some clips that were just sickening and heartbreaking. This cancer is destroying the efforts put forth by real conservationist from the last 100 years in a blink of an eye! Ladies and Gentlemen, get ready for one hell of a fight, because it's here!

Washington's fate will be reveled on Dec. 3rd

[mtman]

WE need to stop asking permission to hunt wolves and just do it. I have a hard enough time filling my belly as it is. I dont need more compatition.

[pianoman9701]

WE need to stop asking permission to hunt wolves and just do it. I have a hard enough time filling my belly as it is. I dont need more compatition.

I saw one in the 520 unit last week. Too close to home.