Deer and Elk Hunting in Idaho and Montana After Wolf Introduction

[wraithen]

Anti's been buying licenses for a while now, that won't change much. I think the state should split. I'm stuck on the wetside but I can always dream about that paradise people refer to when they talk about the great "East Washington."

[NWBREW]

Anti's been buying licenses for a while now, that won't change much. I think the state should split. I'm stuck on the wetside but I can always dream about that paradise people refer to when they talk about the great "East Washington."

Buy some land over there. That's what i did 20 years ago. I WILL retire over there. 

[wraithen]

I'm still holding out for a spot on the east side of the rockies. The problem with beautiful land though is the libs always sniff it out and start living there.

[bearpaw]

eastern montana is a pretty good place, all the huggers are in western... 

[huntnnw]

Break your study down to specific gmu's. You will see that there is a shift in harvest locations. I spoke to guys in the Joe that have killed elk for decades from the same camps and now they see few to none, yet right in cda there were gobs of elk. I know that Idaho as a state has lost a ton of money due to predation and they would not be so activly seeking ways to reduce the wolf population were it not harming the herd.

 

[huntnnw]

Quite obvious this individual hasnt spent much time in the wolf woods

[ICEMAN]

So in Idaho, elk has remained fairly constant overall, and the deer harvest has dropped a bit, but is still well withing historic ranges pre wolf. And anyone paying attention knows the deer in the Panhandle got knocked down pretty hard by the winters of 2007-08 and 2008-09 the same as in northeast Washington.  My friends in that area tell me that deer are coming back now.

So let 'er rip and try to explain to me how hunting really isn't as good as it used to be and how it's all because of the wolves.  Because the fact is,  the people who are pushing the BIG WOLF SCARE are people who have ulterior motives that include money, and power and influence.  If you're going to give your money and time and support to organizations, at least have the facts and don't do it out of fear.

Ok Sitka, so how many wolves are in these areas? What is the commonly accepted figure for how many big game animals they kill. How many animals do they actually eat to survive. What are they eating?

[huntnnw]

bighole valley had 25,000 elk and was a world class area to hunt..today under 900 animals,but according to yout we havent lost any opportunitys this is just one example

[bearpaw]

So in Idaho, elk has remained fairly constant overall, and the deer harvest has dropped a bit, but is still well withing historic ranges pre wolf. And anyone paying attention knows the deer in the Panhandle got knocked down pretty hard by the winters of 2007-08 and 2008-09 the same as in northeast Washington.  My friends in that area tell me that deer are coming back now.

Not true, in 7 units, the most heavily wolf impacted units, elk are far below management level. In the lolo zone the herd of nearly 20,000 elk is nearly gone, now less than 2,000. Six additional zones are in steady decline. Nice try at hiding the wolf impacts.... 

IDFG has increased seasons and harvest in other zones to try and reduce the impact of reduced harvest the wolf impacted zones, but that could likely result in a negative effect on the statewide herd.

[high country]

It is painful to watch someone be oblivious to reality. Idaho as a state does not typically support eradication of any species sans the zebra mussels. If Idaho did support this, we would have seen airial gunning of bears when they triggered on the elk calving grounds years ago. Lord knows mountain lions take a good number too, they don't put a bounty on them. The wolf is an alpha predator with the advantage of being a pack animal.....that is bad news for anything in its way.

If alpha predators roaming was no big deal, why did we have to shoot all the lions, tigers and bears recently released from the zoo in Ohio?

[boneaddict]

Quite obvious this individual hasnt spent much time in the wolf woods

Those were my thoughts.  I'd suggest logging off and stepping outside.  Shouldn't have to spend much time out there to see what effect they are having.

[wraithen]

Bone, why in the world would anyone need to give firsthand knowledge a shot? The internet can tell you anything you want to hear. Heck, I can prove to you guys that 1 plus 2 equals 6 if you let me play on the internet long enough. We don't need fancy real lernin, book lernin is good enough. That's why we don't actually put stuff in space.

[huntnnw]

And no responses by wolf lover 

[wraithen]

He's busy peddling his ideas on other threads. I tried to send him back to this one. No clue why he won't keep his topic in his thread, but I suspect he's got a little bit of an issue staying on topic.

[seth30]

Can we ban the guy, Im sick of the wolf lovers screwing up our forum