Wolves-Griz & Elk huntin in WY.

[hnter]

If yer planin an elk hunt in Wyoming this year, be advised elk populations in the wolf & grizzly recovery areas are DOWN AS MUCH AS 80+ %. Wolves eat elk, lots of elk.
Wolf populations are rapidly expanding across the Cowboy state! Wolves have been seen in all but 3 or4 far eastern counties in the state. Wolves have been killed as far east as SO Dak and in the Bolder CO area.
During a recent air flight & elk count around Salmon, ID. 30+ wolves were reportedly seen around the elk wintering near town.

Wolves are known to prey upon the big bulls weakend by the rut. That means less big bulls to hunt!

Just thought ya'd like to know the truth!
Hnter

[M.T. Pockets]

I've hunted the NW part of Wyoming a few times and I'm booked to go back in Sept. '06. I saw a big black wolf trailing a Muledeer in the Spread Creek area in the fall of 2000. Didn't see any grizz though.

Fall of 2003 I hunted further North & West near Arizona Creek, encountered a few grizz but no wolves (not saying they're not there).

I know wolves will travel and spread like a cancer into areas the biologists said they've never go (I'm from Minnesota so I have some experience with wolves). From what I've heard the areas affected hardest are the Northern Yellowstone herds and Idaho, although I know areas East of the winter feedgrounds near Jackson Hole don't hold elk the way they used to.

Like it or not, the winter feedgrounds alter the whole ecosystem, but they're necessary due to man developing all of the natural winter range of these elk. This concentrates the elk into a smaller area in the winter and the wolves can surround them and contain them, I'm no biologist, but I think this will increase the odds of disease. I could talk a long time and get mad, so I think I'll stop.

As far as grizzlies go, I think the State of Wyoming is missing a huge opportunity to sell a few tags and hunt them. If every area got 1 tag a year they could use it to harvest some of the more mature, aggressive bears and put some fear of man back into them. I think this would reduce the number of bears killed in self defense (and nuisance bears killed by the park service) each year by an equal amount and it would have a minimum affect on the overall population. Have a lottery system for state residents for these tags and the department would get a lot of support from the people of Wyoming.

Enough from this non-resident, but I love your state and would hate to see the quality hunting you have now diminished. By the way, you forgot to mention the current status of the moose population.

[Skyline]

MT Pockets............as I understand it the state of Wyoming, and Montana as well, would love to have a controlled permit hunt for grizzly.........but your Federal government won't let them. Until you can get the Feds to downlist the grizzly from the federal endangered speices list, the states do not have any powers to establish an annual allowable harvest and implement a season.

As for wolves, I can only sympathize with hnter. When the park boys were busy importing some of our Canadian wolves to transplant in Yellowstone, many of us up here were shaking our heads. What is happening now to you in the western states is exactly what those of us that live with them day in and day out knew would happen.

Our Canadian anti-hunting types have taken away our game managers abilities to do winter wolf culls in areas where they were hammering the big game, but we can still hunt them and trap them. Ain't perfect but at least there is some control......and Conservation officers will even set poison (very controlled) if a rancher is having grief.

You guys have the Feds listing the wolves with the grizzlies as endangered, and you can be rest assured it will be a long hard struggle to get seasons allowed for either. You folks have way more anti-hunters than we do and the media has everyone brainwashed that wolves and grizzlies continue to be on the brink of extinction. Politicians seldom do anything that may harm them in the next election and any talk of hunting wolves or grizzlies causes a great hue and cry by the well intentioned but misinformed masses.

It will eventually happen up here to.....but it will just take a lot longer. These problems are already occuring in the province of Ontario, as far as bear and wolf management goes, and not surprisingly it is the largest stronghold of urbanites and Disney worshippers in Canada.

[royinidaho]

Yup! I hear ya hntr.

At the end of Jan. ID govnr and Fed. What's her face will sign control or most of control of wolf program to Idaho.

Ranchers will be issued permits to take wolves that are about to or are chompin' on their beef.

Don't know what all of this means except that possibly one level of hassle is remove between me and who ever handles wolves.

Super wierd winter had pretty much nixed my "feral dog" hunt. The elk and deer are still spread out across the desert. No "feral dogs" have been heard howling in the area. Well, maybe next year.

[hnter]

MT POCKETS,

WYOMING'S BEEN SCREAMING FOR YEARS TO HAVE GRIZ HUNTS !!!!!!! GUESS WHO WON'T LETUM?
YEP, YER RIGHT.... THE FEDS!!!!



BET YA REALLY DIDN'T HAVE TA GUESS, DID YA?[/B]


Hnter

[M.T. Pockets]

Oh I know about the Feds and I didn't mean to imply that it was the state of Wyoming that was not willing to consider having a season on wolves or grizzlies. Minnesota has a wolf population of over 3,000 animals, a lot of us would love to have a season of some type on them but it's not even a possibility while they're on the Fed Endangered list. If I remember right they were supposed to be de-listed when the population hit 1,500.

Any idea how many grizzly bears are in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem ? I know they're popping up in areas they've never been in before.