RE: back from Idaho
We saw no fresh wolf sign, and only cut one lion track in our six days in the area. Wolves weren' t the problem. Snow is. It will take some serious snow to push the bulls down out of the high country. We did see a few more bucks, but I was the only one with a mule deer tag.
The wolf issue is a serious one. It seems that the outfitters are concerned, and rightly so. There is no end game plan in place for the time when wolf populations reach high enough levels to impact upon elk and mule deer numbers in a major way. Fish and Wildlife personell have told the outfitters and ranchers that there are no plans to EVER have a hunting season open for wolves. In my personal view, this is a bad mistake. Wolves are, like us hunters, a part of nature. We control our impact upon game populations by limiting the harvest. Wolves have no license and tag system. They kill to eat, and eat they must.
Having said that, I don' t think we have reached a " serious wolf problem" yet. F & W does need to consider the needs and issues of hunters, ranchers and others, not just the wolf lovers and tree huggers.
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Very nice! Congratulations!
