After all we have forgotten or disagreed with the reason our grandfathers got rid of the wolves in the first place.
Probably the same reason whitetails were almost wiped out by the 1890s,buffalo were almost gone,turkeys were wiped out in 18 of 39 states they existed in, elk numbers plummeted, and I could go on and on.If you really want to compare the game management of our ancestors lets compare em fairly acrossed the board.
Interesting reading in this artical as well.
http://www.yellowstone-bearman.com/wolf_numbers_deline_2005.html
A new study has shown that 70 to 75 percent of radio-tagged elk calves die in their first year -- 55 to 60 percent were killed by grizzly and black bears, 10 to 15 percent by coyotes and the remainder by wolves.
Another recent study indicates that hunting by humans, combined with the past 8-9 year drought, could be a major reason for the decline. "Climate and harvest rate are justified explanations for most of the elk decline," said the study by Doug Smith and Daniel Stabler, of Yellowstone's Center for Resources, and John Vucetich, of Michigan Tech University.
That study, which was published in the scientific journal "Oikos", noted that although the region has been in a drought, including mild winters for the past 8-9 years,, dry summers have reduced the availability and quality of food.
And thats in an area with an incredibly high number of wolves.
Then you got states like Idaho who instead of coming up with a game management plan where wolves could be delisted and managed by the state instead come out with a wolf eradication plan designed to wipe out the wolf from the state.With brainstorms like this its no wonder you cant get a chance to control the population.