akchuck

I hope they can get the wolf population under control before they end up like my corner of Alaska. It been ten years since I have been able to hunt moose in my backyard, even though they reopen moose last year their numbers are still below what they were when I moved out here in the late 90's. Our problem isn't just wolves black bears and brown bears are almost as thick as our skeeter population. Every time the Board of Game would implement a predator control program the wolf worshiping Walter Mitty's from Defenders of Wildlife would file a lawsuit and get things stopped for that year. The black bear are so thick in this area an Alaska resident can get a permit to take any and all black bears they want.
The bear in my avatar was taken from my back porch. The next night a brownie got in the woodshed and took the hide & skull. My boys found what was left of the hide while picking fiddleheads the following spring we never found the skull.

tangozulu

Look........ I am just trying to point out what I see as a contradiction as to what you feel is your future and how I see your future. Your new reality is the same as the one we have had our entire lives in BC. Our elk herds are exploding (quote from RMEF) and yet the areas I hunt has plenty of wolves. I am trying to point out to you that your world has not ended. There is hope. Cheer up.
BC is a big place yet has a herd of "only" 50000 elk which by your standards seems like a pittance. This includes our herds of Rosy's. Yet with only 50k we manage to have an OTC rifle bull elk hunt from Mid August through to the end of OCT plus there are several late cow seasons in problem areas. How is this possable if wolves are eating elk from such a tiny herd?
My main point is and always has been that if one day you cannot hunt elk it won't be the fault of the wolves. There are far bigger issues.
On another forum it has been suggested that the long delay in opening wolf seasons was in fact due to the suite filed by Wyoming. This enabled the wolf populations to expand beyond planned target numbers and help create any inballence you now are seeing.
Good luck on your next hunt.

rather_be_huntin

Sorry if I came across a bit abrasive, that wasn't my intention.

Well you are right about one thing. You say there are only 50k elk in BC? I mean absolutely no offense by this but by no means is BC considered an elk "hotpsot" (not necessarily pittance but not where it needs to be for great elk hunting) so I would not exactly use that model as part of this discussion. Having a season that lasts for 3 months to give you ample time to find an elk is not exactly what we're looking for and I'll admit that if that makes our herds look "vast" then so be it. I don't think there is anything wrong with managing our herds for world class elk hunting. Why is that bad/wrong? But reality is that elk are no where near the populations that they used to be (before settlement) which brings us to the next point.

I too, using the letter from RMEF, stated that they waited too long to de-list the wolves. That's a MAJOR part of our problem here. The wolf population is way over objective.

Again tone can't come across on posts, my intention is to have a discussion. I don't like to shout and I do sincerely wish you happy hunting this coming season. If I could buy you a beer and really discuss this I would be happy too.

tangozulu

Other than the #2 non typical world record elk BC has fewer B&C elk than other areas. It is a great place for 300-350 bulls though, OTC and public land.
I am always up for a beer with other hunters.
cheers
tz

rather_be_huntin

Nice bull!

macman99

And that kind of attitude is why wolves are still protected and why there's still a problem in most states.

finnbear

Yep but some just can't see the forest for the trees!!! their way (SSS) is the way to go...as long as there're poachers that kill the wolves , they (the wolve) will continue to be protected!!!!

Muley70

Actually, the wolves are not protected, they have been removed from the ESA, the antis are suing to put them back on the ESA. SSS era has passed us by, it is time to focus on strict management principles. However, what are folks to do if the wolf is placed back on the ESA? We currently sit at 6x the poulation the ESA called for.

rather_be_huntin

I don't think the SSS folks have much impact on this issue anyway, it's only a sidebar to the bigger issues. The stage this is playing out on is a much bigger political arena focused on livestock, state agency actions against wolves and hunting as a hole.

I've taken the time to surf some of the wolf lovers sites to educate myself a bit on what they are really saying. They seem to be more concerned about wolves being shot by ranchers or state agencies when wolves venture too close to livestock on public ground.

Defeneders of Wildlife are organizing volunteer groups in parts of Montana and Idaho to strategically place themselves in places to keep wolves from wandering into key livestock areas in an attempt to keep state agencies from killing wolves or to be shot by a rancher which I believe is legal if wolves are chasing livestock. They keep tabs on several packs with someone watching them nearly at all times.

The anti-wolf people getting in the ears of the politicans the most seems to be ranchers, not hunters. In fact hunters seem to be hardly mentioned at all with the exception of the legal wolf hunting activities and policies. The policies are being attacked feverously and the legal wolf hunters are being attacked only for the purpose of demonizing the practice. In fact it seems very few people (outside of our hunting fraternity) are really concerned about the effect wolves are having on other game species.

It seems my wolf-huggers are raising money to pay ranchers for lost livestock and entice them to not shoot wolves. This is nothing new but is still seems to be a hot topic.

Since SSS is illegal and not considered a serious threat its not talked about. In fact I haven't seen illegal wolf kills even mentioned in the major political discussions taking place.

The thing that shocked my the most is how many "hunters" are supporting the pro wolf movement with sympathethic (pathetic in my view) statements about how they love to see wolves in the wild, many near their homes, and how they can't see any reason why they should be hunted. My guess is these "hunters" could really care less how much game they see on a hunt or if they are ever successful again in harvesting an animal.

Jr_Buck_Hunter

ok, im a wolf lover, but im always with the hunters im from florida so i havent seen a wolf never worried. try talking to your ranger about a potiten with the town all think wolves should go kill them, but if no....time to start learnin some southern styles