lungbuster12point06

I think there is a place for wolves in the ecosystem, A VERY SMALL PLACE, once the numbers climb as high as they are here in Wi., Mi., Mn. and Yellowstone, there needs to be a management program in place........There is a very interesting editorial in the most recent Bowhunter Mag. that I think bemidji needs to read........What most hunters are saying about wolves comes from frustration NOT propaganda, it is proven through studies that wolves are the largest natural predator of deer and other game species here in the midwest, coyotes (because of thier higher numbers) come in second. Why is it that state agencies propose getting wolf numbers to a certain goal and then promise there will be controlled hunts thereafter, but IT NEVER HAPPENS..........Too many tree hugging, wolves are cute and cuddly, voters that shoot down all proposed legislation to put a sensible managemnet program in place, this is where the propaganda stems from, not hunters..............

mr.mc54

The wolf is no more a important part to our eco-system, reason being Wisconsin has evolved and our natural system has forever been changed. Any one who thinks they can make it the way it used to be is grasping at stars. There was a time that the wolf was an important part, but all has been changed. Deer can adapt to change but a wolf will always be a savage killer and needs lots of space to roam. This is a problem for the wolf as their range is getting smaller as more people move out to the country. Our state can manage the deer herd with out the wolf.

1sagittarius

2007 was the second largest harvest in state history. Did you expect record harvests would continue each year forever.

The DNR did not re-introduce wolves into the WI ecosystem ... god did. Wolves have been around in numbers for over 20 years, yet from 2004 through 2007 WI deer hunters somehow managed to harvest over 2,008,000 deer.

HA, that explains alot about you.

The only thing that needs eradicating is ignorance.

mnprohunter

Bemidjihunter, I agree with you that wolves have a place and need to be managed, but that doesn't mean that they don't need to be kept in balance, via hunting or some other method. Wolves have been a part of the woods for centuries and should continue to be, and it would be a shame to see them disappear. However, the can't go unchecked. Minnesota's wolf population is quite large and I feel that there are more then the DNR has estimated. Do they need to be cut back? Perhaps...but left unchecked they will grow to unsafe levels.

bemidjihunter

\

What?!?

Eradicate them completely? I really hope your kidding. Do a google scholar search on wolf-cervid predator prey relations. Some folks here really need to start basing anti-wolf arguments on facts rather than hearsay and outright fear.

NextGenHunter

Ok, maybe I'm not backing off.

In Texas, some 12-20% of the deer population is taken by hunting. It is the biggest cause of death here for deer. Should we manage humans now, too? Of course the population of deer drops quite a bit because of wolves, but, nature being so wonderful, it climbs right back up again. Before youcall the wolf a savage killer, think of yourself. If you believe wolves should be hunted down, that makes you the savage killer. And I KNOW that humans take up WAY more room that wolves, and we do much more harm to different species, yet we call them the savage killers. That makes me sick.

mr.mc54

Crazy talk dude- crazy- crazy- crazy

bemidjihunter

I don't neccesarily disagree with you.

I interned for the minnesota dnr this summer...I do not believe wolf numbers to be underestimated. Wolves are INCREDIBLY mobile animals with huge home ranges, which makes the population estimates seem low to the casual observer.

Wolf populations will not get out of control...they can't. They don't have enough room. Wolves are very territorial and have huge ranges. And what do you mean by unsafe level? The population is now less than 15% of what it was prior to 1950. Obviously part of that has to growth and development, but I don't think we have to worry about a little red riding hood scenario just yet. As far as maintaining a healthy carrying capacity...there isn't a mammal better than wolves out there, besides the coyote (which is the only real threat to the deer herd, if you can even call them a threat).

Hoping to exterminate or restrict wolf populations in order to keep setting deer harvest records year after year is not only incredibly irresibosible of us as outdoorsmen...it just simply won't work. Wolves play such an incredibly small role in controlling the whitetail populations.

As for wolves no longer having a place in the ecosytem...thats not for us to decide. It never was. All species have whats called an "intrinsic value," which basically means it our responsibility to protect them just because they exist. Will the natural system of north america collapse if we do lose them? Most likely not, but it doesn't matter.

I'm sorry for the rant but I'm passioate about this issue. I'm a semester away from a degree in wildlife biology, and my thesis is on wolf-deer relations. Trust me folk...I've done my homework on this one. like someone mentioned above the only thing we need to eradicate is ingnorance.

bemidjihunter

Incorrect...Wolves ranked right next to black bear and domestic dogs in fawn mortality in a recent study in northern mn, and WAY behind coyotes. I should know...I was the field intern in the study. Anti-wolf propaganda comes from frustrated hunters...frustrated hunters come from low harvest numbers...low harvest numbers come from a combination of hundreds of factors, wolves being a small portion of that.

lungbuster12point06

Bemidji, tell me how many deer 1 wolf will kill in one years time, then tell me is it not true that the wolf is the only other predator besides humans that kill purely for sport and will leave the meat to rot?
If you are doing your thesis on the wolf you should know these facts, if you don'tfeel they are fact then i think your thesis is biased...... What's really funny to me is the fact that most people on this thread that are pro-wolf no matter what the circumstance have either worked for or with the DNR in one capacity or another, I would bet these same people believe CWD can be eradicated as well