Wolf Wars Appear Eminent

Speaking of gray wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming only, it now appears that wolf wars may be on the horizon. Sportsmen, ranchers, individuals, legislators and other rational thinking people are coming to the end of their ropes on this wolf issue. One item may have temporarily stemmed the tide – Obama’s announcement to proceed with removing federal protection of the wolf. How long will this put off the inevitable?

This means very little to most in the Northern Rockies who have been lied to in the past, promises made and promises reneged on. And now in some areas, sportsmen sit helplessly by as years of money and effort are being flushed down the drain as an unmanaged and out of control wolf pack destroys deer and elk herds. Read more

New Wolf Control Facts

Note: The following article was originally printed in The Outdoorsman No. 33, February 2009 by the publisher, George Dovel. With his permission, I am republishing for Black Bear Blog readers.

Before I present the current Idaho wolf population data, the following highlights from the Alaska Board of Game wolf and bear control program approved in early March 2009 are very interesting. Because Alaska DFG Biologists are the undisputed experts in North American wolf research and in state control of wolves adversely impacting big game populations, this information should be read and discussed by every legislator and biologist involved in the wolf delisting process.

In early February, 2009, before the AK Game Board even met to consider requests for wolf control, Defenders of Wildlife (DOW) mounted a television campaign in opposition to aerial wolf control, using Hollywood actress Ashley Judd as its spokesperson. Judd called aerial killing of wolves “senseless savagery,” and attacked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for approving the practice (ID and MT take note). Read more

People Think Obama Should Oppose Wolf Delisting Because Bush Supported It

It appears maybe Barack Obama will have his recent statement that all his decisions will be based on science tested immediately. Shortly before leaving office, the Bush administration once again announced plans to remove protection of the gray wolf. Upon Obama’s taking over the White House, an order was sent out suspending all pending actions by the Bush administration. This included the wolf delisting proposal.

Ken Salazar took over at the Department of Interior and recently it was announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would proceed with the proposal Bush and then Sec. Dirk Kempthorne had devised. Needless to say this angered a lot of people who, it seems, just assumed that Obama would oppose delisting because it was a Bush initiative. Read more

To Catch A Wolf – Part IV

To Catch a Wolf, Part I
To Catch a Wolf, Part II
To Catch a Wolf, Part III

Before we venture into some of the Scandinavian countries to examine how they dealt with wolves and wolf problems, let’s visit for a moment right here in the United States. It is believed that several subspecies of wolves inhabited much of the U.S. at one point in time.

Teddy Roosevelt went to great pains in some of his writings of the late 1800s in describing the different kinds of wolves he encountered all across the nation. He related colors, sizes, characteristics and habitats of any of these predators he came in contact with. One thing Roosevelt tells us is that even though he believed that man’s efforts to get rid of wolves certainly had a significant affect, he was convinced there was something more than man’s effort at hunting, trapping, poisons, etc. that wiped out wolf populations. Read more

To Catch A Wolf – Part III

To Catch a Wolf, Part I
To Catch a Wolf, Part II
To Catch a Wolf, Part IV

We have learned greatly from the previous writings that wolves were not only a real problem for people in many parts of the world but also the animal was despised and feared, mostly for justifiable reasons. We’ve discovered that often it was only the wealthy barons owning the resources to take up the hunt for the wolf, while the peasants were left to their own devices, sometimes their lives ending in death from wolf attacks against them.

They say necessity is the mother of invention and often out of the desperate act of survival the peasants created some ingenious contraptions to capture and kill wolves. Read more

To Catch A Wolf – Part II

To Catch a Wolf, Part I
To Catch a Wolf, Part III
To Catch a Wolf, Part IV

As I mentioned in Part I of “To Catch a Wolf”, wolves are not easy game to hunt. As I surmised also, had Russia been interested enough or financially capable to employ a steady dose of decent wolf management, perhaps some of the tactics used by wolf hunters wouldn’t have become necessary. I’m referring to tactics that resulted in mass killings of wolves.

Needless to say, some day into the future, I’m sure that one way or another, the United States is going to be faced with a dilemma on what to do about too many wolves. Initial plans are being made in some states (I mentioned Idaho in Part I) as to what rules will govern the wolf hunts if they are ever removed from protection. As in Idaho’s case, the rules essentially ban every means of hunting except for a man and his rifle. Historic documents tell us that this will not work. Initial wolf hunts may see some results but once the crafty canine discovers he is being hunted, one man and one rifle will not be any challenge to the wolf. Read more

Montana’s Wolf Recovery Act: An Exercise In “We The People”?

I’m sure the majority of Americans know absolutely nothing of Montana Senate Bill 183, the Short Title being, “Montana Wolf Recovery Act”. As I understand the proceedings, the bill is up for second reading in Committee as small items get tweaked.

The Montana Wolf Recovery Act may be a preview of more of what is to come in this country as more and more people are becoming completely fed up with the shenanigans that go on in Washington and the takeover of environmentalism. Just today I posted a YouTube video of a reporter in the U.S. Senate building asking Senator Charlie Rangel to explain his current tax cheating, among other things. His response, “Why don’t you might your own god damn business!” It’s this sort of tyranny that is beginning to get to the people. It’s supposed to be “We the people” not mind your own god damn business. Read more

To Catch A Wolf – Part I

To Catch a Wolf, Part II
To Catch a Wolf, Part III
To Catch a Wolf, Part IV

To be frank, there exists today very few people who have first hand knowledge on how to hunt a wolf. Wolf hunting many years ago became quite popular for a myriad of reasons, from the thrill of the adrenaline pumping danger to a matter of survival.

Today in America we talk of when the day comes, if ever, that the wolf we be taken off the list of protected species and man will once again be able to hunt this animal. We, including myself, often speak of the “Disneyesque” perception people today have of the wolf. I think the same can be said, at least to some degree, about how sportsmen are going to “hunt” the wolf when the time comes.

As a game management tool, specifically a population control measure, hunting has been a socially acceptable and scientifically viable means of accomplishing that task, however, I’m not so sure that we understand the difficulties we will be presented with in hunting this intelligent and highly adaptable beast. Read more