There IS a Wolf at the Door #3

The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is considered to be the most successful conservation model in the world. With the near extinction of many American species by the mid-1800's (i.e. the Bison), hunter-conservation groups like the Boone & Crockett Club began to advocate game management and regulation. There are two major principles to the American Model; fish and wildlife are for the non-commercial use of citizens and will be managed to remain at optimum levels forever.

And this is the rub. At the Wolf Symposium held 12 May in Albany, Oregon there were more than 250 concerned citizens. Their concerns were varied but mainly concerned with the lack of management of restored wolf population in Western America. As noted some parties agreeing to initial numbers of wolves required to meet ESA have not been honest. Environmentalist (preservationist) groups keep litigating for more and more wolves. The USFWS protects the wolves but does little else. The initially agreed upon required numbers of wolves have long been surpassed in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. The result of the huge numbers of unmanaged wolves now roaming the West has been devastation of healthy elk and deer herds.

David Allen, President of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation offered the following;
the Lolo Pass elk herd is down 80% of population prior to wolf introduction. The North Yellowstone elk herd was 20,000 strong prior to wolf introduction. It now stands at 4,000. The Bitter Root elk herd has lost 80% of its population. My wife and I have witnessed the changes in the Yellowstone wildlife over the 'wolf' years. This year we saw no calf elk in herds, no coyotes, no moose and only one deer. And those kinds of problems exist outside of Wyoming and Idaho.

This IS a lot of information on one issue. But the issue is BIG. Dr. Val Geist, the leading ungulate biologist in North America had this to say. Wolves kill animals and people by infection, too. Wolves pass cysts of Echinococcus granulosis, a predatory tapeworm through their feces to the ground, thus into grazing animals wherein it enters the lungs and organs and passes on to others that come in contact. Cattle, elk, deer, people and other animals are susceptible. You see that wolves may be killing wildlife, livestock and perhaps people without even attacking them. He says the Disney concept of the wolf denies the honest historical background and why they were eradicated. Wolves still take people as witnessed by a fatal attack on a human last year in Alaska.

In my next and last wolf blog I will offer up some professional solutions for the wolf problem.

There IS a Wolf at the Door #2

The wolves now running through western America came about from directives to meet the ESA (Endangered Species Act) requirements to replace an endangered species. Chosen as a substitute was the Canadian Grey Wolf. The initial objective was to create a required (and arbitrary) number of breeding pairs in each western State to attain surety that wolf species would continue to survive. The original concept was lopsided in that it avoided the biological absolute truth. Only the western States would be infused with "new" wolves, there were no plans to restore wolves in New York, Iowa, Ohio, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas or any other former eastern wolf habitats. Only the relatively unpopulated wide open spaces, forests and prairies of the western States would receive the "new" wolves. Kindly note that these locales are far from the urban armchair-biologists and anti-hunting preservationists that championed the restoration of the wolf populations. And no, none were released in Los Angeles, either.

But the restoration has been done. Depending on the source of information there are now at least 1700 wolves in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana alone. This far exceeds the originally agreed upon restoration numbers. Many biologists suspect there are probably about 3000 wolves in those States along with a trickle now spreading into Washington, Oregon, Utah and possibly Colorado. The real numbers required for sustaining the wolf population in those States are on the ground. They exist. Yet the preservationist/environmentalist groups continue to litigate for more wolves and total protection for those wolves. Those uncontrolled, unmanaged wolves have ravaged existing mammals and ungulate herds. Keep in mind that the litigant groups are the most fervent anti-hunting organizations in America. Idaho's moose, elk and deer herds have been decimated and wolves are the primary cause. The north Yellowstone elk herd numbered about 16,000 animals six short years ago; it numbers less than 4000 animals now with virtually no calves for recruitment. During a week's stay last September in Yellowstone my wife and I saw no coyote tracks, 1 doe deer, no elk calves with any of the few herds we saw and no moose. Numbers of bison seen were fewer and far between. There were few game trails one could put a foot to that did not display wolf tracks. As I go forward with this keep in mind that it takes about 35 elk a year to sustain each wolf. You do the math.

And in the middle of this controversy is a conservationist group that believes in the North American Model of Conservation. Never heard of it? Stay tuned.

There IS a Wolf at the Door

There has been much criticism leveled at the ODF&W for its decision to kill two wolves in far eastern Oregon that had developed habitual taste for beef. I am not known as a champion if the micro-management of Oregon's big game,but concur with the decision to remove those wolves. Once wolves learn livestock is easily killed, it is biological fact that they will hot relent. Criticism of any sort of management control of wolves stems primarily from anti-hunting and preservationist groups like Oregon Wild, PETA, the Humane Society of the United States, the Sierra Club and the Center for Biodiversity. They often use the romantic notion that wolves are required to maintain a healthy balance. This is an old wives tale.If this were true how did all the large mammals and ungulates in the United States recover from the brink of extinction in the late 1800's and early 1900's?

The answer is simple; the conservation, restoration and support of professional game management and protection efforts by hunter-conservationist organizations re-established the native Bison, Pronghorn, elk, mule deer, blacktail deer, and whitetail deer populations. That money and those efforts also support hundreds of other species; raptors, reptiles, birds and small mammals. Those efforts ended or slowed decades of uncontrolled grazing, market hunting and uncontrolled development. Wolves have been virtually absent from the western American wildlife picture over the past 100 years. During the period large deer and elk herds have not only survived, but flourished. The preservationist 'bunk' that wolves are required to "keep herds healthy" is pure applesauce. As my old Daddy used to say,"that old dog won't hunt!"

My next post will offer some thoughts, facts, figures and further thoughts.