Don't worry Harvey as long as you stay in that boat them little pretty fury cute puppies are harmles. These animals are not Salmon, controlling them is done best through hunting. Otherwise just keep on paying the man. Seems to be the norm in Minnesota for just about everything. Friggen animal right advocates have no regard in consequences on unchecked animals and should have never been a consideration to management practices in MN.

The livestock depredation from wolves is now 48% in MN.
The annual restitution and sharpshooter culling is well above $400,000 in total economic taxpayer loss anually just for wolf control!
So how is it that we should leave them alone and let nature take it's course when actually...you're payin someone to kill 'em?
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Maybe I'm off course...maybe not. This is a study done by L. David Mech a MN Senior Scientist that has studied MN wolves since the early 50's.



Concurrent with the increase in wolves and wolf range, the number of wolves killed for depredation control has increased dramatically from 6 in 1979 to 216 in 1997. Projections show that a conservative estimate of the number of wolves that may need to be killed for depredation control by 2005 might exceed 400/year (Mech 1998), a serious concern to wolf advocates and environmentalists (Anderson 1999).

Excellent points Thorn, supported with some actual facts.
The point is the wolf population is being controlled to tollerable levels by depradation killing as well as the local 3S rule of shoot, shovel and shut up. So a magnificent animal is being treated like virmin. Wouldn't it be so much better if it were treated with the respect of any other big game animal where a hunter or trapper could legally harvest one and utilize it as a true trophy.

Hunting is a necessity and a proven one at that. If it weren't, there again they wouldn't need to be killed. Keywords folks...
As far as treating them as vermin it's the MN DNR's fault. To many tree huggers and AR's step in the way as usual. It was very funny to watch the legislation about the AR's trying to get a bill signed to ban dove hunting too. Numbnuts

I've seen a few deer killed by wolves in the Chippewa Nat Forest and my wife and I have been fortunate enough to see a couple. It's part of nature. It hasn't detered me from still bagging a couple of deer there every year either.

So what constitutes something as being verminous?
I'll answer that, an animal thats population has reached a capacity beyond natural balance. It's now competing for un-natural habitat and easier food sources.

And then if it weren't allowed to get to that status then what would have happened? I'll answer that, a natural flow of management, instead we have wolves [yes they're a magneficent animal] acting verminous.

and as far as where MOM grew up...Thank God the news finally broke. At least there, the verminous elderado lopopis pupis can have it's support by Sportsmen. Can you imagine the funds being allocated to wolf habitat from hunters?...I just did.

May 30, 2008
Wyoming Trophy Wolf Hunt Planned For October

From the Sublette Examiner:

A total “harvest quota” of 25 trophy-game gray wolves, in a hunting season suggested to open Oct. 1 this year in northwest Wyoming, is a new element in this year’s Wyoming Game and Fish (G&F) annual release of proposed hunting season changes.

General licenses will cost $15 for Wyoming hunters, $150 for nonresident hunters.



May 30, 2008 in General | Permalink

Deer on this land rarely see another group excpet for us. We have 200 ac. that is landlocked by Superior National forest. Its not from other hunters.

tealit...your basing all of this on an hour 4 wheeler drive and a 20 minute walk?? How many deer did you expect to see in an hour and 20 minutes in the woods.....get real.....I think it would take more time than that to make an accurate observation.....you are only on 200 acres....deer and moose both move around....maybe they weren't in your area cause there is a better food source down the road....ridiculous!!!

Thorn
The wolves are not "acting verminous", they are simply being wolves, and doing what wolves do.

My point was that the methods of taking wolves by depredation trapping, or worse the illegal taking by (shoot-shovel and shutup) is treating a magnificent animal like vermon.

A much more noble (in my opinin) method of controling the population within tollerable levels would be by a sport hunting and/or trapping seasons.

Vital,

Thanks for your opinion - and maybe I should clarify. Our land is "locked" around superior national forest. There nothing around my shack for 20 miles or so.

From the family owning the property for 80+ years; seeing the effects of fire, drought, wind, rain and logging gives more then an educated guess.

There has always been moose and deer on the property; as well as wolves. The last three to five years there has been a change in the amount of prey vs. wolves. Three weeks ago we counted a pack of 12 on our 2 mile driveway.

This weekend I am going back up north to do some work. I will keep my camera on me

Yessiree, sure as I'm a sittin here, 22 wolves, right there on the driveway.....

Who could doubt anything you say after that!

THAT SHOULD BE 12..... I WILL EDIT -

stirring the pot....thats all your posts.....just stiring the pot.

Why are wolves put on a pedestal, yet coyotes can be taken by any means even at night? Really what is the difference? I have both in my back yard. If you had mangy animals bedding down in your back yard spreading disease and coming very close to your wife or children with an aggressive demeanor, would you feel the same? Yesterday I had a coyote in the back yard at 1:30 pm that was missing hair and had a limp that I could not scare off. A few days ago I let the dog out and a timber wolf was about 25 yard away.

P.S. I live two blocks from the school!! This is not normal behavior for these animals.

That's an easy one, Tedl

The difference is that timber wolves were nearly eliminated from most of the lower 48, except for a relatively small population in Northern MN. In contrast the coyote has florished over the same time period and now habitates places it was never seen before.

I don't think any reasonable sportsman/conservationist wanted to see the timber wolf totaly eradicated, and supported some protection, as we would with any other species reduced to these levels.

What is troubling is now that recovery has been successful they still remain on that "pedistal" you speak of in some peoples eyes. Rather than celebrate the successful recovery and restore them to some limited game status, extreme environmentalists insist on continued extreme protection.

It certainly causes one to question their true motive. Was recovery of the wolf population the real objective, or just an excuse to further restrict hunting? It seems that motive is better achieved by a species lingering in endangered status than a restored population.

That is one reason I advocate every chance I get against any illegal taking of protected wolves. Deer hunters and local residents practicing 3S, (shoot, shovel, shutup) may think it is smart, but it plays right into the protectionist hand. Significant undocumented illegal taking may be the most significant source of wolf mortality, and is helping to stabalize current population levels. Protectionists point to a "natural stabilized" population to argue that there is no justification for regulated sport hunting to manage the wolf population.

the road that my cabin is on in brimson had the black wolf that would come out to the road when a car would drive by and chase it.

Also yotes can be trapped hard and never be trapped or hunted out. Guys out west will take 1000 yotes form the smae area every year with no sign that the yote population is being harmed.

If there is sustainable population and lots of public interest in lawfully harvesting them, Why not!! The minute you do that you are going to see the formation of groups dedicated to wolf-hunting and conservation. Just like every game species. It seems to me that once you allow the public to take an active role in any game species management you immediately see a skyrocketing level of appreciation. I am personally not going to fight for something I don't value or have no hopes of ever possessing. And gosh darn-it, they are beautiful, let me make a jacket out of them!!