Wolves in Washington

polarbear

Long Time Member
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I use to like this guy but now I think that he is more hippy than anything. Probably because he dosent hunt.

Wolf population growing in Eastern Washington

Chester Allen
The Olympian

Washington?s gray wolves were wiped out by the 1930s, but they're making a comeback.

Don?t expect to see wolves in Thurston County anytime soon ? unless you make a visit to Wolf Haven near Offut Lake ? but wolves have been spotted in the north Cascades, northeastern Washington and in the Blue Mountains in southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon.

Biologists believe that most of the wolves spotted during the past few years have been animals moving in and out of the state from established packs in British Columbia, Idaho and Montana.

?We?ve radio-tracked tagged wolves that moved into Washington and then went back through Idaho to Montana,? said Rocky Beach, wildlife diversity division manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. ?We don't have established packs yet, but they're coming.?

There?s a good chance that wolf packs will be living in remote areas of Eastern Washington within four or five years, and that's why Fish and Wildlife has formed an 18-member citizen group that will create a wolf conservation and management plan by mid-2008, Beach said.

The group, which includes ranchers, conservationists, biologists, hunters and other outdoor users, will wrestle with some tough issues.

People tend to love or hate wolves, and that means a lot of different viewpoints are needed to create a management plan.

Some of the issues include deciding how many wolf packs should live in Washington, what places are best for wolves and how to deal with wolves that kill sheep, cattle and other livestock, Beach said.

Even if you hate wolves, a management plan has to allow at least some of the animals to live, as they're protected under the federal Endangered Species Act ? and under Washington?s endangered species laws.

The federal government has proposed taking wolves off the endangered species list in a big chunk of Eastern Washington, said Doug Zimmer of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

That proposal is far from a done deal.

Biologists suspect that wolves are roaming the north and central Cascades all the way south to Naches, Zimmer said.

The rugged Cascades, which are full of deer, elk and other animals, are prime range for wolves.

But no one is sure how many wolves are out there.

Finding a wolf in thousands of square miles of rugged, roadless country is a tough chore, as the animals move around ? and they'd rather not hang around humans, Zimmer said.

?It's like finding a needle in a field of haystacks ? and the haystacks keep moving around,? Zimmer said.

But humans do stumble across wolves every now and then.

And it's likely that wolves will eventually set up housekeeping in the north Cascades ? if they haven't already.

?The thing about wolves is, if you have habitat, they will come,? Zimmer said.

The wolf is one of the animals ? along with grizzly bears ? that spells out wild country in capital letters.

Wolves were in Washington long before people arrived, and the blacktail deer, mule deer and elk managed to survive with wolves all over the place.

Yellowstone National Park is the only place I've seen wolves in the wild, and just the sight of a flurry of wolf paw prints on a muddy river bank sends a thrill rippling along your backbone.

Then you hear them howling at night, and you snap wide awake in your sleeping bag. You listen to the haunting, echoing howls as the cold air oozes over your face. You love it or hate it, but it's a little taste of how the west sounded 200 years ago.

Those feelings and sounds are worth paying ranchers for lost cattle and sheep.

Wolves belong in Washington ? maybe not in downtown Olympia ? but surely in the Cascades.

What a douche! IMO!

Eric

Ultra liberal, wolf loving, illiterate, gay, hippie midgets on crack piss me off!!!!

deerline.gif
 
It sure is funny that everyone remembers to mention the impacts which they know will occur on sheep, cattle, and other livestock, but they never seem to think about the potential impacts which will occur to wildlife populations or domestic animals (hounds, pets, etc.).

If you live in Washington, you had better insist that the "group" is balanced as most biologists, conservationists, and other outdoor users will tend to be very green. That leaves only hunters and ranchers to stand together against the tidal wave which is surely coming your way.

Everyone always seems to talk about compensating the ranchers for their losses, but since wildlife belong to no one in particular, they can be sacrificed to anything and everything. Current wildlife populations are where they are today because of hunters (the original conservationists) and our willingness to put our money where our mouth is.

Washington's Sportsmen had better be orgainzed or get there soon, 'cause this train is coming and it will run them over if they are not!
 
Knowing how people feel in NE wa, if they ever start showing up in lowlands, there will not be any discussion of what to do about it. The areas are remote, there's hardly police presenece let alone game dept presence. Nope, out there people will just do as they please.

Since our "habitat" isn't falling apart from the absence of wolves, why attempt to establish a certain number that should ever return? Just treat them like Coyotes, same regs and seasons. If you can't find a wolf now and the habitat is good what exactly is the problem?
 
And people wonder why I pack a 40 Glock in the Cascades!!! I need a bigger clip!!! Good Luck
 
Hate to tell them but in the Gifford Forest Wolfs have been see. It is pretty easy to tell the difference from a150 pound animal and a coyote. Can't say that there are lots at this point but at least 1 small group of them. Several people have seen them. If they have traveled this far this fast they must be mulipling quite rapid.
Can't say I hate them but they need to be kept to a small amount as they really don't have any preditors to take them out. Only man
 
The move towards de-listing wolves is the answer but i'm skeptical it'll happen soon enough. F&G depts should look at their budgets in Id, Wy, Mt, Ore, Ut, etc and get buzy. When herds are reduced to un-huntable levels, they'll be out of jobs, not me. Personally I know there will always be inmates in Kali so job security isn't something I dwell on. Actually Bloods and Crips are good for my business. Ha Ha Ha Ha
 
I think the wolves you're referencing in the GP here in SW WA were escapees (or just dumped) from a hybrid kennel. I know one got shot along the road and a DNA test on it showed it was a hybrid. Not sure about a bona fide pack, but doubt they traversed in from Canada and the chances they made it to Mt. Adams from ID are even slimmer. But the good news, I think you can shoot hybrids without going to prison!
 
I'm pretty sure my son and I saw one on the Yakima firing range when we were hunting last fall. We did see a ton of coyotes but there was no doubt about this guy....he was extremely dark and we only got a glimpe from a good distance but much bigger then a coyote and no where near where a big dog would be.....Les
 
Is this the person who was choosen to for the wolf study and state direction? I think the wolf should be introduced and hunted --- Hunted hard...
 
The biggest reason that wolves are moving in in northern eastern Washington is because the best wolf food is getting established here where it has never been in ancient history. As the moose population grows, so does the wolf population. Just ask someone who has lived in Canada or Alaska what their main food is. Moose calves are the veal preferred by wolves. Just wait, it is going to get worse.
 
Chester Allen is an absolutely clueless moonbat.

Kill them all. Now. Before it is too late.

________________________________________________
Liberalism is the philosophy of Western suicide.
 
>3 "S" rule Shoot,shovel and Shut
>up

You got that right!

Don

Do you hate logging? Then try using plastic toilet paper.
 
Late last October on a solo backpack hunt into the SlideRidge Unit of the Chelans I happened accross what I then thought were a large set of working dog tracks on Grouse Pass. Maybe 100 prints on the old sheep trail. No humans were placing prints with what I assumed to be a large dog. No humans were in that area. A few days later my son met up with me and I had him make a still hunt side hill push through an avalanche cut that has always held deer. I sat 600 yards from the avalanche on a finger ridge, when he entered the draw, half a dozen muleys busted out in a full blown sprint and didn't stop running for half a mile, or until out of my sight. They were on fire. Never seen this before. Those deer were in a panic. They side hilled for 1000 yards then ran full steam down the first wooded drainage which cut below my location. I could hear them crashing until out of hearing range down hill. I've hunted that Entiat/Clark/SlideRidge for nearly 4 decades and never saw deer act like that from a human encounter. The solo tracks with the odd behavior of the deer in the area does make me suspect wolves?
 
talked to my uncle this Thanksgiving who has a cabin close to leavenworth and he said there were several confirmed sightings of wolves in Alpine wilderness this summer.
 
The only list of people on the commity are the farmers. They are a minority of the group.

Your are correct that there are wolves in Apline Wilderness. The number of deer have dropped a little when I was up there...

Jim
 

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