Wes
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The problem
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- The northern elk herd in Yellowstone National Park remains at its smallest size since 1988, primarily because of drought, wolves, severe past winters and outside hunting.
Park officials said the count, conducted Dec. 18 from four airplanes, found 8,335 elk in and around the park. In December 2002, researchers counted 9,215 elk.
The highest December count ever calculated was in 1994, when 19,045 elk were found in good spotting conditions, said P.J. White, a park wildlife biologist.
The size of the herd has come under intense scrutiny since wolves were reintroduced to the park and the central Idaho wilderness in 1995 and 1996. Elk numbers have been dropping steadily since then.
White said on Tuesday that wolf kills are one of the primary factors contributing to the herd's decline since the mid-1990s.
Other factors include five years of drought, big winter kills in 1996-97 and the shooting of thousands of animals during annual late hunts in Gardiner, Mont.
The hunts, designed to kill migrating elk before they damage winter range outside the park, have been cut back "as total elk numbers and elk migrations outside of the park have declined in recent years," said Tom Lemke, a biologist for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
About 1,400 permits were issued this year, down from 2,880 in past years. Harvest figures have also fallen from 2,365 elk in 1997 to just 718 elk last year, Lemke said.
"Most hunters clearly understand that fewer elk on the ground will translate into reduced hunting opportunities . . . and that's how the system is designed to work," he said.
The northern Yellowstone elk herd winters between the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park and Dome Mountain/Dailey Lake in Montana's Paradise Valley.
The solution
SILVER CITY, N.M. -- Two more endangered Mexican gray wolves have been found dead, bringing the total to 11 deaths in New Mexico and Arizona since March.
A female wolf from the Hondah Pack was found dead on the White Mountain Apache Reservation. An alpha male of the Cienega Pack was found on the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. Both deaths are being investigated, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Elizabeth Slown said
The first article goes to show the damage wolves are doing. They won't lay the total blame for the herd reduction on the wolves. They point out how many elk hunters kill but fail to mention how many the wolves kill. They also try to blame all the other factors such as winter kill and drought. But the drought and winter kills have never had the same effects as the wolves.
The next endangered species will be the elk and thats their plan. Then that will be the end of hunting, they've already succeded in reducing the number of permits allowed to hunters. And they state that we as hunters unterstand. The second article is the solution. The only good wolf is a dead one.
Wes
Screw the wolves, save the Cowboy
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. -- The northern elk herd in Yellowstone National Park remains at its smallest size since 1988, primarily because of drought, wolves, severe past winters and outside hunting.
Park officials said the count, conducted Dec. 18 from four airplanes, found 8,335 elk in and around the park. In December 2002, researchers counted 9,215 elk.
The highest December count ever calculated was in 1994, when 19,045 elk were found in good spotting conditions, said P.J. White, a park wildlife biologist.
The size of the herd has come under intense scrutiny since wolves were reintroduced to the park and the central Idaho wilderness in 1995 and 1996. Elk numbers have been dropping steadily since then.
White said on Tuesday that wolf kills are one of the primary factors contributing to the herd's decline since the mid-1990s.
Other factors include five years of drought, big winter kills in 1996-97 and the shooting of thousands of animals during annual late hunts in Gardiner, Mont.
The hunts, designed to kill migrating elk before they damage winter range outside the park, have been cut back "as total elk numbers and elk migrations outside of the park have declined in recent years," said Tom Lemke, a biologist for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
About 1,400 permits were issued this year, down from 2,880 in past years. Harvest figures have also fallen from 2,365 elk in 1997 to just 718 elk last year, Lemke said.
"Most hunters clearly understand that fewer elk on the ground will translate into reduced hunting opportunities . . . and that's how the system is designed to work," he said.
The northern Yellowstone elk herd winters between the northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park and Dome Mountain/Dailey Lake in Montana's Paradise Valley.
The solution
SILVER CITY, N.M. -- Two more endangered Mexican gray wolves have been found dead, bringing the total to 11 deaths in New Mexico and Arizona since March.
A female wolf from the Hondah Pack was found dead on the White Mountain Apache Reservation. An alpha male of the Cienega Pack was found on the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest in Arizona. Both deaths are being investigated, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokeswoman Elizabeth Slown said
The first article goes to show the damage wolves are doing. They won't lay the total blame for the herd reduction on the wolves. They point out how many elk hunters kill but fail to mention how many the wolves kill. They also try to blame all the other factors such as winter kill and drought. But the drought and winter kills have never had the same effects as the wolves.
The next endangered species will be the elk and thats their plan. Then that will be the end of hunting, they've already succeded in reducing the number of permits allowed to hunters. And they state that we as hunters unterstand. The second article is the solution. The only good wolf is a dead one.
Wes
Screw the wolves, save the Cowboy
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