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http://journalnet.com/news/local/article_639aacda-1232-11df-87ef-001cc4c03286.html?mode=image&photo=0
Photo above, Idaho Game and Fish Commissioner Randy Budge, addressing what wolves have done to Idaho elk herds, livestock and pets and hunters.
To All Sportsmen and Women:
The Yellowstone Elk Herd has gone from 20,000 to 6,500.
The Gallatin Valley herd in Montana has gone from 1,500 to 200 in just 3 years.
The Lolo Idaho elk herd has gone from 12,000 to 2,000.
I still get some comments from Game and Fish folks who tell me those are just isolated examples.
The scientists are now stating what hunters have told them would happen. It is unfortunate that far too many Idaho Game and Fish employees bought into the "they only eat the sick and the weak, and they will help the herds". This line was delivered to my face several times as far back as five to seven years ago.
I believe the current Idaho Director Cal Groen is doing all he can to address the wolf issue, and somehow the Idaho sportsmen need to figure out how to join forces and have ONE powerful voice, not 20 fractionalized splinter groups who are mostly fighting each other.
Hunters are responding by NOT hunting Idaho. Nonresident sales are down 25% in 2008 and 31% in 2009. Now, the excuses used to deny that the wolf is the causative factor, is to attempt to shift blame on the license increases and the economy, but the survey data reveals otherwise. The number ONE reason for down number in license sales is less elk and more wolves.
Here is my interpretation of the survey data, and looking at Utah seeing a 50% increase in applications to hunt over the same two year period:
Hunters refuse to pay MORE for LESS!
Unfortunately, that is the solution of far too many Game and Fish strategies in the west.
As I have said repeatedly, hunting in the West is on a dooms day course with less game each year. The government solution - which will fail, is higher prices, lower success rates, lower quality experience, less hunting opportunity, and at some point, the next generation of hunters will say, "NO, let's play golf, or watch sports on TV".
This is a parallel cascading effect. In addition to killing lots of elk directly, the harassment by wolves is now being proven by Montana State to show decreased body condition, lower adult survival and lower calf production.
Hunters will pay MORE for MORE.
Hunters will stand in line for quality. Hunters will still go out in the woods, even just to help family and friends who have the tag, waiting for their day, if/when that day comes when there is a GREAT outdoor experience and a good chance of success in the field.
Buying a camping permit just won't cut it anymore. WE can camp and hear the wolves howl for free !
The proverbial word "from the horse's mouth" is included below.
I sent this because far too many people still want us to PROVE what wolves will do in Utah, or question why SFW is leading the PRO-ACTIVE CHARGE to protect the future.
To wait until the elk are all gone and then getting behind an exponential curve is a TSUNAMI that can't be overcome.
And, it validates the SFW Utah Board action to invest a lot of time, money and energy to help Idaho, Wyoming and Montana save their elk herds. A lot of us hunt or want to hunt in those states, and we had a vision just beyond the horizon and could see the TSUNAMI coming, and wanted to do something about it.
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Posted: Friday, February 5, 2010 1:40 am
Updated: 1:44 am, Fri Feb 5, 2010.
By John Bulger jbulger@journalnet.com |
POCATELLO: The Idaho Fish and Game commissioner for the Southeast Region said Idaho's burgeoning wolf population has adversely affected elk numbers and impacted revenue received from out-of-state hunters.
Pocatellan Randy Budge, speaking at the Rotary club Thursday, walked the crowd through the history of wolf reintroduction in the Northern Rockies and related data regarding predation, some of which brought gasps from the audience.
Budge noted the initial goals of reintroduction were 10 breeding pairs and 100 wolves in Idaho. Wolf populations have grown at 20-25 percent a year and now number approximately 85 packs, with 1,000 wolves, which he indicated to be a conservative estimate. Wolves have been very productive, Budge said.
The 2009 delisting of wolves in Montana and Idaho under the Endangered Species Act allowed the states to open hunting, but Budge said the current numbers culled by hunters and federal controls are unlikely to keep wolf numbers in check. And Budge said the numbers are creating a problem for other animals the state is obliged to protect, preserve and manage.
From a wildlife perspective, there's no question that this growing wolf population has had a devastating impact on our elk populations and our moose populations, he said. Our scientists' and biologists' studies on all these collared packs indicate that each wolf eats an average of 16 elk per year, so if you do the math and are being conservative, our 1,000 wolves are eating 16,000 elk per year.
He said 295 sheep, 76 cattle and 14 dogs were also confirmed to have been killed by wolves in 2009.
Budge said the state's biggest and historically most stable elk herd in the Lolo Pass area has gone from 11,000-13,000 elk to under 2,000 since wolves began to inhabit the area. Put wolves into the equation, it tipped the balance, he said.
This impact resonates beyond Idaho's borders, according to Budge. Our out-of-state hunting numbers were down 25 percent in 2008, 31 percent in 2009, he said. Fish and Game polled previous visitors to the state to find out if the economy was the culprit or if it was some other reason.
The No. 1 reason listed for not coming to Idaho was, "You haven't taken care of your wolves and your wild animal populations are down", Budge recounted, and the No. 2 reason was, "Your license fees are unfair".
The second problem stemmed from a license fee increase by the 2009 Legislature that affected only out-of-state licenses. The plan to increase revenue actually resulted in a decrease in revenue, he said.
Looking to the future, Budge said current litigation regarding wolves may ultimately be disheartening for those hoping to retain state management rights.
I think there's a pretty good chance we're going to see a ruling in the next few months that may find further flaws with the delisting and we may be turning it back over to the federal government, he said. My fear is if the plaintiffs succeed in getting the wolves back on the Endangered Species list, we're going to see a relatively high level of intolerance from Idaho sportsmen who will then begin to ignore the law and have a hunting season anyway, just an illegal one rather than a legal one.
In closing, Budge said the recovery of wolves should have been hailed as one of the greatest success stories that ever existed under the Endangered Species Act, but instead we're mired with controversy and conflict and a lot of stress and strife
over who has responsibility and control, the state or the federal government.
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My only other editorial comment is that most hunters are NOT going to break the law, and risk going to Federal Prison for killing an endangered wolf. Therefore, the ONLY Acceptable outcome is to have legal wolf management.
And, if wolves are RE-LISTED as endangered species again, by JUST ONE Judge, Sportsmen must demand that Congress ACTS and changes a law that the ESA will be declared to be officially broken.
Don Peay, Founder, SFW | 
