Wolf supporters howling (Sane article re wolf reintroduction)

The Topeka Capital-Journal ^ | March 6, 2010 | Marc Murrell

[jazusamo]

click pics

MARC MURRELL/SPECIAL TO THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is calling out the Defenders of Wildlife, Western Wildlife Conservancy and others for using their data to erroneously state that elk populations have actually flourished since wolf reintroductions began in the mid-1990s. That statement is true, but only in areas of the Rocky Mountains where wolves aren't present, the RMEF contends.

MARC MURRELL/SPECIAL TO THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

The elk population in the northern Yellowstone area has declined from more than 17,000 animals to just over 7,000 animals since the wolf restoration project began in the mid-1990s.

[equalitybeforethelaw]

Just shoot em or poison them.

[jazusamo]

Ping!

[Pavegunner72]

Shot them in self defense- if questioned.

[utherdoul]

I’d love to have wolves introduced here (Cape Cod and MA) they could take care of the deer, coyote, squirrel, and overabundance of retirees around here. Besides wolves are friendlier than your average democrat around here.

[jazusamo]

LOL! There’s something to be said for that.

[Ditto]

Just shoot em or poison them.

Who, the wolves or the tree huggers?

[mbynack]

I went to the Seacrest Wolf Sanctuary for a tour last Saturday. I learned a lot. For example, when wolves kill bison and elk, it’s part of the “great circle of life”. When hunters kill bison or elk, it’s “the wanton distruction of our natural resources.”

[jazusamo]

Yep, the nuts at these type attractions would be correct if it was about a million years ago. They want all the wildlife protected and advocate there be fewer humans (all but themselves and those who believe like they do) to interfere with nature. :)

[dirtboy]

In the long run, nature appears balanced. In the short run, it seldom is. Grazing populations spike, followed by a spike in predators. Nature has cycled that way for eternity if man is not present. So the core question is, do we manage nature for the maximum benefit of man? Or for some bong-induced concept like Gaia? Wolves in small, managed numbers do help the strength of herds, but when they get too numerous herds decline and the wolves turn to domesticated animals - and hunting suffers as well.

[dirtboy]

Hunting dollars have preserved far more habitat than the kumbaya granola types ever have.

[george76]

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

http://www.rmef.org/

[jazusamo]

Hunting dollars have preserved far more habitat than the kumbaya granola types ever have.

Absolutely!

And the RMEF and many other organizations with hunters and fishermen and women as members have raised big money that actually benefit wildlife. They also have provided many members for boots on the ground improvement of wildlife habitat.

[jazusamo]

Thanks for providing the link, George. The RMEF is a great organization.

[BooBoo1000]

S.S.S.

[mbynack]

In the long run, nature appears balanced. In the short run, it seldom is.

We use to notice this when we farmed. We would see rabbit populations grow substantially over two or three years and then they would decline as the fox population increased. Soon the foxes ran out of rabbits and they died or moved out and the rabbit population took off again. On one end of the cycle we were loosing crops to rabbits, on the other end we were loosing chickens to the foxes. No matter what, there never seemed to be a part of the cycle where the farmer won.

[mbynack]

About ten years ago I read that the largest contributor to US conservation was “Ducks Unlimited”.

[dirtboy]

And professional wildlife management, with managed hunting seasons, can hunt more rabbits in one year and more foxes in another to balance out the cycles. If you ever want to see what happens when there are no predators and no hunting, go to Valley Forge National Park - it is infested with small deer that leave a browse line on trees like a weed eater has gone around at five feet off the ground and that eat just about everything in the understory of the forest - leaving a forest that will die off eventuall because no young trees can grow to replace those that die.

[dirtboy]

Yep, the prey/predator populations run in similar cycles but the predator cycle is a year or two out of phase with the prey cycle.

[mo]

“It really comes down to this: My conservative political philosophy does not threaten or affect the freedom of liberals. I don’t ask them to sacrifice anything for me, but they DEMAND I sacrifice for them”

where do we send the bill for what it costs to make the librul do-gooders feel good....