Posted on 09/25/2012 10:00:06 PM PDT by dennisw
Two gray wolves in Washington state were killed from a state helicopter Tuesday afternoon after officials decided the entire pack -- believed to be at least eight wolves -- needed to be killed because of repeated attacks on cattle, officials said.
An airborne marksman with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife killed the two wolves about seven miles from the Canadian border -- a week after marksmen and wildlife biologists spent days looking for the pack.
A major conservation group working with Washington state to manage its gray wolves agreed that the pack should be culled but also blamed a rancher in the area for not doing more to protect his cattle.
Gray wolves are listed as endangered under state law because they were nearly wiped out a century ago by settlers.
In the last decade, however, gray wolves have started to re-establish themselves in Washington due to recovery efforts in nearby states and dispersal from Canada.
At least eight packs are now established in the eastern half of Washington, which also has a conservation plan in place — one that aims to restore wolves in the wild without those same wolves preying on livestock. The state compensates ranchers who lose livestock to wolves, but that hasn't ended the tension.
"Wolves are recolonizing our state relatively quickly," Dave Ware, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman, told NBC News. "Managing conflicts is one of the most important objectives for recovery so that people don’t take things into their own hands."
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.nbcnews.com ...
Notice how Washington state creates a problem by catering to the eco-wackos..... Then has to spend more taxpayers money and hire more eco-wacko state employees to manage it
The eco-libs get put on the public payroll to manage the problem they created by forcing ranchers to accept the introduction of these predators. So this wolf pack will be killed off via expensive helicopter flights. How soon before it gets replaced by a new wolf pack they bring in? Is the marksman on the state payroll or is he an expansive contractor with the liberal political connections to get the job
blamed a rancher in the area for not doing more to protect his cattle.”
I would love to hear the members of this conservation group explain just exactly how one protects cattle from wolves. Maybe the cattle need to spend more time at the gun range or perhaps the ranchers can just spray the cattle with wolf repellant.
At least we can eat beef. Maybe we should just start wearing fur coats made out of grey wolf pelts again.
Good. Sorry folks.... anyone that thinks reintroducing wolves to Washington is a fool. The eco-system that supported wolves is no longer in place. It has been replaced by farms and livestock. Wolves are a super predator and a very bad idea in any area with a measurable population density.
Wow!! I did some work there in 1994(?) and they had just introduced what I thought were the first small number of wolves into the area (near Salmon, ID) - like 6 or 8 wolves. They must have introduced many more than that over the years.
I was close!:
The first wolves were released at Corn Creek on the main Salmon River-
Shipment of the wolves to both the Yellowstone acclimation pens and to the Idaho wilderness was briefly delayed when the Farm Bureau won a temporary injunction from the U.S. Court of Appeals. (The Farm Bureau has probably been the longest-standing and most aggressive of the major groups opposed to wolves.).
Nevertheless, on January 14, 1995 the first four wolves were released to the wild after an unplanned and perilous truck ride down the Salmon River road to its end at Corn Creek. At Corn Creek Bar on the Salmon River at the edge of the Frank Church/River of No Return Wilderness, all but one wolf immediately leaped out of its portable kennel.
Cow with guns- :) pretty soon they will have to arm the wolves to make sides even then we are off to arms race
Sounds like Idaho has their priorities straight. Made the mistake of reading some of the comments after the article. These people just drive me crazy. If they love the wolves so much they should just start an “adopt a wolf” program and take one home with them.
Lets encourage that , wolves will eat eco nuts as easily as cows. Besides which eco nuts will not fight, cannot run as fast as cows either.
Maybe in sane world there would be a season for eco-nuts, we are way over populated
Ok I usually do not read comments on articles, but because of your comment I did.
I change my last comment to we need open season on illogical eco nuts they are a danger to themselves and everyone in society.
Lock ‘em up or put em down for the good of society.
Gray wolves are listed as endangered under state law because they were nearly wiped out a century ago by settlers.
"Wolves are recolonizing our state relatively quickly," Dave Ware, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife spokesman, told NBC News. "Managing conflicts is one of the most important objectives for recovery so that people don’t take things into their own hands."
Anyone else see a discrepancy there? Seems to be a discontinuity of thought. If they're protected, what's the rancher supposed to do? Bring them in the house at night? Legally, he is severely limited in what he can do to protect his herd. (A good rifle with a decent night vision weapons sight and a backhoe come to mind...)
I live in the area, and the tree huggers are trying to prevent the ranchers from using Fed. or state lands for open range. I heard one across the road from me the other night, getting more and more.
“Managing conflicts is one of the most important objectives for recovery so that people don’t take things into their own hands.”
The Agency Person is most afraid that his fellow trough feeders will not be allowed to retain their present legal monopoly on killing wolves.
Were mere citizens allowed to kill problem wolves, how could agencies grow their agency?
Note that it took a “swarm of officers” to find and kill two wolves of a small pack. The Agency Persons even had a helicopter with a gubbament certified “marksman”. However, it is only money - our money, which the trough feeders are wasting.
I think I heard on the news last night that the rancher and others do have permission to kill the wolves of this pack. But just this pack.
On a somewhat related note, I think the salmon are also on the endangered list. You know, the salmon you can order at the restaurant or pick up at the store. (!?)
You get it. This wolf reintroduction is about more state jobs for useless eater eco-libs to manage (even shoot) these wolves the eco-libs pressured Washington State to re-introduce into the eco-lib fantasy land of the forest primeval
Yeah, I didn’t bother with the comments. Didn’t feel like getting angry.
Idaho resident hunting license fee: $12.75
Idaho resident wolf tag fee: $11.50
Look on Greenies’ faces when they learn that an Idaho resident can go perforate one of their beloved wolves for only $24.25: friggin’ priceless!
My brother lives in the Idaho panhandle and he tells me that one of his rancher neighbor’s son got himself a new winter sport last year which involved a snowmobile, a Glock pistol and the local wolf pack. He chases them down on the snowmobile and shoots any that don’t get to cover fast enough.
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