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Here it comes Colorado! The feds are considering transplanting the small-statured Mexican wolves in the Centennial State to help the endangered species. Most of you probably knew this was headed your way, but we probably wouldn’t have predicted it would be coming this soon. However, CPW voted to reject the idea and send a message to the feds that they don’t want wolves reintroduced. All reports indicate that the feds probably aren’t listening and may just reintroduce wolves with or without Colorado’s support.
They left one small caveat in their vote though, they won’t oppose migratory wolves from establishing themselves when they arrive. This statement actually carries a small piece of irony in that they really don’t have much of a choice. When wolves who were supposed to stay in Yellowstone migrate south and transplanted Mexican wolves migrate north to meet in the middle the only choice is to come up with a plan for management. The broken ESA will make sure these animals meet and eventually breed and populations will skyrocket in a matter of a few years.
The federally protected animals will have free reign for a few years while CPW works to build and then implement a management plan that should include hunting and trapping. But where does that leave us as hunters who have been or are planning to build points to hunt the largest elk herd in the U.S. or the top B&C mule deer producing state? It leaves us having to take a serious look at cashing in sooner than expected.
As we speak the Colorado MRS is being written and I know that every one of you will probably start taking an even more in-depth look at the charts to find the hunts that you want to apply for. It won’t take long for for migratory wolves to make their presence known, and if the feds choose to supplement that rising population with new wolves from south of the border we could see a repeat of the Yellowstone wolf disaster in Colorado.
Make your voices heard on this issue and make sure you have a strategy to hunt Colorado soon. This has the potential to change the hunting landscape there for years to come!
Looks a lot like a coyote…I may have difficulty detecting the difference as I kill them…
The Left will never be happy until all guns have been confiscated and all hunting has been banned. One of the biggest reasons for owning guns in the first place (after self-defense and “just because I like them”) is hunting. So, reduce the populations of those species most hunters want to pursue, and the number of hunters will reduce too (who wants to go deer hunting in Manhattan? No? Main reason: no deer). Yes, there are animal rights activists who want to reintroduce wolves just because they love wolves, but I submit another reason is to destroy hunting opportunities for “all those redneck gun lovers” (like us). Sound conspiratorial? If the shoe fits, wear it!
Kevin it doesn’t sound conspiratorial at all, sounds like the truth to me.
All you have to do is look how these cute fuzzy little dogs ate all of the elk in Idaho and Montana and that is what is going to happen in Colorado. Why doesn’t the ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION file a lawsuit for damages? Oh that’s right they wanted to be politically correct and, can’t we just all get along? NO WE CAN’T!!!! We can no longer afford to destroy our resources that we have spent millions of dollars on just to have the antis destroy them at our expense(tax dollars pay for their lawsuits). Go on line and check the facts!!!
Not sure their reintroduction into Colorado is really going to be that big a deal. This is a very small variety of wolf and shouldn’t be the threat to elk that the Canadian Gray wolf might be. I too had been anti-wolf re-introduction initially. Wolves moved into Oregon and I thought our hunting would go to he** in a hand basket. It hasn’t had a very severe impact IMHO. Last season I drew the coveted Wenaha big bull tag, where there is an established pack. Our party saw one wolf and lots of tracks- no elk kills found. The elk simply go into the steep canyons and the wolves seem to stay on top. The biologist I talked with in researching my hunt said that cougars are the most dangerous predator to the elk in this area.
I’m a hunter not a tree-hugger but just wanted to give another possible perspective.
Mexican wolf by itself or in a pack, will have no problem in taking a newborn or yearling calf elk or fawn down, believe me, Just another damn predator. You have any idea what it takes to support (feed) a wolf or a wolf pack, for example in one week. Do the math and you might get a honest idea what the loss might be. You sure as hec don’t need to ask a game officer. Those Yellowstone wolfs are migrating out of the park.The Wyoming G.F. new that was going to happen and have fought it from the beginning You want to support our wildlife, buy hunting and fishing licenses and tags, smaller wildlife counts equals = less permits available to sell. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out.
WOW Roy, I’ve done the math like you said it’s incredible x+y-z=wolf monthly consumption, and to calculate the mortality rate I used a/c sqd. I apologize I just didn’t understand the big picture. I will now shoot every wolf that enters my yard. Never again will I ever talk with a game biologist- just another highly educated guy that really knows nothing about the science he/she studied.
Hey Dan ,didn’t want you to think they are dumb…LOL, It’s really a matter of eating and staying alive for the wolf or any other predator. check the Mountain lion, a deer a week, seen coyotes packs chase deer down until they there are totally exhausted. Does or cows will separate to bear there young, leaves them very much in danger from a predator. When they are in a heard, all the eyes, noses, and ears are tuned in for any danger, a lot of protection. Makes it very hard for any predators to pull a sneak. Good Hunting my friend, My hunting days are over , been hunting all over the western U.S. since I was 13, now I am 75 years old, Thanks for the feed back.
I’m a hunter and 2nd amendment supporter. I don’t think the Feds are using the elk to remove guns from our country. This is an attempt to try and complete the balance of nature which of course we ruined by moving here. But what the Feds don’t understand is that the cycle or balance wil never be what it was 200 years ago. Heck it won’t be the same as it was 100 years ago. The water is under the bridge and way down river. So if you want to put wolves out there then there should be a plan in place to control the numbers prior to the reintroduction. Makes sense to me but the Feds are ,and I mean this with the upmost respect, total fucking retards! Sorry. They listen to these people who have nothing better to do than write letters and try and repair the guilt they somehow feel that we exist. Let me ask this. The gun lobby and hunting groups and clubs supposedly are one of the biggest in the nation. So why is this even a topic. I guarantee we out number the letter writers. So write your damn congressman and tell him what you think. Duh! Take the 5 minutes and tell them you won’t vote for them if they don’t SHOW UP and vote this down. Tom many of them abstain and then they don’t get held accountable. To be honest though it’s pretty neat being out hunting and hear the wolves howl. One of the few times I’ve ever had chills run up my spine. I like them out there I just wish we had more opportunity to hunt them. Keep the numbers manageable. Thank you.
Hope you had a good hunt Dan! My experiences have been vastly different though. In Snake River Unit we had a group of six Canadian Wolves move in on a bull I was blood trailing and they proceeded to eat him and could not be chased off! Very unnerving but that is Mother Nature at her best. This year in the same area we watched as the same group of Canada’s finest(now 12 in number two years later) moved across four canyons and built a wolf funnel towards the bottom of each canyon. They used the howls and barks to herd the elk over the top and then moved to the next canyon and repeat. What an amazing thing to witness but unfortunately I don’t think it worked out to good for the Wapiti. We counted 18 kill sites in ten days, 1 bear spotted(usually see a dozen), Deer numbers down to less than 20 total(usually see 100) and worst of all no young bulls in the population whatsoever. Now I don’t know if the young bulls are more vulnerable to predation or not but we saw no spike or even raghorn bulls in two weeks of hunting. Calf numbers seemed to be around 20% which I think is low but I don’t know that to be fact. Anyway, this is our experience and if we hunters don’t stick together and share these things as often as possible our heritage will be gone before your grandson has a chance to even know.
Looks like a coyote to me… And should be treated the same way
S.S.S. (Shoot. Shovel. Shut up.)
100% best policy IMO
Wolves or Feds?
Hmm, seems to me that the stock in .223 ammo will go up and lots of sales on shovels.
Sure the Mex wolf is smaller and may not predate on elk, but we all KNOW coyotes regularly take down deer, so whats to say that they wont cause a cyclical decline in mule deer herds after they are also chopper dropped into CO.
BTW,, I still wonder how in the heck the (IN)famous OR7 suddenly found a “mate” in the area NW of Klamath Falls… Hmmmmm cant seem to get anyone at OFDW or the Feds to comment on that one. I wonder why!? Wonder if one of those black unmarked choppers flying around Salem had a hand in it.
As you know,they are already being established in Arizona. I and many of my sportsman friends are shit full of the federal government on soooooooooo many fronts. This is one we can actually do something about. We will shoot every wolf on sight! Shoot,shovel and shut up is a common mantra here. I say forget the shovel part. Shoot and walk away. Barnes Varmint Grenades do a fine job and leave no ballistic evidence. Our deer herds have been declining for years due to drought,mismanagement and the inexplicable down cycle seen through much of the west. The last thing we need,is the introduction of another large predator into the mix. Shooting wolves is just good practice in battling our own government. If Hillary gets elected next year,it will just be a matter of time before will be fighting on multiple fronts!
Was in new mexico 6 years ago west of santa fe they were talking about releasing mex gray wolves we came upon 8 to 10 running loose then
I wondered how long it would take the California transplants to attack hunting in Colorado. ANY of you in the west think this is purely the “Feds”, and not a liberal plan, is either naive, or very high on Colorado pot!
As far as the coyote reference, put down your pipe, and you tube “coyote buck kill”, there are more than a few trail cam videos of coyotes killing deer. This season, a friend saw three coyotes chasing two bucks across a pasture.
Wolves are wolves, and they are alpha predators. We shoot coyotes on sight here, and they still have reduced the deer herd. Forget the past, and doom yourself to repeat it. They had to poison wolves to remove them, they had decimated wild ungulates, and advanced onto livestock, and the public demanded their removal. Now everyone eats out of plastic,and thinks wildlife, and Disney characters come from the same mountain.
Actually saw a show on TV depicting the overpopulation of cougar in California as an intrusion on them. Never mind the eaten joggers, we are the cause of cougars acting out. Them cougars in LA just want to be petted.
Rather we like it or not… it’s all about politics! Sadly these cookie-cutter professional (?) politicians from both prominent parties say one thing and do another. Until we get it right and insist on throwing ALL these bums out of office from the top down, we’ll have to live with it. If all the sport-hunting minded men and women would get unified and voice their opinion as ONE rather than individuals we might have a chance at the freedoms we deserve. Think about NOT buying licenses and permits and CONTINUE to hunt… and when encountering unwanted, unneeded predators SHOOT AND SHUTUP.
Wolves are great and the topic alone gets everyone excited, regardless of which side of the fence. But why do you have to whore out Colorado? “Make your voices heard on this issue and make sure you have a strategy to hunt Colorado soon.” Colorado outdoors, with an over the counter bull tag, is already trampled by out-of-staters and locals alike, resulting in less than favorable hunting conditions. We don’t need more people, who already whore out hunting to make a living, do the same to our state. Wyoming boys! That’s where you want to hunt! Lot’s of elk (and trophies too) and nobody up there!
These issues of the Feds doing whatever they want will never change so maybe we should start thinking about how the Wolves taste. Probably like chicken? Only time will tell.
Kinda like a cross between golden eagle and spotted owl! Lol!
Mexican Wolves are already here. I know of at least one male that’s a likely remnant from the first reintroduction. I’ve seen him four times, have trail cam pics and also a plaster cast of a print. I teach tracking to naturalists and can assure its wolf due to size, print characteristics and track measurements. They are pretty scrawny and not much of a threat to elk. Plus, they really stay fairly low in the desert shrub lands, foothills and lower montane. Expect them in the extreme southern part of the state. Unless your building points for the 20k per gun private land down there, don’t worry. Not going to see them in the high mountains, northwest or the B&C mule deer units. Read the literature on their habitat and food requirements and see for yourself.
And keep building your points!
I was on an Elk hunt in New Mexico about 3 years ago. My guide,at that time also worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. He is no fan of wolves and told me that the Feds have several 10’s of thousands of dollars invested in each wolf they raise. I can’t remember the exact number but it seems to me the number was around $80,000.00/Mexican wolf. Your tax dollars at work. He commented that some school districts in New Mexico have had to enclose rural bus stops with cyclone fencing to protect children. He also told me that at the same time they released a bunch of Wolves in New Mexico they also released 6 across the boarder on Mexican soil. The only time I saw him smile during this New Mexico wolf tutorial was when he told me that within a matter of weeks after the release of the Wolves on Mexican soil they had all been shot by the Mexicans. Apparently, a lot of Mexicans think the only good wolf is a dead wolf. It was truly an interesting but unpleasant lesson for me. Some of the Indian reservations in New Mexico make a decent amount of money selling deer and elk tags. The Indians (who also don’t want wolves) are allowed to trap and relocate any wolves found on their land. They are also allowed to kill them if they are found hunting or harassing game or livestock. My guide also said that he heard of one Indian tribe being compensated by the feds $28,000.00 for the loss of a mature bull elk.
Anyway, what really got me was that he believes the feds want to create a corridor for the Mexican Wolf and the Canadian Gray Wolf to meet and interbreed. The grey wolf is larger and the Mexican wolf is smaller but much more aggressive. The feds hope the two will interbreed and create a SUPER WOLF. That was really hard to hear. I was left shaking my head in disgust. I’m no law breaker but it really kind of makes you want to Shoot, shut up and shovel. Just like the Mexicans did. My only questions is…. What do you do with the radio collar??
Hang it on a truck that transports illegal aliens!
The wolves belong back in their original range. Get over it. Chronic wasting disease wouldn’t even be an issue if the wolf was in the equation. Treat the ecosystem as a whole not just a holding been for trophy hunters.
Robin, Where do you live, L.A. Ca. How much money and time have you spent or donated to preserving, protecting or supporting our wildlife or the habitat. besides flapping your uneducated lips. There are enough negatives involved already in preserving our wildlife without the need of wolfs or the likes of the BS your coming off with.
Man, the Feds keep bringing bad stuff into our country. Canadian wolves(ate all the deer/elk in Northern Rockies). Mexican wolves,Syrian refugees. Heck, none of these things are ever a positive outcome. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency put “red wolves” in Smokies years ago; spent millions on the deal and found out they were some type of coyote/wolf cross. Ooopps!! Then they put out rattlesnakes to cull the turkeys they planted before(that have taken over the state). Poison snakes in a highly populated state like Tennessee!!! The TWRA lies about there being cougar in Tennessee. Well, recently some honest hunters checked their trailcams and found many shots of cougars. TWRA said for years these photos were from elsewhere or any cougar seen in Tennessee were captives that got away or were released by humans. Anybody out there priced a cougar lately?? I’m sure people are buying them and turning them out just for fun? When will the Wildlife book-nerds learn that you can’t restore all wild animals to America that were here before man settled. I swear this is true; for a while Tenn. was giving bear permits for hunting inside the city limits of Gatlinburg because people were getting chased around their cars when they came out of their apartments to go to work. Recently a TWRA officer admitted there might be one cougar in Tenn(the one on the private trailcam); but he was sure there were no more. These are wild animals–would they really migrate to a mate-less area? All they do is hunt, eat, reproduce. Maybe its a male who wants to join the priesthood. If there is one–there are two. That’s just nature. They should stop planting animals(or foreign people) all over our country. The Dept. of Agriculture seeded Japanese beetles/Ladybugs in Tennessee to eat some type of plant eating Aphid. They were trying to avoid pesticides–now the bugs are everywhere and one big nuisance. I’ve lived in Colorado and I know what a major % of state funds come from all the outdoor activities. If the state with the largest Elk herd lets wolves decimate their numbers—there goes the big bragging herd populations that draw many hunters. Also, the OTC tags would be reduced because of reduced animals. Why can’t they see this. I wish they would let some of these nature lovers spend a night hugging a tree-not because they love it-but because they got chased up it by some “friendly wolves” who just dropped-by their campsite to say “Hello”. I don’t want to sound paranoid or all rogue-but almost everybody I know owns an AR-15 now and as much ammo as they can afford. These aren’t just blue-collar folks; but MD.s/lawyers/preachers. Everyone I know is arming-up and I’m not even sure if they know what for. I think they’re all scared the Feds have interfered and adjusted our country so much that one day they will come for our guns/knives or just one day come on TV and say all funds for LE and water treatment plants is gone and say good luck as they sign off for the last broadcast. Then we become would-be hunter/yuppies and that may not be pretty. I live in the country and have had people moving out of nearby Nashville think they can move to a farm in March with the idea of planting gardens and living off the land. They have no idea it takes months from planting til harvest. A TWRA agent told me we had so many turkeys, we were selling them to Texas for $500./each. Texans better get ready to come out for work in the morning and run the turkeys off their vehicle hoods. Man, they screw-up your paint. Oh well, sorry for the long vent, but it’s all true and you mark my words–the government will mess-up the beauty that Colorado is famous for. I told an older lady recently; who had found big cat tracks near her farmhouse; it makes you think twice about taking garbage out late at night. I’ve always enjoyed being at or near the top of the food chain. Good Luck to all who love this country. Keep hunting; even if the seasons go away.
Boy !! Where you from, Texas ? You have way to much time on your hands.You need a JOB son. I have heard of people saying a lot in a few words to make a point… I must say…’ you have a flair for confusing the shit out of me’ HA HA
You ever seen a well fed coyote that’s been eating good , to the untrained eye could be mistaken I never heard of any wolves being released in Wyoming except in Yellowstone Park. Information I have herd, I could be mistaken and not up to date, Wyoming Game and Fish do not allow or support any transplanting of any wolfs outside of the park.
I have news for you, we ready have wolves in Colorado. Seen the first one dead along the highway back in 2002 less than 20 miles out of Denver. Traveled 400 miles from where it was released in Wyoming. Since then in the past two years I’ve seen no less than a half dozen. The DOW just won’t admit it!
My mistake Bob, my reply to your post is above your comment , Sorry
I agree, looks like a coyote. Don’t bring them here alot of people have worked hard to get the hunting populations to where they are. Looks like a coyote, shoot them like a coyote!
Robin, By that logic we should bring back the Grizzly Bear???? God, I hope not.
Hypothetically,,,, If a person gutshot or broke a rear leg on a wolf with no snow cover, made a complete pass through on the shot, there would be no evidence. Say they picked up there brass and walked away without checking for a hit, there would be no evidence. The wolf would then die somewhere else or be killed by the pack. This is all hypothetical. Just saying.
Hypothetically, Barnes Varmint Grenades totally disintegrate internally,thus ,hypothetically, leaving no ballistic evidence! Just sayin’!
If they leave the parks, they are fair game. Our National Parks are managed for all to enjoy. Not a fan of the wolf. I think they are a species that can quickly get out of control if not kept in check by control hunting. I would want to hear from Park service, State wildlife managers and Bio people, local farmers and ranchers before I would consider such a DUMB move. One Hunter and wildlife supporter, who has hunted all over the western U.S. for 65 years opinion.