December 29, 2011 | 10:28 AM | By

How returning wolves are changing Yellowstone

FILED UNDER: Fish & Wildlife, Wolves

Scientists studying the effect of wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park have published a new report with updated findings.

In the 15 years since wolves returned to the park, they found, elk and coyote populations have declined, new aspen, willow and cottonwood trees are growing, and beaver colonies are on the rise.

Elk had been over-browsing young trees and preventing new recruits, according to William Ripple, a professor for Oregon State University and lead author of the study. But the presence of wolves keeps their numbers in check and prevents elk from eating too many young trees.

“Yellowstone increasingly looks like a different place,” Ripple said in an OSU news release (see the accompanying video above). “These are still the early stages of recovery, and some of this may still take decades. But trees and shrubs are starting to come back and beaver numbers are increasing. The signs are very encouraging.”

William Ripple, courtesy of Oregon State University

Young aspen trees are now recovering in Yellowstone National Park, after wolves that were re-introduced in 1995 helped to limit elk browsing that had been killing young trees. The older trees seen here date to the last time there were wolves in the park 70 years ago.

Gray wolves were extirpated from Yellowstone in the 1920s, and by the mid-to-late 1900s their absence allowed elk to over-browse new aspen trees. Hardly any new aspen trees grew up in the wolves absence. But now, new trees are growing again.

Since wolves were reitroduced to Yellowstone in 1995-96, researchers have found:

  • Wolf population increased until 2003 and elk behavior changed
  • Northern range elk dropped from 15,000 in the early 90s to 6,000 last year
  • Beaver colonies increased from one in 1996 to 12 in 2009, promising better fish and waterfowl habitat
  • Coyote numbers decreased, promising more small mammals such as red foxes, ravens and bald eagles for other predators to eat

Of course, a lot of other changes have taken place since wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone. The reintroduced wolves spread out into Montana and Idaho, Oregon and Washington, and have reignited fights over how to handle their attacks on livestock. Montana and Idaho reinstated wolf hunts, and Oregon and Washington hashed out new wolf management plans. Reimbursement programs have been arranged to pay ranchers for livestock lost to wolves, and wolf advocate groups have sprung up to fight for wolves in court.

The list of ways wolves are changing the landscape in the West could go on and on. What would you put on the list?

  • Silvertooth

    Collar and control those wolves that were “planned” to be in the states of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming in 1994. Kill the rest by whatever means necessary.  Do not allow prolific reproduction., but give us the 200 we were told would be here. Keep their numbers low until the ungulate population can recover.  Let’s see – do we want poplar trees, or elk, deer, and moose? Explain why the people who claim to ‘love’ wildlife only love wolves, and refuse to believe the damage, danger, and disease they bring with them.

    • anon

      Yikes!

      • Silvertooth

           Let’s see – first of all, how kind of you to criticize my writing, when yours is SUCH  a magnificent example of  not only destruction of the English language, but poor spelling, and atrocious punctuation.  You should not cast stones if you live in a glass hut, and your mother should have taught you not to be so rude.  I was asked  by Ecotrope what I would add to the list, and I did so.
          I am a resident of the Bitterroot Valley of Montana, and not a hunter.  I do like elk better than beef, and am lucky to have a daughter who hunts – although there is precious little left to hunt here, or in Wyoming or Idaho, due to the overabundance of wolves, and the bear and cougar forced by hunger to hunt on the valley floor.  Freezers are empty, and many of the less advantaged are hurting this winter.
           My husband is a retired Game Warden, he was interested in your description of your illegal night hunts.     We do not hate wolves, we hate too many wolves, and what they have done to the wildlife of the area.  The wilderness areas are empty; the wolves will never go back where they could safely live, nor will the elk and deer. Our moose are almost extinct.  The cattle and domestic animals are being killed, as are household pets.    If the native Irremotus had been allowed to survive – and they were in Yellowstone in 1994 – and nurtured as were the Mackenzie Valley Ocidentallis, there would be very few problems, as they stayed safely in the wilderness areas, eating a sustainable amount of prey. 
           I am neither rowdy nor a redneck, though I take no umbrage at either insult; at least you didn’t use the ubiquitous ‘inbred’ and ‘uneducated’ as do most of your ilk. Interesting that you would come to that conclusion.  I will not tell  you what conclusions I reached about you from your post. 
            If you would take the time to look up Echinococcus Granulosus Hydatid Cyst, you will find that the introduced illegal wolves were not properly inoculated, and that the eggs  that they carry are tiny, long lived, and airborne, in tremendous numbers.  More than 75% of the wolves  taken carry this disease.  Perhaps in your nighttime  hikes, you disturb the dried feces, and the eggs stick to the moisture on your lips, eyes, and sweaty brow, and will eventually cause inoperable cysts.  This most certainly does transmit to humans, and to elk and deer, so be careful in handling the meat, should you be so lucky.  There will be many Wrongful Death Suits over this in the future, due to the lack of warning signs in the Fish and Game offices and trail heads.  
            My compassion lies with the loss of our Wildlife Heritage in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and soon to be Washington and Utah.  It lies with the wolves who were released without close monitoring and have now become a major problem, through no fault of their own, but through the complete and utter incompetence of the Federal Government who allowed this illegal travesty. 
        It appears to me that you need to investigate on your own, beyond  Ecotrope,   since you show such a lack of knowledge, and it is obvious that you do not live anywhere near wolves. 

        • JustFactsGetOverIt!

          Well said Silvertooth! I bet ya “elk and deer hunter and wolf lover” actually does not hunt! And it sounds like an idiot anyway! Cheers!

        • ghostandthedarkness

          How do explain the fact that there was MORE game and predators , ie BISON, ELK , ANTELOPE, GRIZZLY and WOLVES prior to Lewis and Clark’s expedition THAN there are today – the facts are simple. Humans , especially knuckle-dragging, nethanderthal types like you Silvertooth and your comrades have done all the damage! Did wolves wipe out the passenger pigeon or the bison – HELL NO, it was humans and human alone!

          • http://www.facebook.com/carla.mcdonald1 Carla McDonald

            Guess what, genius? It’s not necessary to be so rude when you respond, and yelling and name calling is a sign of immaturity. 
             The wolves that were here then were the native Irremotus, a smaller, less aggressive wolf that did not dine mainly on large ungulates, and  seldom on bison or predators, but there was  not more game.  Do a little  research and you will find  that the Lewis & Clark expedition almost starved to death coming over the Bitterroot Mountains.  Not much game. The Native Americans had to help them hunt almost the entire journey.Early on, ”
            Drouillard was valuable because he was the best hunter on the expedition and provided most of the food. Lewis wrote in 1806 that the expedition would not have survived were it not for the exertions of this excellent hunter.”  The wolves that were ‘introduced’ into Yellowstone in 1994 were the much larger Mackenzie Valley Wolf, Ocidentallis. You can research THAT, also.     I am a small, well educated woman, my knuckles do not drag, I do not, nor have I ever hunted  or killed anything, my husband is a retired Game Warden, dedicated to protecting wildlife.   I have two eyebrows, thank you very much. And we are not discussing Bison (Lewis & Clark ate their share early on) or passenger pigeons, we are discussing an overabundance of illegally introduced wolves who are on the verge of destroying the REST of the Wildlife Heritage of the Pacific Northwest. YOUR heritage. I don’t know where you are from, but I’m willing to bet it isn’t from a place that has been overrun with diseased wolves.

    • elk & deer hunter & wolf lover

      I am impressed that your able to convey so much ignorace of ecology and nature in only one poorly written paragraph. “kill the rest” really are you that much of a coward as a hunter and so utterly selfish. I bow and rifle hunt deer and elk, and have watched mule deer herds decline near Hells Canyon in response to increases in cougar and bear. I still fill my deer tag every other year near Halfway Oregon, but I hike for 1-3 hours in the dark with a headlamp to find abundant mature bucks.

      It is so discouraging that people still harbor such hatred and in your specific case, rowdy redneck ignorance ( there  is no danger to people from wolves and they have experienced extensive mortality from a pathogen that does not transmit to humans) to wolves.
      The only postive thing is you read ecotrope so maybe there is hope for you yet my compassion to you, unlike what you don’t give to wolves.

      • Cjderr3

        Elk and deer hunter and wolf lover, You might want to check out agenda 21 to come to your senses as to why the wolf was put here from canada. I have boxes of research and it all points in one direction. You might want to familarize yourself with what the united nations has planned for you in the future. The wolf is tied to the kyoto treaty, global warming, natural resources, gun control, your constituition, your bill of rights, sustainable development, and the list goes on and on. The liberal communists of this country and the elite of the world are using the wolf to grease the skids for the new world order. Your world is crashing right in front of you and you don`t even know it. Until you start educating yourself, you will continue to be a part of the problem as opposed to the solution. 

        • Silvertooth

          I hope that these truths are becoming more apparent to more and more people, before it’s too late. There are some things that wolf lovers will discuss, loudly, and with great gusto and few brains, and others that they will not come near. The Russians did this same thing to the peasants early on, but taking care to remove their weapons first.  Regardless, many starved, and were left without weapons. May this never happen to us – but America is going to have to WAKE UP.  This is only a small area, and most of the US are not even aware of what is happening, and don’t seem to be concerned if they do know.  Thank you for your remarks.

      • Anonymous

        So nice you can still fill your tags, just wait till wolves hit YOUR hunting grounds, you’ll change your tune! I hike far and wide as well, more wolf tracks than Elk, Moose, or Deer, they are destroying the Big Game herds in the NW, but until you see the ugly truth we have to on a daily basis, or it affects your hunt, you’re clueless! It’s hard to believe you are a hunter that doesn’t believe in management, as all other species are, including Bear and Lions, so you must be lying! These wolves we are living with have no fear of man, I have been surrounded and threatened and shadowed often hiking, they will and have attacked humans! Wolves are spreading hydatid disease among others that are sure transferable to humans, but you are misinformed as most getting their info solely from the computer! Insults make you look like a fool, in your specific case, a complete idiot!

      • Anonymous

        So nice you can still fill your tags, just wait till wolves hit YOUR hunting grounds, you’ll change your tune! I hike far and wide as well, more wolf tracks than Elk, Moose, or Deer, they are destroying the Big Game herds in the NW, but until you see the ugly truth we have to on a daily basis, or it affects your hunt, you’re clueless! It’s hard to believe you are a hunter that doesn’t believe in management, as all other species are, including Bear and Lions, so you must be lying! These wolves we are living with have no fear of man, I have been surrounded and threatened and shadowed often hiking, they will and have attacked humans! Wolves are spreading hydatid disease among others that are sure transferable to humans, but you are misinformed as most getting their info solely from the computer! Insults make you look like a fool, in your specific case, a complete idiot!

    • Animal lover

      It is not all about us. Every animal has a right to live.

      • Silvertooth

        Yes, they do. Including elk, deer, moose, cattle, horses and mules, goats, sheep, smaller wild animals, and our dogs and cats.  Unfortunately, none of them are able to stand up to a pack of wolves, roaming uncontrolled through our valley.  If you love animals, you have to love them ALL, not just wolves.

        • Animal lover

          I do love all animals. Wolves have a right to live. Just like the deer we shoot.

          • Silvertooth

            A certain number of wolves, and a certain genus of wolves were planned to be brought into the environment to live. We have many, many more wolves than were planned, a non-native breed that is much larger and more aggressive, and they are decimating the deer and elk. The moose are almost gone. If you had an infestation of anything, such as roaches, you would want the numbers brought down to a manageable number, would you not? Or would you just allow your life to be overrun with roaches? The wolves must be controlled. Not eliminated, not exterminated, but reduced to a number that does not destroy the Wildlife Heritage of the Northwest. You don’t live in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, or soon to be problem states of Oregon and Washington, do you? Thought not.

          • Silver Wolf

            A certain number, being a healthy stock of wolves, and you should not shoot them, or such in the like because they are the only thing keeping the herds you hunt healthy. Bears, and cougars take healthy animals, wolves take young, weak, sick ones, who would not make it either way in the wild.

          • Silvertooth

            Once again, do you even live near wolves? They most certainly DO  take healthy animals, and in large numbers. They have eaten the animals that the bears and cougars usually subsist on, and follow them to take away their kills. The bears and cougars have a lack of food, and are coming into civilization to find more food. Wolves will drag bears out of their dens.  Saying that they only take the ‘young, weak, and sick” only shows that you do not read the headlines, (or much of anything else) look at the photographs, or even leave your house to  get out in the wild.   Google Pack of Wolves Kill Horse Near Darby, or Wolves Kill 120 Sheep Near Dillon, or the Schram’s story of losing 9 sheep near town. Wake up.

          • Overyonder

            Waving the BS flag here. Wolves do to take the healthy and strong and adult. These wolves are sport killers and we have hundreds of pictures to prove it, but no you just keep brainwashing people into thinking they are not a danger. By the way when a child gets killed by wolves then it’s on your conscience, not mine. i just hope and pray that it doesn’t happen but I’m afraid it will.

          • Aubrey

            I’m tired of people saying that the reintroduced wolves are larger more aggressive. Some people even say they are an evasive species. That’s not true at all. Just because a wolf came from Canada, doesn’t make it that much different from the wolves that once lived in the states. 

            Whether you call it a Grey Wolf or a Timber Wolf, it is the same species Canis Lupus. The names are interchangeable. Grey wolves live over such a large area that scientists decided to classify subspecies based less on their behavior and temperament, but more simply on where the wolves live geographically. Weight, length, fur color, and skull size are factors in determining subspecies, but many subspecies are very similar, making it very hard to tell them apart. 

            There has been controversy among scientists about whether labeling Canis Lupus with different subspecies names was important or not. 

            The Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf (Canis lupus irremotus) was the subspecies of grey wolf that was listed as Endangered in the states. It weights 70-135 pounds, making it one of the largest subspecies of wolf. At the time of the wolf recovery plan, there was debate about whether this was really a subspecies that should be recognized. There was also so few of them, that researchers did not know how successful it would be to relocate some of them to Yellowstone and other areas where none existed. 

            Since the MacKenzie Valley Wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis) shares the same environment as the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf, and there was no real evidence that they were any different, it was chosen to be reintroduced. The MacKenzie Valley Wolf can get larger than the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf. It can be up to 145 pounds (only ten pounds heavier than the other subspecies), but that doesn’t mean that every wolf is that large. Most of them will fall into the same size range as the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf. Their weights are similar. If you take into consideration that some Northern Rocky Mountain Wolves would have gotten larger than the average 135 pounders, you could say their weights are exactly the same.

            In my opinion, a wolf is a wolf is a wolf. They all have similar instincts and behaviors. They will all hunt, kill, and eat whether you like it or not. All of the subspecies that once lived in the Western and Central United States had been classified as extinct. The closest known subspecies and the wolf most similar to the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf was the one that was reintroduced. Scientists didn’t have any other choice of subspecies. Also, because wolves can travel hundreds of miles to find unoccupied territory, the MacKenzie Valley Wolf population would have eventually spread and found it’s way down to the states anyway. All reintroduction did was help nature along. 

          • Wyoming Lead Cow

            A wolf  is a wolf,  is a wolf, huh? So the Mexican wolf shouldn’t get special treatment as it too is just a wolf, so Occidentalis should be introduced into all the lower 48, like they want, right?! There were at least 6 packs of Irremotus from Jackson, WY., to Dubois, WY., 90 miles, that were wiped out by the USFWS covering the fact there were still local packs of wolves, and introducing the, YES, larger and more aggressive Occidentalis! I live in the middle of this mess and have been surrounded, threatened, and shadowed plenty enough to know they have no fear of humans like the locals did and are sport killing the Moose, Elk, and Deer to the point of no return!! Moose will NEVER recover in Jackson Hole, and the Elk are falling fast! Sorry YOU’RE tired of hearing about huge wolves out here, but we are REALLY tired of people telling us we can’t believe our lying eyes and shouldn’t believe the ugly truth about wolves playing out in front of us in our own backyards!

          • Overyonder

            I suggest you might want to go back to school and learn a little more about the wolves that have been introduced into the North West. No they are not the same wolves we had here in Idaho. There are so many species and sub species of wolves that its amazing. Just the same as there are so many breeds of dogs and sub specie of dogs Just because a wolf has the same DNA does not make it the same. Hell humans have the same DNA as Neandrathal man but we have evolved, and last i checked we are not Neanderthal. As far as Yellowstone having changed because the wolves are on the rise and the Elk, Deer and moose are on the decline allowing more little aspen seedlings to grow so we can have more beaver and songbirds, Good grief like I really want to go to Yellowstone to see some flippin songbirds. People who say they are animal lovers are all about the wolf, They don’t take into consideration that these same wolves have deprived our native shiras Moose to survive, or our rocky Mountain Elk or our mule deer and White Tailed deer and yes even out cougars and bears are being killed by this predator. So if your true animal lovers then you should be able to see that controlling all predators is a must, just the same as controlling all ungulates is a must. To much of a good thing is going to kill the ecosystem. But unfortunately none of the Biologist want to learn from others mistakes they are re-inventing the wheel.

          • Silvertooth

            Well, your opinion is wrong, and those of us who know the truth are sick and tired of hearing people like you expound about something they have read. I personally saw them in Wyoming in 1992, and there were several known packs minding their business in Wyoming. The native Irremotus were NOT extinct, and if they had received a small percentage of the attention and money spent on introducing the Occidentalis, we would have back our native wolves, who were quickly exterminated by the larger more aggressive wolves who took down caribou rather than deer. If promises had been kept, the Mackenzie Occidentalis wolf  WOULD have been controlled,  not spread to Idaho and Montana, and the rest of Wyoming, and there would still be wildlife in the Wildlife areas where they belong. The wolves will never leave civilization for the thousands upon thousands of acres dedicated to them, for there is no life left there. Hope you are happy about the eradication of the elk, deer, and moose, not to mention the rest of the small species.  

    • Wildman Jakes

      It equates to the drug years when all Americans were financially benefitting. Gluttens for material things and an easy life. Hunters have been spoiled by an over population of Elk, Deer, etc. They think of hunting as a weekend in a motel and a 12 pack. Now it is back to what it should be. You want Elk? Go find it. That’s why they called it hunting in the first place.  There are 60,000 Wolves in Canada, but the hunters are crying like babies.

    • lilly

      I am amazed how you do not understand how the basic life wheel works(maybe its time to take a bio class).  By allowing wolves you are allowing tree growth which in turns allows food for the elk, dear, and so on… wolves also help getting rid of the sick or weak deer in turn leaving only healthy animals out in the wild…  The deer and elk right now are in more of a danger carrying disases than the wolves due to the fact nothing is keeping them in check…

  • Silvertooth

    Collar and control those wolves that were “planned” to be in the states of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming in 1994. Kill the rest by whatever means necessary.  Do not allow prolific reproduction., but give us the 200 we were told would be here. Keep their numbers low until the ungulate population can recover.  Let’s see – do we want poplar trees, or elk, deer, and moose? Explain why the people who claim to ‘love’ wildlife only love wolves, and refuse to believe the damage, danger, and disease they bring with them.

    • anon

      Yikes!

      • Silvertooth

           Let’s see – first of all, how kind of you to criticize my writing, when yours is SUCH  a magnificent example of  not only destruction of the English language, but poor spelling, and atrocious punctuation.  You should not cast stones if you live in a glass hut, and your mother should have taught you not to be so rude.  I was asked  by Ecotrope what I would add to the list, and I did so.
          I am a resident of the Bitterroot Valley of Montana, and not a hunter.  I do like elk better than beef, and am lucky to have a daughter who hunts – although there is precious little left to hunt here, or in Wyoming or Idaho, due to the overabundance of wolves, and the bear and cougar forced by hunger to hunt on the valley floor.  Freezers are empty, and many of the less advantaged are hurting this winter.
           My husband is a retired Game Warden, he was interested in your description of your illegal night hunts.     We do not hate wolves, we hate too many wolves, and what they have done to the wildlife of the area.  The wilderness areas are empty; the wolves will never go back where they could safely live, nor will the elk and deer. Our moose are almost extinct.  The cattle and domestic animals are being killed, as are household pets.    If the native Irremotus had been allowed to survive – and they were in Yellowstone in 1994 – and nurtured as were the Mackenzie Valley Ocidentallis, there would be very few problems, as they stayed safely in the wilderness areas, eating a sustainable amount of prey. 
           I am neither rowdy nor a redneck, though I take no umbrage at either insult; at least you didn’t use the ubiquitous ‘inbred’ and ‘uneducated’ as do most of your ilk. Interesting that you would come to that conclusion.  I will not tell  you what conclusions I reached about you from your post. 
            If you would take the time to look up Echinococcus Granulosus Hydatid Cyst, you will find that the introduced illegal wolves were not properly inoculated, and that the eggs  that they carry are tiny, long lived, and airborne, in tremendous numbers.  More than 75% of the wolves  taken carry this disease.  Perhaps in your nighttime  hikes, you disturb the dried feces, and the eggs stick to the moisture on your lips, eyes, and sweaty brow, and will eventually cause inoperable cysts.  This most certainly does transmit to humans, and to elk and deer, so be careful in handling the meat, should you be so lucky.  There will be many Wrongful Death Suits over this in the future, due to the lack of warning signs in the Fish and Game offices and trail heads.  
            My compassion lies with the loss of our Wildlife Heritage in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and soon to be Washington and Utah.  It lies with the wolves who were released without close monitoring and have now become a major problem, through no fault of their own, but through the complete and utter incompetence of the Federal Government who allowed this illegal travesty. 
        It appears to me that you need to investigate on your own, beyond  Ecotrope,   since you show such a lack of knowledge, and it is obvious that you do not live anywhere near wolves. 

        • JustFactsGetOverIt!

          Well said Silvertooth! I bet ya “elk and deer hunter and wolf lover” actually does not hunt! And it sounds like an idiot anyway! Cheers!

        • ghostandthedarkness

          How do explain the fact that there was MORE game and predators , ie BISON, ELK , ANTELOPE, GRIZZLY and WOLVES prior to Lewis and Clark’s expedition THAN there are today – the facts are simple. Humans , especially knuckle-dragging, nethanderthal types like you Silvertooth and your comrades have done all the damage! Did wolves wipe out the passenger pigeon or the bison – HELL NO, it was humans and human alone!

          • http://www.facebook.com/carla.mcdonald1 Carla McDonald

            Guess what, genius? It’s not necessary to be so rude when you respond, and yelling and name calling is a sign of immaturity. 
             The wolves that were here then were the native Irremotus, a smaller, less aggressive wolf that did not dine mainly on large ungulates, and  seldom on bison or predators, but there was  not more game.  Do a little  research and you will find  that the Lewis & Clark expedition almost starved to death coming over the Bitterroot Mountains.  Not much game. The Native Americans had to help them hunt almost the entire journey.Early on, ”
            Drouillard was valuable because he was the best hunter on the expedition and provided most of the food. Lewis wrote in 1806 that the expedition would not have survived were it not for the exertions of this excellent hunter.”  The wolves that were ‘introduced’ into Yellowstone in 1994 were the much larger Mackenzie Valley Wolf, Ocidentallis. You can research THAT, also.     I am a small, well educated woman, my knuckles do not drag, I do not, nor have I ever hunted  or killed anything, my husband is a retired Game Warden, dedicated to protecting wildlife.   I have two eyebrows, thank you very much. And we are not discussing Bison (Lewis & Clark ate their share early on) or passenger pigeons, we are discussing an overabundance of illegally introduced wolves who are on the verge of destroying the REST of the Wildlife Heritage of the Pacific Northwest. YOUR heritage. I don’t know where you are from, but I’m willing to bet it isn’t from a place that has been overrun with diseased wolves.

    • elk & deer hunter & wolf lover

      I am impressed that your able to convey so much ignorace of ecology and nature in only one poorly written paragraph. “kill the rest” really are you that much of a coward as a hunter and so utterly selfish. I bow and rifle hunt deer and elk, and have watched mule deer herds decline near Hells Canyon in response to increases in cougar and bear. I still fill my deer tag every other year near Halfway Oregon, but I hike for 1-3 hours in the dark with a headlamp to find abundant mature bucks.

      It is so discouraging that people still harbor such hatred and in your specific case, rowdy redneck ignorance ( there  is no danger to people from wolves and they have experienced extensive mortality from a pathogen that does not transmit to humans) to wolves.
      The only postive thing is you read ecotrope so maybe there is hope for you yet my compassion to you, unlike what you don’t give to wolves.

      • Cjderr3

        Elk and deer hunter and wolf lover, You might want to check out agenda 21 to come to your senses as to why the wolf was put here from canada. I have boxes of research and it all points in one direction. You might want to familarize yourself with what the united nations has planned for you in the future. The wolf is tied to the kyoto treaty, global warming, natural resources, gun control, your constituition, your bill of rights, sustainable development, and the list goes on and on. The liberal communists of this country and the elite of the world are using the wolf to grease the skids for the new world order. Your world is crashing right in front of you and you don`t even know it. Until you start educating yourself, you will continue to be a part of the problem as opposed to the solution. 

        • Silvertooth

          I hope that these truths are becoming more apparent to more and more people, before it’s too late. There are some things that wolf lovers will discuss, loudly, and with great gusto and few brains, and others that they will not come near. The Russians did this same thing to the peasants early on, but taking care to remove their weapons first.  Regardless, many starved, and were left without weapons. May this never happen to us – but America is going to have to WAKE UP.  This is only a small area, and most of the US are not even aware of what is happening, and don’t seem to be concerned if they do know.  Thank you for your remarks.

      • Anonymous

        So nice you can still fill your tags, just wait till wolves hit YOUR hunting grounds, you’ll change your tune! I hike far and wide as well, more wolf tracks than Elk, Moose, or Deer, they are destroying the Big Game herds in the NW, but until you see the ugly truth we have to on a daily basis, or it affects your hunt, you’re clueless! It’s hard to believe you are a hunter that doesn’t believe in management, as all other species are, including Bear and Lions, so you must be lying! These wolves we are living with have no fear of man, I have been surrounded and threatened and shadowed often hiking, they will and have attacked humans! Wolves are spreading hydatid disease among others that are sure transferable to humans, but you are misinformed as most getting their info solely from the computer! Insults make you look like a fool, in your specific case, a complete idiot!

      • Anonymous

        So nice you can still fill your tags, just wait till wolves hit YOUR hunting grounds, you’ll change your tune! I hike far and wide as well, more wolf tracks than Elk, Moose, or Deer, they are destroying the Big Game herds in the NW, but until you see the ugly truth we have to on a daily basis, or it affects your hunt, you’re clueless! It’s hard to believe you are a hunter that doesn’t believe in management, as all other species are, including Bear and Lions, so you must be lying! These wolves we are living with have no fear of man, I have been surrounded and threatened and shadowed often hiking, they will and have attacked humans! Wolves are spreading hydatid disease among others that are sure transferable to humans, but you are misinformed as most getting their info solely from the computer! Insults make you look like a fool, in your specific case, a complete idiot!

    • Animal lover

      It is not all about us. Every animal has a right to live.

      • Silvertooth

        Yes, they do. Including elk, deer, moose, cattle, horses and mules, goats, sheep, smaller wild animals, and our dogs and cats.  Unfortunately, none of them are able to stand up to a pack of wolves, roaming uncontrolled through our valley.  If you love animals, you have to love them ALL, not just wolves.

        • Animal lover

          I do love all animals. Wolves have a right to live. Just like the deer we shoot.

          • Silvertooth

            A certain number of wolves, and a certain genus of wolves were planned to be brought into the environment to live. We have many, many more wolves than were planned, a non-native breed that is much larger and more aggressive, and they are decimating the deer and elk. The moose are almost gone. If you had an infestation of anything, such as roaches, you would want the numbers brought down to a manageable number, would you not? Or would you just allow your life to be overrun with roaches? The wolves must be controlled. Not eliminated, not exterminated, but reduced to a number that does not destroy the Wildlife Heritage of the Northwest. You don’t live in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, or soon to be problem states of Oregon and Washington, do you? Thought not.

          • Silver Wolf

            A certain number, being a healthy stock of wolves, and you should not shoot them, or such in the like because they are the only thing keeping the herds you hunt healthy. Bears, and cougars take healthy animals, wolves take young, weak, sick ones, who would not make it either way in the wild.

          • Silvertooth

            Once again, do you even live near wolves? They most certainly DO  take healthy animals, and in large numbers. They have eaten the animals that the bears and cougars usually subsist on, and follow them to take away their kills. The bears and cougars have a lack of food, and are coming into civilization to find more food. Wolves will drag bears out of their dens.  Saying that they only take the ‘young, weak, and sick” only shows that you do not read the headlines, (or much of anything else) look at the photographs, or even leave your house to  get out in the wild.   Google Pack of Wolves Kill Horse Near Darby, or Wolves Kill 120 Sheep Near Dillon, or the Schram’s story of losing 9 sheep near town. Wake up.

          • Overyonder

            Waving the BS flag here. Wolves do to take the healthy and strong and adult. These wolves are sport killers and we have hundreds of pictures to prove it, but no you just keep brainwashing people into thinking they are not a danger. By the way when a child gets killed by wolves then it’s on your conscience, not mine. i just hope and pray that it doesn’t happen but I’m afraid it will.

          • Aubrey

            I’m tired of people saying that the reintroduced wolves are larger more aggressive. Some people even say they are an evasive species. That’s not true at all. Just because a wolf came from Canada, doesn’t make it that much different from the wolves that once lived in the states. 

            Whether you call it a Grey Wolf or a Timber Wolf, it is the same species Canis Lupus. The names are interchangeable. Grey wolves live over such a large area that scientists decided to classify subspecies based less on their behavior and temperament, but more simply on where the wolves live geographically. Weight, length, fur color, and skull size are factors in determining subspecies, but many subspecies are very similar, making it very hard to tell them apart. 

            There has been controversy among scientists about whether labeling Canis Lupus with different subspecies names was important or not. 

            The Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf (Canis lupus irremotus) was the subspecies of grey wolf that was listed as Endangered in the states. It weights 70-135 pounds, making it one of the largest subspecies of wolf. At the time of the wolf recovery plan, there was debate about whether this was really a subspecies that should be recognized. There was also so few of them, that researchers did not know how successful it would be to relocate some of them to Yellowstone and other areas where none existed. 

            Since the MacKenzie Valley Wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis) shares the same environment as the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf, and there was no real evidence that they were any different, it was chosen to be reintroduced. The MacKenzie Valley Wolf can get larger than the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf. It can be up to 145 pounds (only ten pounds heavier than the other subspecies), but that doesn’t mean that every wolf is that large. Most of them will fall into the same size range as the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf. Their weights are similar. If you take into consideration that some Northern Rocky Mountain Wolves would have gotten larger than the average 135 pounders, you could say their weights are exactly the same.

            In my opinion, a wolf is a wolf is a wolf. They all have similar instincts and behaviors. They will all hunt, kill, and eat whether you like it or not. All of the subspecies that once lived in the Western and Central United States had been classified as extinct. The closest known subspecies and the wolf most similar to the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf was the one that was reintroduced. Scientists didn’t have any other choice of subspecies. Also, because wolves can travel hundreds of miles to find unoccupied territory, the MacKenzie Valley Wolf population would have eventually spread and found it’s way down to the states anyway. All reintroduction did was help nature along. 

          • Wyoming Lead Cow

            A wolf  is a wolf,  is a wolf, huh? So the Mexican wolf shouldn’t get special treatment as it too is just a wolf, so Occidentalis should be introduced into all the lower 48, like they want, right?! There were at least 6 packs of Irremotus from Jackson, WY., to Dubois, WY., 90 miles, that were wiped out by the USFWS covering the fact there were still local packs of wolves, and introducing the, YES, larger and more aggressive Occidentalis! I live in the middle of this mess and have been surrounded, threatened, and shadowed plenty enough to know they have no fear of humans like the locals did and are sport killing the Moose, Elk, and Deer to the point of no return!! Moose will NEVER recover in Jackson Hole, and the Elk are falling fast! Sorry YOU’RE tired of hearing about huge wolves out here, but we are REALLY tired of people telling us we can’t believe our lying eyes and shouldn’t believe the ugly truth about wolves playing out in front of us in our own backyards!

          • Overyonder

            I suggest you might want to go back to school and learn a little more about the wolves that have been introduced into the North West. No they are not the same wolves we had here in Idaho. There are so many species and sub species of wolves that its amazing. Just the same as there are so many breeds of dogs and sub specie of dogs Just because a wolf has the same DNA does not make it the same. Hell humans have the same DNA as Neandrathal man but we have evolved, and last i checked we are not Neanderthal. As far as Yellowstone having changed because the wolves are on the rise and the Elk, Deer and moose are on the decline allowing more little aspen seedlings to grow so we can have more beaver and songbirds, Good grief like I really want to go to Yellowstone to see some flippin songbirds. People who say they are animal lovers are all about the wolf, They don’t take into consideration that these same wolves have deprived our native shiras Moose to survive, or our rocky Mountain Elk or our mule deer and White Tailed deer and yes even out cougars and bears are being killed by this predator. So if your true animal lovers then you should be able to see that controlling all predators is a must, just the same as controlling all ungulates is a must. To much of a good thing is going to kill the ecosystem. But unfortunately none of the Biologist want to learn from others mistakes they are re-inventing the wheel.

          • Silvertooth

            Well, your opinion is wrong, and those of us who know the truth are sick and tired of hearing people like you expound about something they have read. I personally saw them in Wyoming in 1992, and there were several known packs minding their business in Wyoming. The native Irremotus were NOT extinct, and if they had received a small percentage of the attention and money spent on introducing the Occidentalis, we would have back our native wolves, who were quickly exterminated by the larger more aggressive wolves who took down caribou rather than deer. If promises had been kept, the Mackenzie Occidentalis wolf  WOULD have been controlled,  not spread to Idaho and Montana, and the rest of Wyoming, and there would still be wildlife in the Wildlife areas where they belong. The wolves will never leave civilization for the thousands upon thousands of acres dedicated to them, for there is no life left there. Hope you are happy about the eradication of the elk, deer, and moose, not to mention the rest of the small species.  

    • Wildman Jakes

      It equates to the drug years when all Americans were financially benefitting. Gluttens for material things and an easy life. Hunters have been spoiled by an over population of Elk, Deer, etc. They think of hunting as a weekend in a motel and a 12 pack. Now it is back to what it should be. You want Elk? Go find it. That’s why they called it hunting in the first place.  There are 60,000 Wolves in Canada, but the hunters are crying like babies.

  • Addi4

    Hmmm…but in any case, I bet all the animals would prefer to have less humans around.

    • Silvertooth

      I am sure that they would definitely prefer to have less wolves around. The elk  and deer can no longer follow their historic trails out of the winter mountains, they will be eaten.  The bulls can no longer bugle to call the cows, or to challenge the other bulls, they will be eaten.  If you don’t know, cow elk bed down and ‘talk’ to each other and their disobedient children. They are now silent.  They can no longer bed down or rest where they always have, they will be eaten. The cows have the calves ripped from their bellies, and they are left to bleed to death, sometimes taking several day, while their unborn babies have their hearts and anus eaten out, and the bodies left behind. Wolves seldom come back for kills, as do cougars and wolves, they are always on the lookout for fresh animals to kill.  So, as far as Montana ungulates, no, they are hiding on private property where some ranchers provide night riders to protect them, and many are hiding out by the river banks. It has been over 100 years since there were wolves in this valley, the elk had to relearn the art of fear.  We did NOT invade their territory, the native Irremotus wolves were safely back in the wilderness areas with enough to eat without being bothered by humans. Now, there is a quota, which will never be met, and the wolves increase in numbers by 32-50%  per year. Come up with a solution, or please – no remarks.

  • Addi4

    Hmmm…but in any case, I bet all the animals would prefer to have less humans around.

    • Silvertooth

      I am sure that they would definitely prefer to have less wolves around. The elk  and deer can no longer follow their historic trails out of the winter mountains, they will be eaten.  The bulls can no longer bugle to call the cows, or to challenge the other bulls, they will be eaten.  If you don’t know, cow elk bed down and ‘talk’ to each other and their disobedient children. They are now silent.  They can no longer bed down or rest where they always have, they will be eaten. The cows have the calves ripped from their bellies, and they are left to bleed to death, sometimes taking several day, while their unborn babies have their hearts and anus eaten out, and the bodies left behind. Wolves seldom come back for kills, as do cougars and wolves, they are always on the lookout for fresh animals to kill.  So, as far as Montana ungulates, no, they are hiding on private property where some ranchers provide night riders to protect them, and many are hiding out by the river banks. It has been over 100 years since there were wolves in this valley, the elk had to relearn the art of fear.  We did NOT invade their territory, the native Irremotus wolves were safely back in the wilderness areas with enough to eat without being bothered by humans. Now, there is a quota, which will never be met, and the wolves increase in numbers by 32-50%  per year. Come up with a solution, or please – no remarks.

  • Jimgeddes

    Whine and cry sheesh. Give the wolves a break. Us tax payers are footing the bill to reimburse the ranchers and pay for damage caused by wolves and also to study them. I’d rather my money go to the Grey Wolves than the elected ones. 

    • Cookie

      You should really research exactly how they are reimbursing the ranchers for their lost livestock before you comment.  They are fighting for every dime that they get, and 3/4 of the wolf kills have not been paid.  Just more BS that they are using to paint a pretty picture.

      • Silvertooth

        Not only that, but the few reimbursements made are for calves, a bare minimum of what that animal is worth should it have been allowed to grow up.  The DOW (Defenders of Wolves) had a “fund”, I don’t know if they have one this year, but it was spent within the first two months of 2011.  Also, when called, the F&G have to ‘confirm’ that is is a wolf kill – and they somehow manage to not be able to get to the kill site until days afterward, where carrion birds and other scavengers have destroyed evidence and foot prints, and the reimbursement is denied.  This is the entire thing, Cookie, we are talking to people who do NOT live here, who have NOT had losses, or even seen what damage has been done. To people who refuse to believe the difference, and don’t have the interest to investigate the differences between Native Irremotus and Mackenzie Valley or Occidentalis wolves and their life styles. They are too busy worried about the trees and shrubbery. Either they are complicit in the illegality of this introduction, or they are dumb as rocks, take your pick. 
         

    • Anonymous

      Give the Elk, Moose, and Deer a frickin’ break….  Do some research on who is paying for damage management and conservation of wildlife!!

  • Jimgeddes

    Whine and cry sheesh. Give the wolves a break. Us tax payers are footing the bill to reimburse the ranchers and pay for damage caused by wolves and also to study them. I’d rather my money go to the Grey Wolves than the elected ones. 

    • Cookie

      You should really research exactly how they are reimbursing the ranchers for their lost livestock before you comment.  They are fighting for every dime that they get, and 3/4 of the wolf kills have not been paid.  Just more BS that they are using to paint a pretty picture.

      • Silvertooth

        Not only that, but the few reimbursements made are for calves, a bare minimum of what that animal is worth should it have been allowed to grow up.  The DOW (Defenders of Wolves) had a “fund”, I don’t know if they have one this year, but it was spent within the first two months of 2011.  Also, when called, the F&G have to ‘confirm’ that is is a wolf kill – and they somehow manage to not be able to get to the kill site until days afterward, where carrion birds and other scavengers have destroyed evidence and foot prints, and the reimbursement is denied.  This is the entire thing, Cookie, we are talking to people who do NOT live here, who have NOT had losses, or even seen what damage has been done. To people who refuse to believe the difference, and don’t have the interest to investigate the differences between Native Irremotus and Mackenzie Valley or Occidentalis wolves and their life styles. They are too busy worried about the trees and shrubbery. Either they are complicit in the illegality of this introduction, or they are dumb as rocks, take your pick. 
         

    • Anonymous

      Give the Elk, Moose, and Deer a frickin’ break….  Do some research on who is paying for damage management and conservation of wildlife!!

  • Dorothy Slade

    I am so very pleased that the U.S. Govt. finally realizing the great attributes the wolves are doing for for the land.  I now am hoping that they will stop the ruthless killings of these wolves and other animals on this earth.  They have been put on this earth for a purpose, so let them fulfill this purpose…..

    • Silvertooth

      A reasonable amount of wolves, as we were promised in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, would have been welcomed, especially if they were our Native Irremotus wolves; smaller, shyer, and happy to stay in the wilderness and eat a sustainable amount of prey.” Ruthless killings? ”  We can’t even meet the low quota. Do you not realize that they are reproducing at 32-50% per year?  There is NO alpha male and female mating for life, they will mate whichever wolf is avalable?   Have you not read what these uncontrolled packs of animals have done to the wildife of the North West?  The US Government has perpetrated a giant hoax on you, using your tax dollars, and eliminating a Wildlife Heritage for future generations.  It’s like having a ‘couple of roaches”. When the roaches start reproducing and you are not able to get rid of them, you will begin to wonder what to do. Washington and Oregon are about to face this same problem.  There is no wildlife left in the wilderness areas, including wolves, who are in the valleys and drainages, causing untold damage. The wildlife areas that used to teem with animals are silent and empty.  Surely  you don’t think that is a GOOD thing?
      As for their purpose, it appears to be to stop hunting, and therefore gun sales. The Russians did it before, worked for them.

      • cedarklamish

        Sounds like the PETA  folks and F&G depts have merged with an agenda that is working. So sorry for the problems the “out of control” wolf population is bringing to your home. Now we are starting to listen to the same sort of BS from our “emf’s”/political hacks heading up our F&G dept in CA. Following is a direct quote from the CA dept of F&G website: 
        “Whether one is for it or against it, the entry of this lone wolf into California is an historic event and result of much work by the wildlife agencies in the West,” said DFG Director Charlton H. Bonham. “If the gray wolf does establish a population in California, there will be much more work to do here.” 

        • Silvertooth

          Thank you for a understanding,  logical and intelligent response.   It has almost brought tears to my eyes.   And, wait for it – Washington, Oregon, and California will be screaming for help in less than 5 years.

    • KAOR

      yes indeed they have. Read GENESIS… that is of course unless you are an Atheist and only in it for yourself…

    • LITM

      I am not about to punctuate and use big words…but out of all the friends and family I have, over half hunt for sport and not to fill their empty freezers. I am not on any side but if this is such a concern for the numbers in elk, deer, ect. then maybe we should take a look at what we take as human’s. We decimate more land with our ever expanding city limits that are continually encroaching the “Wilderness” home of ALL animals.
      Maybe if we pay a little more attention to why hunters are really hunting, then as said in past posts, nature will have a chance to balance itself out. And I will say it again, “Sport” not certain need.

  • Dorothy Slade

    I am so very pleased that the U.S. Govt. finally realizing the great attributes the wolves are doing for for the land.  I now am hoping that they will stop the ruthless killings of these wolves and other animals on this earth.  They have been put on this earth for a purpose, so let them fulfill this purpose…..

    • Silvertooth

      A reasonable amount of wolves, as we were promised in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, would have been welcomed, especially if they were our Native Irremotus wolves; smaller, shyer, and happy to stay in the wilderness and eat a sustainable amount of prey.” Ruthless killings? ”  We can’t even meet the low quota. Do you not realize that they are reproducing at 32-50% per year?  There is NO alpha male and female mating for life, they will mate whichever wolf is avalable?   Have you not read what these uncontrolled packs of animals have done to the wildife of the North West?  The US Government has perpetrated a giant hoax on you, using your tax dollars, and eliminating a Wildlife Heritage for future generations.  It’s like having a ‘couple of roaches”. When the roaches start reproducing and you are not able to get rid of them, you will begin to wonder what to do. Washington and Oregon are about to face this same problem.  There is no wildlife left in the wilderness areas, including wolves, who are in the valleys and drainages, causing untold damage. The wildlife areas that used to teem with animals are silent and empty.  Surely  you don’t think that is a GOOD thing?
      As for their purpose, it appears to be to stop hunting, and therefore gun sales. The Russians did it before, worked for them.

      • cedarklamish

        Sounds like the PETA  folks and F&G depts have merged with an agenda that is working. So sorry for the problems the “out of control” wolf population is bringing to your home. Now we are starting to listen to the same sort of BS from our “emf’s”/political hacks heading up our F&G dept in CA. Following is a direct quote from the CA dept of F&G website: 
        “Whether one is for it or against it, the entry of this lone wolf into California is an historic event and result of much work by the wildlife agencies in the West,” said DFG Director Charlton H. Bonham. “If the gray wolf does establish a population in California, there will be much more work to do here.” 

        • Silvertooth

          Thank you for a understanding,  logical and intelligent response.   It has almost brought tears to my eyes.   And, wait for it – Washington, Oregon, and California will be screaming for help in less than 5 years.

    • KAOR

      yes indeed they have. Read GENESIS… that is of course unless you are an Atheist and only in it for yourself…

    • LITM

      I am not about to punctuate and use big words…but out of all the friends and family I have, over half hunt for sport and not to fill their empty freezers. I am not on any side but if this is such a concern for the numbers in elk, deer, ect. then maybe we should take a look at what we take as human’s. We decimate more land with our ever expanding city limits that are continually encroaching the “Wilderness” home of ALL animals.
      Maybe if we pay a little more attention to why hunters are really hunting, then as said in past posts, nature will have a chance to balance itself out. And I will say it again, “Sport” not certain need.

  • Anonymous

    Same old nonsense more aspen trees. Who cares what is the number 1 complaint this year in Yellowstone WHERE IS ALL THE WILDLIFE? Well you see some brain dead overeducated “so called” experts made up this fairy tale that wolves balance nature. Now 16 years later after 15,000 elk have been slaughtered off the Northern Elk herd the hoax has been exposed as a fraud. Wolves never balance nature they destroy it this has been the largest kill off of elk in the last 100 years and these yahoo ” so called ” experts are bragging about it. I go to a national park to see wildlife not barren forest with trees. To think some people are dumb enough to lose paradise on propaganda like this make you think our National IQ has drop 50 points….. We want all wildlife not barren forest with 1 lone wolf…. …

  • Anonymous

    Same old nonsense more aspen trees. Who cares what is the number 1 complaint this year in Yellowstone WHERE IS ALL THE WILDLIFE? Well you see some brain dead overeducated “so called” experts made up this fairy tale that wolves balance nature. Now 16 years later after 15,000 elk have been slaughtered off the Northern Elk herd the hoax has been exposed as a fraud. Wolves never balance nature they destroy it this has been the largest kill off of elk in the last 100 years and these yahoo ” so called ” experts are bragging about it. I go to a national park to see wildlife not barren forest with trees. To think some people are dumb enough to lose paradise on propaganda like this make you think our National IQ has drop 50 points….. We want all wildlife not barren forest with 1 lone wolf…. …

  • Biophilia

    After reading every comment on this thread, I’m more afraid of the hostile and demeaning comments submitted by 95% of the people, then  the wolves that are being vilified by them.  Regardless, I will humbly raise my voice even though I’m certain the responses will only criticize and plead my ignorance.  I’m genuinely thankful to learn the perspectives that residents such as Silvertooth, WyomingLeadCow, and OverYonder are sharing, however the delivery is so hostile that it diminishes the strength and power to be constructive in teaching us “others” what it’s like to live on the frontline.  Regardless of where any of us are living, this is still our COLLECTIVE issue. As a democratic, and supposedly civil society, we must work together to find answers to this extremely complex issue.  Each persons perspective has the potential to add value and thus get us closer to finding these answers.  So here is my perspective; wolves have every right to be here, we had no right to attempt to eradicate them (or the first peoples for that matter) in the first place simply because they competed for the same meat that we wanted to eat in this region.  However, the vast quantity of people now thriving across the PNW landscape adds innumerable complications for a natural balance to be restored.  Each of us are a part of that landscape, and as such deserve to both listen and be heard.  I have great empathy for those that are living in wolf territory and want to help support both you and the wildlife that you so graciously get to be a part of in your day to day experience. There are ways that your urban counterparts can support you, and it doesn’t just involve jumping on the “kill wolves” bandwagon. How you ask?  TOGETHER. I’d like to work with you and others to find solutions, the question is, will you reach out and work with us?

    • Silvertooth

      This is not a new issue, and I am sorry if you think my delivery is hostile, but after being threatened and called an inbred, redneck, uneducated hillbilly, and had every fact written either called a lie, or flat denied, one becomes hostile. It’s not as if we are making this up, it is an ongoing part of our lives. We have begged for solutions as to what we are supposed to do with the overabundance of wolves in our area, when they run out of prey, as they are at a rapid rate.
      We are looking at the loss of all of the elk, deer, and moose in the Bitterroot Valley.  The “increase” in elk reported here fails to say that it is due to the fact that over 2000 elk have been either killed or chased out of the Sapphire Wilderness area. Other wilderness areas devoid of life are the Bitterroot-Selway, Frank Church River of No Return, and the Bob Marshall, among others. The wolves are not going to return to an empty wilderness, and the few ungulates hiding out in the valley certainly aren’t. That leaves wolve reproducing at 32-50% per year,  with elk numbers at 2 calves per 100 cows, and 11 bulls per 100 cows, who are mostly now past calving age.  The FWP report says we will have no ungulates in less than a year, and that it would take  killing 95% of the wolves every year for the next 10 years to have enough JUST TO FEED THE WOLVES. The wolves are smart and elusive, and hunt at night, traveling many miles, and disappearing after a kill. They do not often return to an old kill.  Not one soul has come up with a solution as to what we are to do with these wolves. Oh, a few have said Fladry (doesn’t work more than 10 minutes), putting cattle in barns (thousands on thousands of acres); relocating (can’t even find them, totally impractical), electric or buried fences (can you imagine the cost, in an economically depressed area?)  And here we are, unable to even meet the tiny Quota of wolves allowed to be harvested, and the wolves will soon be mating again, so the Quota is useless. The Fish and Wildlife people (now that they are admitting that there ARE many more wolves than they told us) are no help, except to extend the hunting season.  So yes, I have gone from being a very concerned citizen, with the Welcome Creek Pack recently a mile above our home (which has been here long before the wolves arrived, as has most of the valley) to a hostile person – sorry ’bout that.

  • Biophilia

    After reading every comment on this thread, I’m more afraid of the hostile and demeaning comments submitted by 95% of the people, then  the wolves that are being vilified by them.  Regardless, I will humbly raise my voice even though I’m certain the responses will only criticize and plead my ignorance.  I’m genuinely thankful to learn the perspectives that residents such as Silvertooth, WyomingLeadCow, and OverYonder are sharing, however the delivery is so hostile that it diminishes the strength and power to be constructive in teaching us “others” what it’s like to live on the frontline.  Regardless of where any of us are living, this is still our COLLECTIVE issue. As a democratic, and supposedly civil society, we must work together to find answers to this extremely complex issue.  Each persons perspective has the potential to add value and thus get us closer to finding these answers.  So here is my perspective; wolves have every right to be here, we had no right to attempt to eradicate them (or the first peoples for that matter) in the first place simply because they competed for the same meat that we wanted to eat in this region.  However, the vast quantity of people now thriving across the PNW landscape adds innumerable complications for a natural balance to be restored.  Each of us are a part of that landscape, and as such deserve to both listen and be heard.  I have great empathy for those that are living in wolf territory and want to help support both you and the wildlife that you so graciously get to be a part of in your day to day experience. There are ways that your urban counterparts can support you, and it doesn’t just involve jumping on the “kill wolves” bandwagon. How you ask?  TOGETHER. I’d like to work with you and others to find solutions, the question is, will you reach out and work with us?

    • Silvertooth

      This is not a new issue, and I am sorry if you think my delivery is hostile, but after being threatened and called an inbred, redneck, uneducated hillbilly, and had every fact written either called a lie, or flat denied, one becomes hostile. It’s not as if we are making this up, it is an ongoing part of our lives. We have begged for solutions as to what we are supposed to do with the overabundance of wolves in our area, when they run out of prey, as they are at a rapid rate.
      We are looking at the loss of all of the elk, deer, and moose in the Bitterroot Valley.  The “increase” in elk reported here fails to say that it is due to the fact that over 2000 elk have been either killed or chased out of the Sapphire Wilderness area. Other wilderness areas devoid of life are the Bitterroot-Selway, Frank Church River of No Return, and the Bob Marshall, among others. The wolves are not going to return to an empty wilderness, and the few ungulates hiding out in the valley certainly aren’t. That leaves wolve reproducing at 32-50% per year,  with elk numbers at 2 calves per 100 cows, and 11 bulls per 100 cows, who are mostly now past calving age.  The FWP report says we will have no ungulates in less than a year, and that it would take  killing 95% of the wolves every year for the next 10 years to have enough JUST TO FEED THE WOLVES. The wolves are smart and elusive, and hunt at night, traveling many miles, and disappearing after a kill. They do not often return to an old kill.  Not one soul has come up with a solution as to what we are to do with these wolves. Oh, a few have said Fladry (doesn’t work more than 10 minutes), putting cattle in barns (thousands on thousands of acres); relocating (can’t even find them, totally impractical), electric or buried fences (can you imagine the cost, in an economically depressed area?)  And here we are, unable to even meet the tiny Quota of wolves allowed to be harvested, and the wolves will soon be mating again, so the Quota is useless. The Fish and Wildlife people (now that they are admitting that there ARE many more wolves than they told us) are no help, except to extend the hunting season.  So yes, I have gone from being a very concerned citizen, with the Welcome Creek Pack recently a mile above our home (which has been here long before the wolves arrived, as has most of the valley) to a hostile person – sorry ’bout that.

  • jaseale55

    It’s my understanding that the reduction in elk population in Yellowstone doesn’t mean they are being hunted out there by the wolves. On the contrary, their numbers are actually increasing in areas outside of the park – which should make hunters happy since hunting of elk inside Yellowstone is not permitted. Having wolves inside the park is simply pushing the herds outside of the park, and this has allowed the restoration of the ecosystem inside the park.

    • Silvertooth

      Surely, you don’t think that the wolves are confined to the park? They started leaving almost immediately after they were released in 1994. They have spread through Wyoming, were introduced into Idaho, and spread into Montana, so you are correct in that they have increased in numbers outside the park – as well as inside.  The wolves in Yellowstone (and the bears and cougars they have driven to eat more elk than they ever have, as the wolves have eaten everything else) are responsible for the numbers in the National Elk Refuge to drop from 19,000 to 2,500, and the numbers are continuing to drop. The elk that have left have been eaten by the wolves outside of the Park.  The moose are almost completely gone.   My apologies, but your theory is fatally flawed.  You want aspens and wolves, or wildlife such as elk, deer, and moose. You cannot have both.
       

  • jaseale55

    It’s my understanding that the reduction in elk population in Yellowstone doesn’t mean they are being hunted out there by the wolves. On the contrary, their numbers are actually increasing in areas outside of the park – which should make hunters happy since hunting of elk inside Yellowstone is not permitted. Having wolves inside the park is simply pushing the herds outside of the park, and this has allowed the restoration of the ecosystem inside the park.

    • Silvertooth

      Surely, you don’t think that the wolves are confined to the park? They started leaving almost immediately after they were released in 1994. They have spread through Wyoming, were introduced into Idaho, and spread into Montana, so you are correct in that they have increased in numbers outside the park – as well as inside.  The wolves in Yellowstone (and the bears and cougars they have driven to eat more elk than they ever have, as the wolves have eaten everything else) are responsible for the numbers in the National Elk Refuge to drop from 19,000 to 2,500, and the numbers are continuing to drop. The elk that have left have been eaten by the wolves outside of the Park.  The moose are almost completely gone.   My apologies, but your theory is fatally flawed.  You want aspens and wolves, or wildlife such as elk, deer, and moose. You cannot have both.