RMEF Warns of Colorado Wolf Reintroduction Ballot Initiative

[TRnCO]

Would not destroy hunting in Colorado. This is a bunch of BS hysteria.

So do you think that the introduction of wolves will help alleviate the lack of big game tags for hunters in this state? Hard enough to get a tag as it is without having a top predator hunting 24/7/365 for the same big game animals.
The amount of money that Colo. spends already, to reimburse land owners for damage caused by big game, is bad enough as it is, wolves won't help that out any either.

Some think that we will just get a hunting season for wolves and control their numbers. Think again. Don't have to look any further than WY, MT., ID. to see how well that works. First it takes years and years of court battles just to get a season, and then wolves are dang hard to successfully hunt.

[Irving]

OTC bull elk tags are available every single year.

Let's get something right out in the open right now. Most people who say they care about elk, don't. They only care that there will be an elk for them to kill. Some people think it's a shame that most animal conservation only happens because people want them to be around to hunt, and that is NOT the argument I'm trying to make.

It just seems like a childish argument to me. "Whaaaa, a wolf/cat/out-of-state hunter might kill a game animal before I do." Anything new people will find reasons to bitch about, even if they have to make up the reasons.

"I won't be able to find any elk or deer." - walk further and hunt longer.
"The liberals tie everything up in court or try to outlaw hunting" - donate to organizations that fight them, or otherwise do something else to fight for what you want.

I'm honestly not trying to sound as shitty as I'm coming across, but I don't have a better way to express my opinion. It's just my opinion. We can all still be friends. Half my hunting partners probably disagree with me. I'm trying not to make judgments, just expressing my opinion.

[davsel]

Wolves slaughter 19 elk in 'sport killing'
http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/25/us/wyo...ter/index.html

(CNN)In what appears to be a case of "sport killing," a pack of wolves slaughtered a herd of elk in one night, Wyoming wildlife officials said Friday.

Nineteen elk, mostly calves, were found dead several days ago at a feeding ground near Bondurant, a town southeast of Jackson, said John Lund of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. A contractor delivering feed to the herd discovered the dead animals.

Good article on the history of the introduction of Canadian wolves to Yellowstone, and their subsequent destruction of native wildlife species.
http://canadafreepress.com/article/77682


https://www.ar-15.co/threads/153743-...ghlight=wolves

https://www.ar-15.co/threads/71663-W...ghlight=wolves

[Irving]

Yep, predators kill prey. I remember that event, mostly because there aren't many reported other ones to blur my memory.

[TRnCO]

OTC bull elk tags are available every single year

For now, how about moose tags? Or do wolves only eat elk?
You're right, I like big game hunting and I don't see a reason to introduce another critter that kill the same animals I want to hunt. BUT, I also realize that with wolves come many other problems/conflicts that will end up costing way more than lack of MY hunting resources.

[davsel]

It’s a lie that wolves don’t kill just for fun

[Firehaus]

For now, how about moose tags? Or do wolves only eat elk?
You're right, I like big game hunting and I don't see a reason to introduce another critter that kill the same animals I want to hunt. BUT, I also realize that with wolves come many other problems/conflicts that will end up costing way more than lack of MY hunting resources.

What about Muley populations already down so far you can?t get a tag in certain areas to hunt them? Gunnison area die off after a hard winter? White tail deer out breeding them/ hybridization of them causing sterile males locking up female mule deer reducing breeding?

Wolves are bad, no matter what that hippy dippy feel good yellowstone video would have you believe.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Irving]

The MeatEater podcast released today is all about wolves. Has a biologist who specializes in wolves, Diane Boyd, on a the guest. Pretty balanced conversation. Pretty much puts to bed all the bullshit from both sides of the wolf issue, including a lot of the things mentioned in this very thread. Give it a listen if you're interested learning something besides stuff you hear in a bar.

http://themeateater.com/listen/meate...ing-with-teeth

[TRnCO]

I didn't listen from front to back, BUT I did catch where they discussed Colo.

No doubt that wolves won't wipe out any one species, much like coyotes, their numbers fluctuate following their prey base. Less prey to eat, less coyote pups that live to maturity. Same with wolves. But we still have to manage their numbers to keep the number of conflicts to a low roar. Can you imagine if coyote hunting was banned. Sure, they wouldn't wipe out the antelope, or the rabbits, or the mice, or the cattle, but a guy could guess with a high probability of being right what would happen if their numbers weren't kept in check. And we all witnessed how the other states battled years and years to even get a season open to hunt wolves. This state won't be any different.


Also, we have to remember too that Colo. has a much higher human population then any other state that currently has wolves. ...CO 52 people per square mile, ID 20 per, MT 7 per and WY 6 per. The human interactions with wolves will increase as our population increases and could be expected to be worse then in any of the other states currently.

I wonder, if/when wolves are reintroduced in Colo., who will foot the bill? Hunters dollars? Tax payers dollars?
Do you think if the money all comes from the CDOW&P that hunters will be happy about it? Being like cutting your nose of in spite of your face. As a hunter, I hate that it takes years to get a quality tag as it is, with wolves being brought in it won't make it any easier.

[Irving]

Coyotes are different than wolves in that the more we kill them, the more coyotes there are. If there were no coyote hunting, there would be far less coyotes.