Wolves Are Not People

Here’s a copy of an email report from the Center for Biological Diversity:

Cruel Trap Kills Sister of Wandering Wolf OR-7

We just learned that the sister of Oregon’s renowned canine adventurer OR-7, the first wild gray wolf to set foot in California in nearly 90 years, has been killed.

OR-5, a 3-year-old member of Oregon’s Imnaha pack, died in a painful foothold trap in Idaho on March 30, the next-to-last day of the Idaho trapping season. The Imnaha
pack is quickly diminishing: In addition to the loss of OR-5, the pack’s OR-9 wolf was shot last year by an Idaho man under an expired hunting license. And  OR-16, of the Wenaha pack, was shot earlier this year while trotting along an Idaho ridgetop.

The latest wolf deaths come just as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service readies a plan to remove Endangered Species Act protections for wolves across much of the rest of the lower 48, including the Northwest, California, southern Rocky Mountains and Northeast, where wolves are just beginning to recover. The Center for Biological Diversity — the only group fighting for wolves across the lower 48 — will continue opposing efforts to pull the plug on wolf recovery. 

Pets are awarded names because they have a relationship with people, but wild animals are better off unnamed - even if it’s only a number. Wolves have a serious impact upon other wildlife and humans. They need to be managed.

Humanizing them is not helpful.

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Diminishing Returns of Wolf Recovery

My college roommate was a student of economics. He later became the controller of a large law firm. He has credibility with me, so I’ll relate a story from my college days.

Bob came in from an economics course and explained the law of diminishing returns to me in this way. The first beer is the best tasting, and each beer after that is not only less tasty, but also has other negative effects. Thus the biggest bang for your buck, is the first beer. With each subsequent beer the cost per unit of enjoyment is higher.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminishing_returns

After deliberating the wolf conundrum for a while, I’ve concluded that this rule of economics can apply to wildlife management decisions and nowhere does it apply any more appropriately than with the gray wolf recovery.

Even if species have no negative effects upon mankind, the rule of diminishing returns applies, but when species have negative effects upon society, by either threatening man’s possessions or inhibiting his peace and enjoyment, the returns on recovery are diminished at an accelerated rate.

I’d claim this as a great discovery, but surely somebody has beat me to it.

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OR7, A Wolf Conundrum

Conundrum: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conundrum

After spending the afternoon with a gray wolf stakeholder group, I have concluded that California gray wolf  management is a conundrum.

First question: Why is it important to re-establish wolves in California? Answer: It is not very important.

Second question: Why is it important to facilitate the successful rehabilitation of California wolf habitat to accommodate a stray wolf that has wandered into California? Answer: It is not very important.

Third question: What problems do wolves create for California ranchers, conservationists and wildlife managers? Answer: Too many to list.

Last question: Why are we holding meetings to make decisions about gray wolf management in California when there is only one known gray wolf in California? Answer:  California politics are out of control and we are driven by  a form of insanity, which is the result of guilt feelings (for all the evironmental destruction man has wreaked on the earth) and an out of control emotional attachment to iconic creatures – like wolves.

I am a wolf fan and I will be thrilled when I see my first wolf and hope to have a wolf  hide hanging on my wall some day, right next to a couple of coyote hides. You can bet that wolf hide won’t be from a California gray wolf.

Here are four possible solutions to the gray wolf situation. The simplest and most cost-effective approach? Have the gray wolf classified as a varmint so that it can be eradicated. This solution is simple, painless, proven and cheap. It worked well for almost 100 years. End of discussion.

If the simple, cheap, proven and painless solution is not acceptable, the second solution would be to work with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to create a recovery plan under the Federal Endangered Species Act. The recovery plan would establish management goals and create opportunities to fund activities like monitoring, study and mitigation for negative impacts to the species and its habitat. Hopefully, this would also create opportunities to manage other species, such as ungulates, that are critical prey species for wolves. But, I have to believe that the last thing the USFWS wants is to drag California into the already colossal fiasco that is taking place in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington – so odds are that this will not be the approach taken.

Another option is for California to take the lead in wolf recovery using a management plan as a guide. This option could create some problems by attempting to create a wolf program without proper funding. This approach would be particularly undesirable if wolves were delisted by the USFWS or is they make some type of formal decision that California is not important wolf habitat.

The last option  is for California to list wolves under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and use the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as a tool to fund enhancement of wolf habitat and also habitat of related prey species. Land managers and conservationists could use the enormous power of CESA and CEQA to fund mitigation for habitat losses and compensate stakeholders who are negatively impacted by wolves. This type of action would prevent the creation of a (potenitally) huge unfunded mandate (option 3). And, politicians would be making the decision to go forward with a better idea of societal costs. Under this plan, wolves could thrive and so could their prey species.

(A side benefit would be that college freshmen planning a career in wolf management will have their chances for a success enhanced.)

The complexity of  this solution would be mind-boggling and also extremely expensive. Maybe that’s a reason for it to happen.

Californians can’t resist the temptation to spend money – especially on iconic creatures. The best thing about this last option is that it could result in improved habitat for and boost awareness of the other species out there that share wolf habitat – like mule deer. Wouldn’t it be ironical if one stray wolf accomplished all that for California wildlife?

Oh. There is another solution. California’s lone wolf (OR7) could go back home to Oregon and never come back. That would be nice.

Now, having this off my chest, maybe I can go to bed and get some sleep.

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Let the Wolf Study Begin

Here’s the Mercury News report. Although not reported, I believe the vote was 3-0 with the two descenting commissioners, not in attendance. The other three had already made up their minds.

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_21692274/calif-agrees-study-protections-gray-wolf

For a few hundred thousand dollars we’ll learn nothing we don’t already know.

I suppose China will loan us the money.

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Tomorrow the CA F&G Commission will designate the Gray Wolf as a Candidate for the California Endangered Species List

The petition is in and the facts support the fact that the gray wolf was once an inhabitant of California. At this time, there is probably at least one gray wolf in California. Somebody knows for sure.

As a hunter, I have a concern for this action. If the petition were prepared by other hunters, I’d support the move. Because the petition has been produced by anti hunters, I have concern.

We admire and respect wolves because they represent everything we love about hunting and the outdoors. They are one of the supreme hunters among us. They are cunning and overpowering.

Unfortunately, unchecked, they have the ability to destroy our game herds. There seems to be no moderation  of the events surrounding wolves and this is fitting because wolves are not moderate.

An Idaho friend of mine is an elk-hunting fanatic. He owns his own pack string and hunts remote places in the Salmon River Wilderness. He has been a successful elk hunter for many years. About 15 years ago he told me he heard his first wolf  and that hearing that howl ”was really cool.”

On this year’s trip, he searched in all the traditional places. And, he found not a single elk. I didn’t ask him about wolves.

I didn’t need to.

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How Many Mustangs can a Gray Wolf Eat?

Non-native wild horses are overly abundant in many western states, including California. Their presence has a negative impact upon the habitat of many native species including mule deer.

Another species is now present in California that may also have a negative impact upon mule deer. Concerned about predation by gray wolves, I asked a biologist friend if he thought gray wolves would impact the California mule deer population.

His response may have been only half serious, but he said the wild horses might have more to worry about than the deer.

In an effort to do some research and establish parameters for continuation of this discussion, I conducted an internet search for more information. I searched for “Wolves and wild horses” on Goggle Search.

This was my answer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b2ZMwxMsXM

Not satisfied with this answer, I modified my search and came up with information provided in the following link. I believe the second link is  more accurate and realistic: http://washparkprophet.blogspot.com/2007/09/lions-wolves-and-horses.html

For each horse that feeds a wolf, we’ll probably gain about ten mule deer. Wolves or horses? It’s a close call.

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Gray Wolves Could be Listed Under California’s Endangered Species Act

Several environmental groups have joined with the Center for Biological Diversity to petition California. Read about it here: http://www.wildcalifornia.org/blog/petition-filed-to-protect-gray-wolves-under-california-esa/

California has its own version of the endangered species act. Although wolves are not currently listed in California, they are listed federally by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife service.

One gray wolf has recently entered California from Oregon. Read about it here: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/wolf/

The State has completed it’s initial review. Read about it here:

https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=54322&inline=1

Here is the petition: http://www.wildcalifornia.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CESA_Wolf_Petition.pdf

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Dispersing Male Gray Wolf Enters California from Oregon

California forests are now home to a lone male gray wolf which crossed over the Oregon border into California last week.

Here’s a link to the CDFG news release: http://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2011/12/29/wolf-or7-enters-california/

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Aerial Gunning of Wolves is not Hunting

Aerial gunning of wolves is predator control. It is only related to hunting because the method is to shoot the animal. Aerial gunning benefits hunters (both subsistence and sport hunters) by reducing the kill of caribou and moose by wolves. This activity makes more game animals available for human consumption.

Hunting pits the outdoor skills of an individual against wild animals accustomed to being pursued from the time they hit the ground. It is normal behavior for game animals to be pursued and they don’t care whether they’re hunted by wolves or humans, they just know they have to stay alert to survive.

This photo was photographed by Dickie Byrd along the Alaska haul road. Thanks Dickie.

It’s also normal for human predators to hunt. It is how we stay in touch with our instincts and our surroundings. Human hunters require habitat for hunting which benefits all wildlife. This is one of the keys to the success of the North American wildlife managment model, which has been successful in providing habitat for and restoring many animals species that dwindled during settlement days when management was not considered.

It takes guts  for Sarah Palin to do the right thing for her constituents regardless of mindless attacks by far left groups who have little first hand experience with wildlife. We’re not talking about the family dog, we’re talking about animals that can overpopulate and subsequently decimate game herds.

Although I haven’t been directly involved in wolf control, predator control generally involves cases where the a predator population has risen to a point where it is out of balance with the management plan for an area.

The areas in Alaska where these activities occur are remote and unreachable during the time of year when wolves are most vulnerable – winter. That makes them more vulnerable and saves the users/taxpayer money.

This is not sport. This is management.

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