The Montana folks have their issues with river access...here's mine.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Time to stir the pot again....
The Montana folks have their issues with river access...here's mine.
The following are excerpts from correspondance with the Nez Perce Tribal wolf manager after I e-mailed them about the three dead moose I found on the road last week. I sawed the road open and busted a few snow drifts to get there so I can say for sure I was the first one up that road. Two of the dead moose were a cow and calf dead right next to each other with wolf shit surrounding the carcasses and for miles up the road in either direction....hmmmmm......
Their first response:
"As for the level of possible predation: are you certain that all of the moose carcasses were in fact killed by wolves and not scavenged? Wolves and moose have co-existed for thousands of years and will eventually find their "balance"- which is ever changing and affected by many other variables (winter severity, habitat, fire, disease, etc.) that may swing in favor of predator or prey over time."
So I conceeded, I am not a biologist or in any way qualified to do some sort of autopsy on a stank ass dead moose carcass. I had only anecdotal evidence to support my claims...lots of wolf tracks, none of the meat salvaged by Tribal hunters, wolf shit everywhere, lots of wolf sign across large parts of that drainage..... and their reply:
"Your description of the carcasses and locations also sounds as if the moose
were either killed by some predator or died of other causes during the
winter. At this point I feel it's doubtful wolves will seriously impact the
moose population over time- these species have coexisted (for the most part-
until humans eliminated wolves in the very recent past) for thousands of
years and I suspect they will continue to do so."
My question is this: "Killed by some predator" what the hell is a wolf??? Does a cow and calf just fall over dead next to each other? Is a cougar or coyote able to kill two moose right next to each other? NO. Apparently wolves aren't really predators, since they've co-existed with moose in peaceful harmony for thousands of years, until the white man came along. Much like the Nez Perce themselves I'd guess. Yes, wolves have to eat. I'd prefer we could buy a tag, generate revenue for the state and manage wolves as a state resource.
That is five, count-em, FIVE moose I have found dead in a small part of that drainage since October. Before all you peaceful democra&#@*& helenians retort with a mountain of protests please know that I am not anti-"wolf" in any way. I AM, however, against this sort of stick-your-head-in-the-sand and pretend there's no problem mentality. No management is mis-management. And if you need to see the sentence that summarizes the fact that the Tribe has no idea what the wolves in that area are doing, please comment and I'll forward you the whole thread. To put it in another perspective.......if someone dumped pike in your favorite river-runs-thru-it, you'd be pissed too. And yes, pike are as native to Montana and Idaho as wolves are...at least until the white man dammed all the rivers.
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2 comments:
Mexicans from the South, wolves from the North...this country is falling apart.
Keep shooting til the barrel melts. I believe ID governor Otter said that just before he started talking about how all non-motorized boats should be licensed annually.
I thought that the federal Fish and Wildlife Service was handing over wolf management to Idaho and Montana, but not Wyoming, since their necks are a bit too red. Does anyone know the particulars, so Philly can start practicing his wolf call?
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