Hunting Forum

I saw wolves on 4 occasions that I can think of in 2011. On one of them to wolf had just been shot by the federal trapper. On another the wolf was still alive when I arrived, he wasn't when I left. On a third occasion a pack of several came to our home to try and kill our dogs. On the fourth I was running a machine at work.

As I was typing this I remembered a fifth occasion. There is a new logging road that was pushed in last Winter, it's only about 100ft off of HWY53 when we turn on to our road. I always drive by it slowly and look down it. One day as I was coming home there was a wolf walking towards me on that road. When I stopped the car it stood broad side, and we watched each other for 2 or 3 minutes before it walked into the woods.

There may have been more sightings, those are the ones I can remember at this point. I guess at 5 sightings in a year I can't say that it's common to see them, but I'm guessing that I see them more often than most people. It's one of the perks of living in Gods Country

There's an area I like to hunt when the conditions are right. It has to be a very dry year, or hard frozen. In 13 seasons I've been there 7 times, I saw wolves on four of them. This past Fall one of the guys in a camp to our West told me that he had put a blind in that area. I told him chances are good for him to see a wolf. Sure enough he saw one on opening day of deer season.

It didn't surprise me that the wolves came in after my dogs early last March. But when they killed my old dog on August 18th I was surprised, as they killed him for food, not just territorial reasons. That, combined with the fact that all 3 of the wolves taken by the trapper were under weight, and malnourished tells me that the wolf population in my area is too high to support a healthy population.

Another of the guys in the camps to our West had 5 wolves go by him when he was in his stand on the morning of the second Saturday of the rifle season.

The local trapper that managed to catch my pup last Winter told me that he had to pull a line of traps a couple of mile South of us because the wolves were taking everything he caught before he could get to them. And a gal that lives in that same area that works at the local store said that they weren't getting as many wolves on their tcams after the trapper took the 3 wolves out of my area.

The point  to all this rambling is that there are plenty of wolves in my area, and overall sightings are not uncommon.

So I agree with TGJ, put the quota in place, and let those that want to hunt them have their chance.

Text of e-mail I sent today.

Dear Representative Dill,

The details of the potential wolf hunt has a lot of people sharing their views. Here are some bullets points that I have formed from the discussion at http://www.huntingclub.com/my-pages...ft/188483.

1. The Wolf Hunt has a very large revenue potential for the DNR
2. Trapping is the most effective way to kill wolves.
3. Hunting would allow more people to participate.
4. A a long hunting season followed by a short trapping season would maximize participation and revenue.


Sincerely,

Mark

Representative Dill's Response


Mark: Agree on 2,3,4. Regarding #1: 6000 licenses @ $50. The DNR does not get the $. Fish and game account gets the $. Legislature appropriate. The $ from hunt don't cover cost of wolf management. Regards, David


>>> Mark Delamater 1/29/2012 4:58 PM >>>
Dear Representative Dill,

The details of the potential wolf hunt has a lot of people sharing their
views. Here are some bullets points that I have formed from the
discussion at http://www.huntingclub.com/my-pages...ft/188483.

1. The Wolf Hunt has a very large revenue potential for the DNR
2. Trapping is the most effective way to kill wolves.
3. Hunting would allow more people to participate.
4. A a long hunting season followed by a short trapping season
would maximize participation and revenue.

Finally, at least a small amount of common sense in this issue.

Duluth's Gauthier warns of Ojibwe court challenge over wolf hunting

Fuggin Cherokee kept us from hunting Sand Hill cranes for last several years because they are "sacred" ! Don't let the Indians fugg up your wolf hunt!!!

Tom, was that a state or federal issue with the cranes?

Hopefully we're past the federal issues at this point, but who knows?

Local....our Commission is all political appointees...Cherokee, Audubon Society, Ornthlogical Society,Crane Federation, all AR groups came out against a season  but professional staff of Wildlife Agency have been reccommending a hunt for at least five years....hunters didn't show at hearing, AR's did.....let that be a lesson!!

Kill a wolf for me!!!

Thanks Tom, we've been warned!!!

Well, Lunker, first of all sorry about your dog being killed .I know how attached one can be to a dog. Second you are a better man than me. Sorry to say that I would have put a SOS on those wolfs. SOS= Shoot On Sight. Yotes are my problem trying for my pet cat. So I got another dog, cross between ger shepard and rot. Now the yotes stay out of here so far. Not only the dog, but 3 out of four yotes have been planted here so far by shooting. So my hat is off to you SIR. Your restraint is much better than I could ever hope for. I sure hope that reason comes to town and they take the proper steps to help with your wolf problem. Tis a pity they don't let the wolves go in major cities and let the tree huggers see what they do. When nature is out of balance then the total wildlife is hurting. Wolfs have their place but too many ruin it for everyone and everything. Good luck on the wolf hunting season.

Mowgle,The problem isn't with "Nature" being out of balance, its the humans in nature. Let me say I am pro a wolf season but the problems the wolves are causing in Minnesota are with the humans. Wolf numbers in Minnesota havn't really changed over the last five years but some how they are responsible for the 7% decline in the statewide deer harvest. I feel sorry that people lose their pets, but that is one of the dangers of living in the woods. That is like someone complaining about pets getting ran over by cars because they live next to a highway.

How are there no more wolves when they are breeding and "protected" from hunting?

Wolves are a creature of supply and demand.  When we have mild winters the supply of food increases.  The wolves population follows that increase.  When we have a hard winter with lots of deer kill, the wolves get hungry.  It is during these times of not enough food that we have the most problem with wolves.  I have posted previously about my own close encounter with wolves.  These wolves were hungry to the point of forgetting of being scared of humans.  (They were even eating compost scraps out of raised garden plots.)

A wolf season will insure that they remain wary of human contact.

-MD

Posted By Twolftg on 13 Apr 2012 08:26 PM
Mowgle,The problem isn't with "Nature" being out of balance, its the humans in nature. Let me say I am pro a wolf season but the problems the wolves are causing in Minnesota are with the humans. Wolf numbers in Minnesota havn't really changed over the last five years but some how they are responsible for the 7% decline in the statewide deer harvest. I feel sorry that people lose their pets, but that is one of the dangers of living in the woods. That is like someone complaining about pets getting ran over by cars because they live next to a highway.

Twolf, dang I didn't know whether to quote you or Mark.

First let me say that I've never blamed the wolves for a lack of success while deer hunting, Mostly because I haven't had a lack of success since 1976.

I haven't taken a deer in the last two seasons, but that was a matter of choice, not a lack of opportunity.

Last August when the wolves killed my dog a federal trapper came in. Three wolves were taken out of my area, and I was fortunate to be able to shoot one myself, as the trapper let me tend the traps on the weekends. I'll admit that shooting a wolf in a trap isn't very sporting, but I'll also admit that it was purely an act of vengeance, so I really don't care.

The three wolves taken in my area were all under weight, and malnourished. Add to that the fact that they took my dog on August 18th tells me that at least in my area the wolves are over populated, and are competing for food. I'll also add that my tcam pics of deer did drop of quite a bit last year compared to 2010, and 2009 when I started using them. I believe that is in part a result of the harsh 2010/2011 Winter.

Mark, maybe I'm a victim of myth.

As I've always understood things, that in a Winter like we had in 2010/2011 it's harder on the deer and beneficial to the wolf. The reasoning being that the deer have a harder time getting around in the deeper snow. For me the proof would be that the wolves came in after my dogs in early March last year, an assault I was able to thwart, then again in August when they killed my dog.

On the other hand, a Winter like we had in 2011/2012 is more beneficial to the deer, as they can more easily escape the wolves.

Of course the cold weather is harder on all wildlife.

Lunker,

There is a delay factor in what I was saying.  The better the food supply the move pups survive.  In Yellowstone after the reintroduction of the wolves for a while the packs were having two litters a year because of the abundant food.

My up close encounter came after the winter of 95/96 which had very deep snow.  The encounter probably happened in the spring of 97'. 

-MD

Also look at the fact that trappers have been taking 400+ wolves a year for many years. We also know that they have been expanding there territory as the population increases.

Mark, do to the rain I had been yanked from day shift to afternoons, and it threw my regimentation out of whack. I was pretty tired last night, and did mis-interpret  your post.

Your right about the wolves getting bolder in regard to humans. Not only have I experienced it myself at home, but have discussed it with our local GW, Forrester, the Federal trapper, a local trapper, and many other local hunters. Thus far there is a 100% consensus among us that wolves are in fact getting bolder.

Our Local GW, and Forrester are professionals, with no axe to grind when it comes to wolves. I would say that the Federal trapper may have his own agenda to promote, but really didn't get that feeling from him. He struck me as also being very professional .

I agree with a wolf season. I also blame the MN DNR for releasing wolves all over the state. Why does the DNR have to mess with free will. They introduce different species of animals into out state and they have no business being in some areas in the first place. The DNR F's up more things than you can shake a stick at. Same with some of the lakes in the state. They introduce new species into a lake and totally wreck it. It's like the DNR releasing wolves in yellowstone. Now the elk population is in danger because of all the wolves. Way to go DNR. way to go.

Posted By cbradow on 15 Apr 2012 05:09 PM
I agree with a wolf season. I also blame the MN DNR for releasing wolves all over the state. Why does the DNR have to mess with free will. They introduce different species of animals into out state and they have no business being in some areas in the first place. The DNR F's up more things than you can shake a stick at. Same with some of the lakes in the state. They introduce new species into a lake and totally wreck it. It's like the DNR releasing wolves in yellowstone. Now the elk population is in danger because of all the wolves. Way to go DNR. way to go.

 Why does the DNR have to mess with free will? Look at history we pretty much wiped out the wild buffalo and at one time in the 1930 deer population nationaly was in the  estimated in the 300,000. The DNR hasn't introduced anything that wan't once already here, unless you mean the Pheasant.  Humans are resposible for their dissaperance in the first place. I think we as outdoors man should appreciate efforts to return our wilderness to what it once was.

Twolf, was that deer count do to human predation, or a lack of sustainable habitat?

I ask because I know that logging is beneficial for the deer, as it creates a very sustainable habitat for them. The old growth forests of our past were not necessarily the best habitat for whitetails.

The DNR released a bunch of cougars in MN. They dont admit it but they did I'd say those aren't all that natural to our state. I agree with why you say about introducing some animals into the wild to help sustain the population like deer. But they have over done it with the wolf. Read the rest of the reviews. Many if them say that the wolf is over populated. Wolves are attacking people's pets and are not getting enough food. The last wolf I saw was mangy and was traveling alone down roadside ditch. It didn't look very healthy.