Idaho Coyote Contest Aftermath: 30 Coyotes Senselessly Killed

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Exposing the Big Game

Here are some articles on the coyote-kill aftermath:

Predator-killing contest yields* 30 coyotes

[*Their word, not mine.]

Jan 6, 2015

by Greg Moore

Thirty coyotes but no wolves were killed during a three-day predator-hunting contest held near Salmon over the weekend, organizers reported.

The Predator Hunting Contest and Fur Rendezvous, hosted by a statewide hunters organization called Idaho for Wildlife, offered $1,000 prizes for the most wolves and most coyotes killed.

Prizes of hunting rifles were also offered in two youth categories, ages 10-13 and 14-17. However, Idaho for Wildlife Executive Director Steve Alder said those prizes were not collected.

http://www.mtexpress.com/news/environment/predator-killing-contest-yields-coyotes/article_2d251ade-95ca-11e4-a52e-d3a16ccb80e2.html

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Two Dozen Coyotes Killed So Far in Salmon Area Predator ‘Derby,’ No Wolves Reported Taken

Posted By Zach Hagadone on Sun, Jan 4, 2015 at 2:14 PM

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services

A wolf- and coyote-hunting derby that has caused international controversy wraps up today in the mountains outside Salmon, and according to event organizers, about two dozen coyotes have been killed so far—though no wolves.

Posting on its Facebook page, Idaho for Wildlife, which put on the derby, reported 17 coyotes killed on the first full day of the so-called Predator Hunting Contest and Fur Rendezvous, Jan. 2, and seven “non-BLM” coyotes killed the following day.

The second-annual hunt, which drew criticism around the world, was barred from Bureau of Land Management property and instead went forward on private and U.S. Forest Service land.

In an interview with Newsweek, Idaho for Wildlife Executive Director Steve Alder said more than 125 hunters entered this year’s contest, vying for $1,000 cash prizes for most animals killed. Separate prizes are offered for hunters 10 to 13 years old and 14 to 17 years old.

More: http://www.boiseweekly.com/CityDesk/archives/2015/01/04/two-dozen-coyotes-killed-so-far-in-salmon-area-predator-derby-no-wolves-reported-taken

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Wolf-Kill Derby Closes, Claiming 30 Coyote Deaths, No Wolves

Posted By Harrison Berry on Mon, Jan 5, 2015 at 10:46 AM

A predator-hunting “derby” targeting wolves and coyotes near Salmon is over, and hunters this year brought back to base camp 30 coyotes—but no wolves.

In a Facebook post, event organizer and promoter Idaho for Wildlife closed out the derby by thanking participants and confirming the number of wolves and coyotes that had been killed during this year’s event. Facebook user Spencer Jensen left a comment, “Looking forward to it next year!”

More:http://www.boiseweekly.com/CityDesk/archives/2015/01/05/wolf-kill-derby-closes-claiming-30-coyote-deaths-no-wolves

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No wolves shot at second derby, either, as earthquake spooks animals

This April 18, 2008, file photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife shows a gray wolf. (AP/File / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Gary Kramer)

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: SALMON, Idaho (AP) — Hunters participating in a wolf- and coyote-shooting contest in east-central Idaho killed 30 coyotes but no wolves. Idaho for Wildlife’s Steve Alder says the Predator Hunting Contest and Fur Rendezvous that ran Friday through Sunday near Salmon drew less than 100 hunters, down slightly from last year. A 4.9-magnitude earthquake struck about 60 miles to the north of Salmon on Saturday and was followed by aftershocks on Sunday.

More: http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/boise/2015/jan/05/no-wolves-shot-second-derby-either-earthquake-spooks-animals/

Another Day, Another 50,000 Hunter-views

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Exposing the Big Game

…many of whom still think they’re welcome here.

Here are a couple of their choice comments from today:

“Hunting had been a “sport” since the the 14th century… And it’s going to be around in 2015 too.”

“So what do you suggest?… Control the human population limiting each family to one child so we stop ‘encroaching’ animal habitat?”

Sorry to the rest of you to have to repeat myself, but to all the hunters visiting this blog site, hoping to leave a comment or two (or five) in defense of coyote/wolf contest hunts, go away—you weren’t invited! Some troll must have posted a link to this onto one of your evil pro-kill sites and you’ve apparently followed it back to a blog site dedicated to the defense of wildlife.

Now you think you have the First Amendment right to comment on the merits of predator killing. Well, you don’t—not here anyway. If you would have bothered to read this blog’s “About” page, you would have learned that it’s not a chat room or message board for those wanting to argue the supposed merits of animal exploitation or to defend the act of hunting or trapping in any way.

It’s not just you; in the spirit of fairness I eighty-six all comments from all types of hunters or trappers.

Believe it or not, some people might not be interested in your opinion in support of killing. I know I’m not. I’ve heard it all before, ad nauseam.

When I shared the article, “Idaho Gun Nuts Start New Year with Three-Day Mass Slaughter of Wolves and Coyotes,” I provided a link http://news360.com/article/272715208/# to the source right at the top of the page. Maybe readers there want to hear what you have to say, but this site is strictly on the side of the animals.

Again, you weren’t invited here, and if you’re on the side of killing, you’re not welcome here. No new comments are being approved, so don’t bother leaving one.

“Why Don’t I See My Comment on this Blog?”

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Exposing the Big Game

This post is for all you predator hunt supporters out there wondering, “why hasn’t my comment been approved?” Seeing as how the number of web hits to this blog site in the last twelve hours exploded to 98,250 and STILL CLIMBING by the minute, there’s no way I’m going to go through thousands of comments from wolf/coyote haters. (Considering that daily hits to this site average in the hundreds, the stats graph looks like a chart depicting human population growth over the past couple centuries.) Some of them are simply posting the same comment over and over, dozens of times, in hopes of overwhelming the comment section of the post, ID Gun Nuts Start Year With Three-Day Mass Slaughter Of Wolves And Coyotes. The only way I can keep up is to delete them in bulk, unread.

Too bad, but they all sound the same anyway. Actually, there’s about three different types of comments that most of them fall into.

1) The first category, I’ll call the ‘kill ’em all’ crowd:

” Kill all of them coyotes and wolves start more contests to control those over populated predators that ate killing all the other animals”

“…kill them all! Wolves are one of the biggest problems we have in Idaho, wyoming and Montana!”

2) The next group are the ‘poor me for living where there’s wildlife’ bunch:

“… maybe we should restore wolf populations to ALL its native habitat. Let’s say Central Park, Chicago, etc”

“If you are all so upset about this, petition the government to have them relocated to your house. That way you can take care of the nucience they cause”

These folks don’t seem to understand that we pretty much all (even those “tree lovers” who live in cities), have coyotes living among us, and are we’re thrilled about it.

3) By far the largest category are the smart-mouthed-smarty-pantses that just want to point out that the photo included with the article (Right) was not from this particular ongoing contest hunt in Salmon, ID. Yes, that’s true, but so what? It definitely illustrates what they’re out there trying to do: shoot mass quantities of coyotes and pile up their dead bodies like some scene out

I deleted the photo from the article in question and added the one at the bottom of this post instead.

of Auschwitz. (Just last week, nearly 40 dead coyotes were discovered, dumped in such a pile outside of Las Cruces, NM, after a coyote contest hunt was held there. The picture could have been taken anywhere; that’s not really the point).

“I’m not sure where it came from since first, the area where this event is located is covered in snow…”

And there’s a sub-category of commenters: the ones that pretend to be polite and intelligent and just wants to educate people on what they think about the merits of predator control. But intelligent-sounding comments from these folks are few and far between, and after looking through dozens, this was as close to an example as I could come up with,

“There is nothing wrong with the killing of these animals it’s a all in an order to control population. Coyotes and wolves kill livestock and game animals by keeping they’re population down it insures their long term survival and balance in the food chain. Don’t just take my word or the word of this article in stone, research for yourself what is actually going on.”

I’m sure a lot of hunters wish they hadn’t wasted their time trying to post their anti-animal comments here, but all this could have been avoided if they’d only read this blog’s “About” page first:

About:

This blog site is a haven for wildlife and animal advocates, a wildlife refuge of sorts, that’s posted “No Hunting,” as any true sanctuary should be. Just as a refuge is patrolled to keep hunters and poachers from harassing the wildlife, this blog site is monitored to keep hunters from disturbing other people’s quiet enjoyment of the natural world.

It is not a message board or a chat room for those wanting to argue the supposed merits of animal exploitation or to defend the act of hunting or trapping in any way, shape or form. There are plenty of other sites available for that sort of thing.

Hunters and trappers: For your sake, I urge you not to bother wasting your time posting your opinions in the comments section. This blog is moderated, and pro-hunting statements will not be tolerated or approved. Consider this fair warning—if you’re a hunter, sorry but your comments are going straight to the trash can. This is not a public forum for animal exploiters to discuss the pros and cons of hunting.

We’ve heard all the rationalizations for killing wildlife so many times before; there’s no point in wasting everyone’s time with more of that old, tired hunter PR drivel. Any attempt to justify the murder of our fellow animals will hereby be jettisoned into cyberspace…

“Idaho for Wildlife” Contest hunt organizer thinks this is the year hunters will actually “catch” a wolf…

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Exposing the Big Game

According to a new article in Newsweek, http://www.newsweek.com/wolf-hunting-event-breeds-controversy-idaho-296390 Alder “thinks this is the year hunters will actually catch a wolf.”…

The question is, how exactly does he mean “catch?” Does that mean someone thinks they can run down and actually “catch a wolf,” as in by the tail? I’ve seen how fast wolves can run. If we’re talking a fair foot race, I’d definitely put my money on them.

Wolf-Kill Derby Promoted for Salmon Area This Weekend

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Exposing the Big Game

Last year’s contest poster

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http://www.boiseweekly.com/boise/wolf-kill-derby-promoted-for-salmon-area-this-weekend/Content?oid=3376227

According to its website, Idaho for Wildlife is “dedicated to the preservation of Idaho’s wildlife.”

By George Prentice @georgepren

Organizers of a controversial Idaho predator derby—which was barred from Bureau of Land Management property in November—are going forward with their hunt, scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 1-Sunday, Jan. 4 and limited to U.S. Forest Service and private land near Salmon.

The event, sponsored by Idaho for Wildlife, is dubbed “Predator Hunting Contest and Fur Rendezvous” and has special prizes for most wolves killed ($1,000), most coyotes killed ($1,000), and separate prizes for hunters 10 to 13 years old and 14 to 17 years old. Organizers are not charging an entry fee but are taking donations at registration, which begins 6 p.m., Jan. 1 at the Steel and Ranch store in Salmon.

Organizers promise that licensed fur buyers will be on site “to pay $$$ for your furs (whole or skinned).”

According to its website, Idaho for Wildlife is “dedicated to the preservation of Idaho’s wildlife,” and “to fight against all legal and legislative attempts by the animal rights and anti-gun organizations who are attempting to take away our rights and freedoms under the Constitution of the United States of America.”

BLM canceled the 2015 wolf-killing “derby” on 3 million acres of public land near Salmon in response to a lawsuit from the Center for Biological Diversity, Advocates for the West, the Western Watersheds Project and Project Coyote. During the inaugural event in December 2013, no wolves were killed, but 21 coyotes died during the hunt. The $1,000 prize for killing the largest wolf went unclaimed.

Idaho Wolf, Coyote Derby Starts Tomorrow Morning!

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Exposing the Big Game

January 1, 2015 at 10:12 AM | Page modified January 1, 2015 at 12:33 PM

Idaho hunting derby targets wolves, coyotes

A hunting derby with $1,000 each for whoever kills the most wolves and coyotes is scheduled to start at sunrise Friday in east-central Idaho. Organizers say withdrawal of a permit to hunt on federal lands may spark greater participation.

By KEITH RIDLER

Associated Press

A hunting derby with $1,000 each for whoever kills the most wolves and coyotes is scheduled to start at sunrise Friday in east-central Idaho.

Idaho for Wildlife’s three-day Predator Hunting Contest and Fur Rendezvous is planned on private ranch land and U.S. Forest Service land around Salmon.

“I think we’re going to have a good turnout,” said Steve Alder, organizer of the contest. He didn’t have an estimate on the number of hunters though due to the remoteness of the area.

The group earlier this year received permission to include land administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management but the agency withdrew the permit in November following two lawsuits by environmental groups.

Losing the 3.1 million acres of BLM land cut the area for the derby in half, and also eliminated lower elevation areas likely to have more coyotes and wolves. A coalition of environmental groups, as well as Democratic U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, tried but failed to get the Forest Service to revoke the permit it issued.

“The world is looking at this with a lot of dismay,” said Amy Atwood, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “We’re not going to go away and we’re going to keep fighting.”

She said the group has a litigation strategy to prevent another derby but declined to go into details.

The derby last year drew 230 people, about 100 of them hunters, who killed 21 coyotes but no wolves. Alder said the BLM’s revoking the group’s permit might have persuaded more hunters to take part this year. He said 40 hunters from outside Idaho have committed.

He said ranchers have also been contacted in advance so hunters can use that land. Also, he noted, possible wolf sightings are being tracked.

“We’ve heard some reports and we’re trying to pinpoint where those are so we can put in hunters,” he said.

Besides the $1,000 prizes, Alder said, fur buyers will also be available with the potential pay for a black wolf pelt up to $600.

“People love the black ones,” Alder said. “And the pure white. If you can find a big white pelt, that’s beautiful. That’s worth quite a bit.”

The region where the derby is planned is considered a key area for wolves that could grow in number, with some pack members dispersing to surrounding states. At least one Oregon environmental group that would like to see more wolves in that state is involved in the lawsuits against the derby for that reason.

“As we learn more about these animals, the more we’ve come to revere them,” said Atwood. “When you remove them from the landscape it upends the order of things.”

Great News!! With Lawsuit Pending, Feds Cancel Idaho Predator-killing Derby

Posted on November 25, 2014 by Exposing the Big Game

With Lawsuit Pending, BLM Cancels Idaho Predator-killing Derby Permit

By Ken Cole On November 25, 2014

BOISE, Idaho —In response to a lawsuit from conservation groups, the Bureau of Land Management has decided to cancel a permit allowing an anti-wolf organization to conduct a “predator derby” on more than 3 million acres of public lands near Salmon, Idaho.

As lawyers for the Center for Biological Diversity, Western Watersheds Project, Project Coyote and Defenders of Wildlife were preparing to file a request to stop this year’s derby on BLM lands, the agency decided to withdraw its decision to allow “Idaho for Wildlife” to conduct a contest to kill the most wolves, coyotes, and other species over three days every year for five years, beginning Jan. 2, 2015.

“We’re so glad that the deadly derby has been canceled this year,” said Amy Atwood, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, who represents the Center, Western Watersheds Project and Project Coyote. “These sort of ruthless kill-fests have no place in this century. We intend to pursue every available remedy to stop these horrible contests.”

News of BLM’s decision came from an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, which is representing the BLM in the groups’ litigation, who conveyed the news just as attorneys for the groups were preparing to file a major brief to stop this year’s hunt.

“BLM’s first-ever approval of a wolf hunting derby on public lands undercuts wolf recovery efforts, so it’s good they cancelled this permit,” said Laird Lucas, director of litigation at Advocates for the West, which represents Defenders of Wildlife.

The hunt would have allowed up to 500 participants compete to kill the largest number of wolves, coyotes and other animals for cash and prizes. Contest organizers are hoping to expand their contest statewide.

“It’s hard to imagine a more objectionable event than an award-laden killing festival,” said Travis Bruner, executive director of Western Watersheds Project. “Let’s all hope that this is the beginning of the end of such activities.”

Wolves were removed from the endangered species list in 2011 following many years of recovery efforts in central and eastern Idaho, where public lands are supposed to provide core refugia in the face of aggressive hunting and trapping in Idaho.

“Killing wildlife for fun and prizes on public lands that belong to all Americans is not only reprehensible, it is also a violation of the Public Trust Doctrine and contravenes Idaho Fish and Game’s policy condemning killing contests as unethical and ecologically unsound,” said Camilla Fox, founder and executive director of Project Coyote. “It is high time the BLM acknowledges that wildlife killing contests are not an acceptable ‘use’ of public lands.”

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 800,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Western Watersheds Project works to protect and restore public lands and wildlife in the West through education, public policy initiatives and legal advocacy.

Project Coyote is a national non-profit organization promoting compassionate conservation and coexistence between people and wildlife through education, science, and advocacy. Join our community on Facebook and Twitter.

POLL: Should the wolf hunting contest in Idaho be stopped?

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Exposing the Big Game

In what has to be the one of the most bloodthirsty post-Christmas festivities yet, Idaho’s announced a wolf and coyote slaughter contest for all the family.

And it really does mean “all the family” – children as young as ten can enter the competition being held on the weekend of 28-29 December.

In this celebration of tastelessness and death, prizes will be awarded for such “achievements” as most female coyotes killed, biggest wolf and so on.

Both wolves and coyotes play essential roles in the ecosystem – they are not pests. Wolves actually need increased protection. Even if numbers did need to be reduced, which they don’t, shooting these beautiful animals should only ever be done by professionals. Treating it as family entertainment is ridiculous.

We invite you to vote whether the wolf hunting contest in Idaho be stopped. Please vote and also leave your comments at the bottom of this page.

Should the wolf hunting contest in Idaho be stopped?

Yes
No
Don’t Know

http://focusingonwildlife.com/news/poll-should-the-wolf-hunting-contest-in-idaho-be-stopped/

Controversial Idaho wolf CONTEST hunt approved, angering conservationists

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Exposing the Big Game

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/13/us-usa-wolves-idaho-idUSKCN0IX2QD20141113

By Laura Zuckerman

SALMON Idaho Thu Nov 13, 2014

(Reuters) – U.S. land managers approved a recreation permit on Thursday allowing a controversial hunting contest open to children to take place on public lands in Idaho, where contestants will seek to kill the most wolves and other wildlife for cash and prizes.

The hunting group Idaho for Wildlife requested the permit for the so-called predator derby to take place each January for five years on millions of acres (hectares) overseen by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in east central Idaho near Salmon.

In granting the permit, the BLM found the event posed “no significant conflicts” in its management of natural resources.

“We are aware of the social controversy regarding the event,” Joe Kraayenbrink, BLM district manager in Idaho Falls, said in a statement. “However, from our analysis, we could not find significant conflicts with other environmental resources that would prohibit the competitive event from occurring.”

Approval of the hunt comes as animal-rights advocates mark an increase in such competitions in Western states including Oregon, New Mexico and California, where wildlife commissioners in December will vote on a proposal to ban such events.

The competition, which targets wolves, coyotes and other quarry and is expected to draw up to 500 hunters annually, is opposed by conservationists as a “killing contest.”

The contest also invites children as young as 10 to pair with an adult to kill animals including jackrabbits, starlings, skunks and weasels for an event promoted as a form of family recreation.

Derby opponents pledged to file suit asking a federal judge to order the BLM to revoke the permit for failing to adequately assess the event’s impacts on the environment and public safety.

“The BLM abdicated its responsibility as steward of our public lands. A cruel and dangerous killing contest has no place on lands held in trust for all Americans,” said Bethany Cotton, wildlife program director for WildEarth Guardians.

The BLM received tens of thousands of letters criticizing the event during a public comment period. Fewer than 20 letters favored it.

Steve Adler, head of Idaho for Wildlife, could not immediately be reached for comment but has previously said critics were seeking to restrict gun rights spelled out in the U.S. constitution and tarnish a decades-old hunting tradition in the American West.

“We’re stereotyped as a bunch of Idaho rednecks out to kill as many animals as we can,” he told Reuters last month.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Sandra Maler)

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Defenders of Wildlife to Challenge BLM’s First-ever Approval of Wolf Hunting Derby on Public Lands in Idaho

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Suzanne Stone: sstone@defenders.org; (208) 861-4655

Laird Lucas: llucas@advocateswest.org; (208) 342-7024 ext. 209

BOISE, Idaho – Defenders of Wildlife will ask the courts to reverse a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decision granting a permit for an Idaho anti-wolf group to hold a predator killing contest annually over the next five years on over 3 million acres of public land in eastern Idaho.

The court challenge will allege that, by allowing the predator derby targeting wolves, coyotes and other predators on public lands around Salmon, ID, BLM has undermined the Northern Rockies wolf recovery program that began in 1995 with reintroduction of wolves in Idaho and other states, and has violated the management standards set in place for potential and designated wilderness within the permit area. Defenders and other conservation groups have asserted that such commercial predator-killing derbies are a reflection of 19^th century thinking and hatred towards predators and have no place on federal lands in the 21^st century. They also say this persecution of predators flies in the face of modern day science that recognizes the valuable role that predators play in maintaining healthy ecosystems.

BLM received over 100,000 comments from Defenders of Wildlife members and other conservationists, strongly opposing the proposed Idaho wolf derby. But rather than fully assess the proposal through an Environmental Impact Statement as required by federal law, BLM “fast-tracked” its approval and failed to address the many potential adverse impacts from such an event, including impacts on local and regional wolf and other predator populations and on 17 areas specially managed to preserve their wilderness characteristics.

“Commercialized killing contests to slaughter predators are something right out of the 1800s. It’s the same archaic tactic that pushed wolves toward extinction in the first place,” said Suzanne Stone, Idaho resident and Defenders of Wildlife Senior Representative for Rockies and Plains. “These events also show that Idaho’s state-sponsored war on wolves is spreading to federal agencies. By issuing the permit, BLM is reinforcing the belief among local residents that wolves should be treated like unwanted vermin. It is shocking that BLM is willing to embrace the 19^th century anti-wildlife tactics that led to the demise of wolves and other native predators across the West.”

“BLM’s action approving the Idaho Wolf Derby on Idaho public lands over the next five years is contrary to the federal government’s commitment to recover gray wolves in the Northern Rockies,” added Laird J. Lucas, Director of Litigation at Advocates for the West, which is representing Defenders in the lawsuit. “Human persecution of gray wolves is the reason why they were listed under the Endangered Species Act more than forty years ago; yet BLM’s action puts the federal government’s stamp of approval on further persecution and anti-wolf sentiment, which is a wrong step for the government to take.”

Defenders will be represented in this case by Laird Lucas and Bryan Hurlbutt of Advocates for the West, a public interest environmental law firm based in Boise, Idaho.

Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1.1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org and follow us on Twitter @defendersnews.

What’s to Stop Them?

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Exposing the Big Game

I attended the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) wolf hearing last week to find out how far the WDFW ultimately plans to go with wolf hunting, once wolves are inevitably removed from the state endangered species list, and when Washington residents can expect to hear that hunting groups are holding contest hunts on wolves like our neighbors in Idaho have already done.

It turns out the department wasn’t ready to come clean on their ultimate plans to implement hunting seasons on wolves (starting in Eastern Washington). They were only willing to talk about the few cases of sheep predation (a few dozen out of a flock of 1,800 animals grazing on public forest land), and the WDFW’s collusion with areal snipers from the federal Wildlife “Services” for some good old fashioned lethal removal. Here are some notes on what I was planning to say, had it been on topic:

Over the years spent living in rural Eastern Washington, I’ve gotten to know how ranchers think and feel, and what they’re capable of. For over twenty years I lived in a cabin outside the Okanogan County town of Twisp, where rancher/convicted poacher Bill White is currently under house arrest. Exploiting his then-good standing and local influence to get permission from the WDFW to gather road-killed deer, under the guise of distributing them as meat to members of the Colville tribe, he used some of the deer as bait to lure wolves from the Lookout pack to within shooting distance. He and his son are credited with killing several members of that pack—the first wolves to make it back into Washington. Their sense of entitlement was so overblown they thought they could get away with sending a blood-dripping wolf hide across the Canadian border.

On the plus side, I also have a lot of experiences with wolves themselves. As a wildlife photographer I’ve photographed them in Alaska and Canada as well as in Montana, where I lived a mile away from Yellowstone National Park. I got to know the real nature and behavior of wolves. I’d like to think that if ranchers knew the wolves the way I do, they wouldn’t be so quick to want to kill them off again. I shouldn’t have to remind folks that wolves were exterminated once already in all of the lower 48 states, except Minnesota, which had only six wolves remaining before the species was finally protected as endangered.

Although I personally believe that wolves belong to no one but themselves, to use game department jargon, wolves and other wildlife belong to everyone in the state equally—not just the squeakist-wheel ranchers and hunters. By far most of Washington’s residents want to see wolves allowed to live here and don’t agree with the department’s lethal wolf removal measures (that no doubt include plans for future wolf hunting seasons, which are currently being downplayed by the WDFW).

What’s to stop Washington from becoming just like Idaho, Montana and Wyoming in implementing reckless wolf-kill programs that eventually lead to contest hunts (as in Idaho) and the subsequent decimation of entire packs? Or year-round predator seasons that ultimately result in federal re-listing (as in Wyoming)? What guarantee do we have that Washington’s wolves will be treated any differently?

Text and Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson

Exposing the Big Game

Forget Hunters' Feeble Rationalizations and Trust Your Gut Feelings: Making Sport of Killing Is Not Healthy Human Behavior

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