Interesting Reed about Caribou Wolfs..

[hunter1947]

Interesting read ..

Published on: February 17, 2015Last Updated: February 17, 2015 3:00 AM MST

http://wpmedia.calgaryherald.com/2015/02/a-male-wolf-roams-the-tundra-near-the-meadowbank-gold-mine-l1.jpg?w=1000
Scientists say Alberta's wolf cull is unnecessary and the real stressor of caribou populations is industrial development in their habitat.
NATHAN DENETTE / THE CANADIAN PRESSSHARE (http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-stop-crying-wolf#)ADJUST (http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-stop-crying-wolf#)COMMENT (http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-stop-crying-wolf#)PRINT
The province should stop poisoning and shooting wolves, and instead, train its metaphorical guns on the real culprit in the decline of caribou populations — itself.
Last spring, Justina Ray, a biologist working with Environment Canada’s Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, said mountain caribou numbers have fallen by 60 per cent in 10 years, due mostly to “industrial disturbance” and “everything from snowmobiles to helicopter skiing.”
And more than 1,000 wolves have either been shot from helicopters or poisoned with strychnine-laced bait in an effort to save dwindling herds of woodland caribou in west-central Alberta. However, if the government hadn’t helped destroy the caribou’s habitat, wolves would not be an overwhelming problem for the herd.
“This is a true case of scapegoating wolves for something that we’re all responsible for. There’s no effort to address the ultimate causes of caribou endangerment — industrial development over numerous years,” eminent wolf specialist Paul Paquet told the Rocky Mountain Outlook.
In a brief for the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Paquet wrote: ” … the role of wolves in the ongoing decline of mountain and boreal caribou is a symptom of eroded and lost caribou habitat, not an underlying cause … governments have habitually favoured the destruction of wolves over any consequential protection, enhancement, or restoration of caribou habitat … Killing wolves will not aid caribou recovery nor prevent their continued decline. Other predators, roaded and fragmented habitat, food limitations, and human intrusion into key habitat, will perpetuate caribou decline.”
Dave Hervieux, provincial caribou management co-ordinator with Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, said predator control has helped save the Little Smoky caribou from extinction. However, other studies have found that cougars and grizzly bears still prey on the caribou.
In the last 2 1/2 years, 136 new wells were drilled in the Little Smoky herd’s range. ESRD spokesperson Jamieson Hanlon claims the province is working “to minimize new disturbances … by not selling further mineral rights and requiring new restrictions on seismic activity.”
However, within days of the federal scientists releasing their report last spring, Alberta Energy auctioned off 1,700 hectares north of Grande Cache — prime mountain caribou habitat. At the time, Alberta Energy spokesman Mike Feenstra said temporary holds had been put on lease sales in the habitats of two woodland caribou herds.
The wolf cull is counter-productive anyway. A study reported in the journal Functional Ecology found that wolves subjected to heavy hunting compensate for it by having more puppies.
The province should stop crying wolf — and stop killing them,,too...

(http://calgaryherald.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-internet-gaming-is-a-losing-bet)

[Ride Red]

Wow, what lefty wrote that bit? Where did 1000 wolves come from? Was the wolf population that far over? Was this over the last few decades or was the helicopter that effective? Knocking down the wolf population was one piece of the pie, but black, cougar and grizz need to be looked at too. Would it not be in their best interest to create a huge breeding containment somewhere without the human/predator component for their future recovery? We do need industry to survive, but sure would be nice to create the balance between our survival and mother nature. I still believe we need to bring good old science based management back as it seemed to be the best solution we've had over the last 50 years. Imo.

[srupp]

Hmm certainly no thousands of oil pumps here in the itchas..nor in the Caribou mts..hmmm there isba lot of wolves

Hmm wrong 2/3 so far..
Steven

[Ride Red]

North AmericaCanada has over 52,000-60,000 wolves which are legally considered a big game species, though they are afforded protection in 3% of Canada's territory. The Northwest Territories (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Northwest_Territories), Nunavut (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Nunavut) and Yukon (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Yukon) have 5,000 wolves each, British Columbia (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/British_Columbia) has 8,500 wolves,[53] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-cbc.ca-53) Alberta (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Alberta) 4,200, Saskatchewan (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Saskatchewan) 4,300, Manitoba (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Manitoba) 4,000-6,000, Ontario (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Ontario) 9,000, Quebec (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Quebec) 5,000 and Labrador (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Labrador) 2,000. Canada currently has no livestock damage compensation programmes.[3] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-WOLVES-3) In the fall of 2012, the government of British Columbia was considering a cull of the wolf population in some areas.[53] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-cbc.ca-53) In the winter of 2015 the government of British Columbia began undertaking a cull of up to 184 wolves in an effort to combat dwindling caribou populations in the South Selkirk Mountains and the South Peace region. The cull, like ones before it, is opposed by some environmental groups.[54] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-54)
The United States as a whole has up to 9,000 wolves which are increasing in number in all their ranges. Wolf recovery has been so successful that the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/United_States_Fish_%26_Wildlife_Service) removed the western grey wolf from the federal endangered species list on March 28, 2008.[3] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-WOLVES-3)[55] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-FWSWOLF-55) Due to the controversy over wolf shootings, a coalition of environmental groups sued the federal government to put the gray wolf back on the Endangered Species list (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/United_States_Fish_and_Wildlife_Service_list_of_en dangered_species).[56] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-NYTWOLF-56) On July 18, 2008, a federal judge ruled in favor of renewed endangered species protection.[57] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-NYT_ruling-57) Alaska has a stable population of 6,000-7,000 wolves which are legally hunted from August to April as a big game species.[3] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-WOLVES-3)[58] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-Wolf_Status_World-58) Minnesota (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Minnesota) has a population of 2,900[59] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-FWS-59) wolves which are legally protected, though they are occasionally culled for depredation control.[3] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-WOLVES-3) Minnesota has been granted complete control over its wolf population, and its wolf management plan establishes a minimum population of 1,600 wolves.[60] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-MNDNR-60) In 2008 both Wisconsin (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Wisconsin) and Michigan (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Michigan) each had healthy populations of 600 wolves, in Michigan a spring count of 687 wolves in 2011 had decreased to 658 in 2013.[61] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-61)[62] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-62) On December 19, 2014, all wolves in states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota became protected again under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.[63] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-63) The Rocky Mountain states (Wyoming (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Wyoming), Idaho (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Idaho) and Montana (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Montana)) have an approximate population of 1,700 wolves.[64] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-64) Two gray wolves were captured in north-central Washington (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Washington_(U.S._state)) state in July 2008, one of which was a nursing female. This is the first evidence of reproducing wolves in the state since the 1930s.[65] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-Okanogan-65)
In northeast Oregon (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Oregon), also in July 2008, wolf howls were heard by biologists who identified at least 2 adults and 2 pups. This was the first confirmed breeding pair in Oregon.[66] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-OREGON-66) By December 2011, Oregon's gray wolf population had grown to 24. One of the Oregon gray wolves, known as OR-7 (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/OR-7), traveled more than 700 miles (1,100 km) to the Klamath Basin and crossed the border into California (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/California).[67] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-67) Wolf OR-7 became the first wolf west of the Cascades in Oregon since the last bounty was claimed in 1947.[68] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-68) On January 14, 2009, the United States Department of the Interior (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/United_States_Department_of_the_Interior) removed the Canadian gray wolf from the Endangered Species List in every American state except Wyoming.[69] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-delist-69) This move was blocked by lawsuits filed by conservation groups, but was successfully delisted on April 15, 2011 by the US Congress as part of a budget bill.[70] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-70) On August 31, 2012, Governor Matt Mead of Wyoming announced that wolves were no longer on the endangered species list in the state of Wyoming; therefore, they no longer need special protections from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The wolf population in Wyoming is then controlled by the state. But on September 23, 2014, wolves in Wyoming are again listed as nonessential experimental population under the Endangered Species Act.[71] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-71)
The wolf has been extirpated from Mexico since the 1970s when the U.S. and Mexican governments cooperated to capture all remaining wild Mexican wolves (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Mexican_wolves) and initiate a captive-breeding program in an attempt to save the local subspecies.[72] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-Mexwolfstats-72) The Mexican Wolf was reintroduced into the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Apache-Sitgreaves_National_Forest) in Arizona in 1998 as part of a captive breeding program.[58] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-Wolf_Status_World-58) There are at least 42 wild Mexican wolves in the southwest United States in 2008.[58] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-Wolf_Status_World-58)[72] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-Mexwolfstats-72) On 2014, there are around 83 Mexican wolves in the wild.[73] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-73)
On October 27, 2014, a collared wolflike canid was seen in north of Grand Canyon, on November 2014, the same animal was videoed,[74] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-74) it was confirmed to be a northwestern wolf (http://www.huntingbc.ca/wiki/Northwestern_wolf) from the Northern Rocky Mountains on November 21, 2014.[75] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-75) On December 28, 2014, it was shot dead in northwestern Utah near Arizona border.[76] (http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/#cite_note-76)

[Squirrelnuts]

The second you read this:


eminent wolf specialist Paul Paquet
You know you're dealing with bullshit.

[hunter1947]

I can't correct so one of you Mods please correct my one word on the title should be Read not Reed ..thanks ,,H-47..

[bearvalley]

Published for Profit Dribble by Paul Paquet & Co.....

[Husky7mm]

Left winged for sure. I read " I am against this but have no real world sollutions." Throw out a few opinions and back it up with nothing. For sure man is to blame on many levels, but is that going to be reverted? 1000 wolves have to eat something, that is a pretty simple fact.

[hunter1947]

Left winged for sure. I read " I am against this but have no real world sollutions." Throw out a few opinions and back it up with nothing. For sure man is to blame on many levels, but is that going to be reverted? 1000 wolves have to eat something, that is a pretty simple fact.
X two your right man always F**ks up nature..

[Everett]

I always find it amusing that these supposed experts never mention the fact that Caribou in the National Parks are in horrible shape as well. There is no Quads, sleds, helicopter or industrial activity yet those caribou are dieing off just as fast as one outside the parks. But they do have something in common with Caribou outside the parks that is they taste yummy to a wolf.

[Boner]

I just came back from NW Alberta. The job was heli access only, over the last 4 weeks I was happy to see a herd of caribou, and a herd of bison. We pulled out because we worked up to a deadline involving the caribou. I didn't see any wolf tracks.

[scott_karana]

At this rate, we're looking at the extirpation of caribou. Once they're completely gone, maybe our policies will improve, and combined with future wolf culls, we'll rehabilitate them from somewhere else... :???:

[Citori54]

Hmm certainly no thousands of oil pumps here in the itchas..nor in the Caribou mts..hmmm there isba lot of wolves

Hmm wrong 2/3 so far..
Steven


Good point Steven.

[MB_Boy]

Published for Profit Dribble by Paul Paquet & Co.....

Yup.....just quickly scanned the article to ensure his name was included as one of the "Scientists". :wink: