I don't want to lie about my feelings about wolves, I believe that they made a mistake reintroducing them, but they are here and need to be controlled. The biggest problem right now is environmental "extremists," and their agenda. I have searched but can not find the original wolf reintroduction plan, but I understand it was 200 breeding pairs. I once again am having a hard time finding the population estimates but 1700 wolves are estimated (according to wikipedia).
What must be understood is the economy of the states that wolves in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. Huge parts of the economy are ranching and hunting. Let's face it, most of the country are meat eaters, that means cattle. Wolves are here to stay, but they are currently afraid of nothing, because they are protected. The above post shows the decline of big game populations, which means less people hunting (mainly out of staters) and less money coming into the state. The next problem is the predation on livestock. One farm alone lost 120 sheep in one week.
http://missoulian.com/news/local/art...cc4c03286.html
These losses are paid for by tax payers for compensation.
Montana alone is paying around 150,000 dollars a year to ranchers for livestock depridation by wolves. That doesnt figure in the cost for paying for workers who track and take care of the wolves. Last year after the hunting season closed fwp of montana paid trappers to kill a pack of 14? (i think) wolves who were killing cattle, at what price.
I could go on and on, and I'm sure that people will say i'm stupid, but most of them probably don't understand the impact to states economy that the wolves are impacting. I already have a long blog, but if there are questions feel free to ask and I will answer as well as I can.
I forgot to mention that wolves are not even close to endangered. The canadian wolf population is estimated at between 52,000-60,000.(wolf.org)
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