Helicopters vs. wolves

[jon_norstog]

Idaho F&G had some kind of deal with US F&WS to try hunting wolves from a helicopter. The hunt was out of Lewiston, and given the level of concern it was probably targeting wolves in the Lolo Zone.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/0...t-least-5.html

The story is kind of short on facts. The eradicaion crew got "at least 5" wolves, but at high cost. The article doesn't tell you how much it cost, how long the operation lasted, or who paid for it. The article does tell you they are not going to continue ....

How much did they spend to kill those 5 wolves?$5,000? $10,000? $20,000? It's worth reading the reader comments that follow the article.

jn

[BudT]

jon,
Trapping is the most cost effective and in the wolf's case I can accept 1080 use again. Rotary wing is way to expensive, small fixed wing is much cheaper but not as effective in disposing of the mangy bastards. A "open season" year round shoot on sight with tags that are cheap would also be OK with me. When a environazi dies we should line up to "dump" on thier graves.

BudT

[jon_norstog]

Bud,

you gotta look to the past when it comes to wolf eradication. What were the bounties? Mutiply 10X for cost of living and inflation. They used to hunt wolves in Alaska from fix wing A/C but the bounties made it work out.

My own feeling on this is that we're never gonna see the end of wolves in our lifetimes, so we better figure out how to get to the game ahead of the dogs. And kill as many W as we can when we're out in the field.

But if every hunter shoots every wolf he/she sees, it still won't do much more than make a dent in the wolf population.

jn

[BudT]

jon

Wolf fur will bring money at the low end 100 bucks per at the high end 750 dollars. Yes it can pay for someone thats willing to do the trapping and yes you can work the mangy vermin over by using shoot on sight, traps and shooting from fixed wing. As you know this Obama economy is in the tank and getting worse every day I can imagine anyone could use a few extra bucks from sending a wolf hide to the fur auction. Wolves were not gone before they re-introduced them to some areas they were "always" here in my part of the Rockies and I dont suspect we could get rid of all the vermin if we really tried.

BudT

[jon_norstog]

Bud,

The fur could really sweeten the deal. I wouldn't wear it myself but maybe rich Chinese could be conviced it was really the cool thing.

Yeah, you're right, the wolves were always there, once in a while you could hear them at night. For a while, IIRC, USFWS was killing native wolves - the ones that weren't collared, while protecting the introduced animals. I expect within a few years wildlife management courses at U of I will be using the wolf "reintroduction" as an example of a true fiasco.

jn

[BudT]

Check the Fur section in the monthly Fur Fish and Game magazine, it will keep you up with fur prices and the trend. Are there any cargo trailer dealers worth going to down Poky?

[jon_norstog]

I'll check it out at the newsstand. Cargo Trailer dealers? I'll ask. I think there might be a shop making them here. It's that kind of town.

jn