Posted on 01/01/2014 11:45:35 AM PST by bkopto
Illinois’ own once-thriving wolves were hunted to extinction by the 1860s. But since the first confirmed sighting in the state in 150 years, in 2002, wolf sightings have gone from rare to regular — with at least five in the last three years.
“We used to joke with our counterparts in Wisconsin that, ‘Yeah, one day your wolves will be coming to Illinois,’” said Joe Kath, the endangered species manager at Illinois’ Department of Natural Resources. “Well, we’ve reached that day.”
That has state wildlife officials contemplating another day — still way off — when there are so many wolves in Illinois they’ll have to ask residents to decide if they want to encourage the growth of a wolf population or strictly limit it, possibly through hunting or trapping.
“It’s too early to ask the question, but it’s not too early to prepare for a time when the question might have to be asked,” said Kath. That preparation, he said, has already begun, including by drafting plans on how to manage wolf packs should they become established.
The North American wolves, known as gray or timber wolves, have proven resilient.
Their numbers in the lower 48 states fell to a few dozen by 1970 but dramatically rebounded with federal protections and wildly successful reintroduction programs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.
In Wisconsin, which shares a 150-mile border with Illinois, wolf numbers went from few to none in the 1970s to more than 800 today.
The core of Wisconsin’s wolf population is in its forested north. But, explained Kath, of their own accord, the wolves have moved south. There’s even one pack near Beloit, Wis., only miles from Illinois.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Good. I hope they all move to Obama’s Old Neighborhood and are REAL hungry!!!!
I am as conservative as anyone on this board. I also live in a rural area that has farming, ranching and oil industries thriving side by side. But, I for one, hope wolves and cougars make a strong comeback in the lower 48 states where they have not been seen for many years.
You don’t have to be a left-wing nut to appreciate these wild creatures God made.
That’s just my opinion. I’d rather for my tax dollars go to husbanding some of this wildlife and dealing with the inevitable problems that will arise, than buying Obamaphones for deadbeats.
Oldplayer
Oldplayer
We’ve got plenty in Montana we don’t want that they can have..
“But, I for one, hope wolves and cougars make a strong comeback in the lower 48 states where they have not been seen for many years.”
We protected the cougar in California some years back. They have proliferated. Now you don’t see near as much wildlife.
MA needs to start prepping for cougars because they are here.
I presume things will work out over time. Nearly every week I see a freshly killed deer beside (or in) the road on the way to work here in Oklahoma. They are a nuisance to farmers, ranchers and motorists. Cougars and wolves will eat well for quite awhile down here.
I am not saying that God doesn’t intend us to manage the garden. For my 2 cents, that garden should have some large predators as well as little Bambis.
Oldplayer
In the early to mid 90s my pal and I hunted yearly in Wyoming.
The feds introduced wolves to the area and my partner
believed he spotted one. We mentioned it to the folks who
owned the place where we stayed and they relayed the info
to a state game warden. The reply back to us was in case we
had to shoot one “in self defense” to please call the state Game
and Fish Dept and tell them where to locate the carcass without
revealing our identities. Damn lefty feds.
Our grandparents, who were very good caretakers of the land had good reason to hunts wolves to extinction. Its pseudo conservation ansent of land owner consent that’s bring them back.
You posted: “I am not saying that God doesn’t intend us to manage the garden. For my 2 cents, that garden should have some large predators as well as little Bambis.”
You are entitled to your opinions, but not to your own facts. The best, least expensive, and most sophisticated predator is man, specifically the licensed hunter.
Wolves, on the other hand, are mere predatory beasts and cause wild cyclical population changes in prey populations.
As man is in charge, and as wolves are an opportunistic predator, I suggest fencing off Chi-Congo and dumping those unwanted wolves from the other states inside the fence around Chi-Congo.
Wolves preying on predatory Urban Ferals should provide endless Youtube entertainment.
;-)
From the article - “It’s really not that they can’t survive in Illinois. They could,” said Kath. “The question is, will the general public allow them to survive?”
“wolves were hunted to extinction by the 1860s”.
Leftist lunatics-I think that is an oxymoron-of any kind aside, that sentence says a lot-the animals were a natural part of the things God put here and were hunted out. You can’t have a healthy, working natural world with missing pieces-predator and prey are both needed-my family has ranched for about 250 years, and they don’t go around shooting everything that moves-they build good electric fences, and keep animal deterrents like donkeys and llamas-both are super mean and don’t like anything that looks like a predator.
It is not convenient here for me to have to watch out when I hike for poisonous snakes, coyotes, a mountain lion, and feral hogs, but the first three critters belong here in the right numbers, and are necessary for the balance of healthy wild areas-so smart people carry bear/pepper spray and watch where they put their feet. The feral hogs were introduced by humans, and multiplied years ago because of too few predators like mountain lions, and they are far more dangerous-they are trapped or killed and eaten like regular hogs-ham is ham, so waste not, want not...
Are there any bears where you are? I’d be more afraid of a bear than anything else nature has to offer, but they are part of God’s world, too...
I’m OK with the wolves as long as they can be kept at arms length and managed as a healthy population.
I don’t know how many total were taken in Michigan this year but I know 2 were taken on the opening day of the season.
GladesGuru stated: You are entitled to your opinions, but not to your own facts.
I don’t believe I cited any facts.
Oldplayer
I agree.
Thank you for making sense-and I agree-hunting something to extinction is no different than the city people who move out here among those of us who keep livestock and big gardens-they promptly cut down all the native trees, plant trees from other parts of the country, haul in dirt and plant carpet grass and boxwood hedges to make it look like a city lot-then wonder why they have no birds, squirrels, deer, etc coming to their property.
Packs of wolves and waves of invaders from Mexico.
What else could go wrong?
From the evidence we have for all to see, most of our forefathers were terrible caretakers of God’s world, but they did not know any better-we do-hunting any naturally occurring species to extinction is totally dumb-that is why many states-like this one-are up to their ass in unhealthy populations of prey animals-deer in particular-not enough mountain lions, and no wolves.
Too many deer = an unhealthy deer population...
A government hearing takes place.......
“Yes, I agree that hunting is a more humane way of keeping the deer population in check, but there are no more deer. Now, what possible reason could you have to need that rifle?”
The wolves were re-introduced to do the liberals work.
Having a season on animals is the way to maintain healthy, balanced populations of those critters-the aforementioned city transplants howl about the mountain lions being protected and making them afraid to hike here, but we still don’t have enough to keep the deer population within sensible levels, even with almost everyone being a meat hunter-the game wardens still go out and cull the sickly deer in bad years.
I’ve been hiking out here since I moved here in 2003, pepper spray and big stick in hand, and I’ve never had a close encounter with a mountain lion-just seen tracks...
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