Like the guy in the woods who told his partner, "I've got good news and bad news. The good news is, we're making great time, the bad news is, we're lost." The good news about wolves is that they are here to stay. Wolf populations are growing by leaps and bounds, from the hills of North Carolina to the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona, from the agricultural lands of Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin to the mountains of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. The bad news is, we can't do a damn thing about managing their populations using intelligent and effective management tools such as hunting or trapping to control their detrimental impact on game and livestock.   

How can anyone manage wolves effectively when groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Friends of Animals, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Defenders of Wildlife, The Sierra Club, and other emotional, nonsensical and politically driven wolf protectionist organizations won't let state and federal biologists do their job? Unfortunately, such organizations have huge war chests of money garnered from little old ladies and other segments of the unsuspecting public who mistakenly believe that they are contributing to the betterment of our world by helping to restore wolves to their former numbers, and in the process restoring the "balance of nature." Money can make a lot of noise, drowning out the voices of reason.

Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan all developed a management plan to deal with their burgeoning wolf populations. Wolf numbers there reached maximum capacity in the wilderness, and expanded into agricultural areas where they are preying on livestock and domestic pets as well as excessively reducing big-game populations. According to David Mech, a leading authority on wolves, eastern timber wolves have long passed the point where they need to be controlled. In fact, by 2005 they reached a point where adequate control might not even be possible.

This population of wolves was estimated to be 1,438 in 1989, 2,520 in 1998 and 3,546 in 2005, increasing at a minimum of 5 percent per year. To bring the population to the required level of USFWS service mandates for perpetuation of the species would require removal of 28 to 50 percent of the current population – an impossible task considering there are so few knowledgeable trappers and hunters available today. According to Mech, unless the states, especially Minnesota, resort to impossible (read that politically incorrect) methods such as poison or substantial financial incentives (bounties?), the wolf population became uncontrollable in 2005.

The eastern timber wolf recovery plan in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan reached the goals set by the USFWS years ago, and were to be de-listed officially from the Endangered Species List this year. However, even with the huge volumes of validated scientific proof of the wolves’ overabundance and devastating impact on game and livestock, several "greenie" groups such as HSUS, The Animal Protection Institute and Help Our Wolves Live, initiated lawsuits to halt the delisting of timber wolves in the three states. The goal of these organizations isn't simply to stop any possibility of wolf hunting, but to stop all forms of hunting. Fighting wolf delisting is just one of the tactics to accomplish their ultimate goal.

Fortunately, groups such as Safari Club International, The National Rifle Association, United States Sportsmen's Alliance, and Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association, along with local sportsmen in wolf country, are fighting equally hard to see that the delisting goes through. According to several sources I contacted, it appears that there is a good chance that common sense will prevail. Time will tell.

Canadian wolves imported into Montana, Idaho and Wyoming as part of the Rocky Mountain Gray Wolf Recovery Program (started in 1995) have made an equally spectacular comeback. In so doing so, they’ve also annihilated the Yellowstone elk, deer and moose populations as well as seriously impacting (killing) lesser predators such as coyotes, red foxes and lynx. The USFWS criteria for the wolf recovery program required wolf numbers to reach approximately 300 wolves or 10 breeding pairs in each of the three Rocky Mountain states for three consecutive years. At that point, if the states had acceptable management programs, control of wolf populations would return to state jurisdiction.

The prolific predators met this criterion by the end of 2002 and were scheduled to be de-listed in 2003. The wolves did their part exceedingly well, seriously reducing the populations of a variety of other animals. In 2003, Western wolves were reclassified from “Endangered” to “Threatened,” a less restrictive classification but still under federal control (or lack thereof). The anti’s couldn't stand it, and in spite of overwhelming information that the growing Northern Rocky Mountain wolf population needed to be managed, lawsuits in Federal Court overturned the reclassification. In 2005, wolves in the West were back on the Endangered Species List and untouchable once again. Their numbers continue to soar out of control.

Northern Rocky Mountain (NRM ) wolves subsist mainly on elk, deer, moose and the occasional bison, but in 2006 wolves killed cattle, sheep, dogs, horses and llamas. From 20 to 30 percent of the wolf packs were involved in livestock predation in 2006. The total number of wolves in late 2006 was estimated at a minimum of 1,300 animals, with 173 packs. Figuring that each wolf eats the equivalent of one four-footed critter a week, or approximately 50 animals per year; it's not hard to see that a drain of 65,000 big game animals is a considerable strain on the resource.

Many elk-viewing areas in Yellowstone National Park are completely devoid of elk and a lot of outfitters outside the park have gone out of business. According to Don Laubach of Gardiner, Mt., who makes his living from the outdoors and has followed every aspect of the wolf recovery fiasco, the prolific wolves decimate the Yellowstone elk population while costing taxpayers millions of dollars in the process. His personal belief is that the anti's and greenies, with their ill-gotten dollars, will continue to keep sensible and effective wolf management tied up in the courts and keep wolves protected through endangered status regardless of how many wolves exist or how detrimental they become.

After all, if the wolves wipe out huntable big game, there won't be hunters to fund the game and fish departments or organizations that fight the anti's every step of the way. Most of the wolf lovers who belong to these organizations don't give a hoot about how many wolves roam the country or how much damage they cause to wildlife or livestock. Their main agenda is to stop hunting.

Keeping the wolves under federal lock and key is a very subtle, devious and ingenious step in that direction. No game – no hunting! Simple, eh?