I was just reading online about your wolf harvest there, I think 19 is where it was at. On wolf management boards there's always someone who's seen Brother Bear way too many times as well as full on wolf haters. The truth about wolf management goals is often buried under emotion laced with bad science.
Bob Hayes, retired now, was our wolf guy here for ever and wrote a book about the stats regarding our wolf control methods tried up here since about the 50's. Interesting read, mostly because he tries to avoid personal bias and just presents the evidence as it was observed. Among his findings were that removing the alpha male and female from a pack increased overall moose and caribou harvest by the new, splintered pack. A pair of wolves killed as often as a pack of 6 due to the amount of meat lost to ravens while they were napping. With the bigger group, someone was always at the kill so the ravens got less and the wolves got more.
http://yukon-news.com/business/wolves-find-an-unlikely-champion
One of his conclusions was that for pressure on ungulates to be reduced, the most efficient way in the short term was to remove the whole pack. We did that here, like in Alaska, with airplanes. Relatively cheap and effective. But without someone trapping and shooting wolves as they moved into the test area, a new pack was established quickly and the moose were getting thin again. Bob found the packs he studied killed something big on average every 6 days. Cows, calves, mature bulls - didn't matter, they can kill anything anytime. Farley Mowat may have been mistaken about the sick and the weak only thing.
The other thing we tried was non lethal population control but spaying and neutering wolves and releasing them. My friend Jim was the vet that did it. Once a pack was located using a fixed wing, the team went in by helicopter to dart the wolves, set up a tent on the ice, and Jim would do the operation right there. Really expensive. Interestingly, while no pups were produced the next year, it seemed those alpha wolves were either displaced or killed by other wolves and reproduction began again.
The best arguement I've ever heard that people should consider when deciding to hunt predators or not is this:
If you decide to harvest wild food responsibly there's a few things you can do to help out.
1. Abide by the laws and limits set to not over harvest.
2. Support groups with your time and/or money that protect habitat from development so your food has a place to grow.
3. Balance your impact of adding to their list of predators by killing other predators.
Most hunters agree with 1 and 2 no problem, but get shy at number 3. I guess they don't mind weeds competing for space in their crops either. "Weeds have a right to live too, just not in my garden."
If you are the kind of hunter that is satisfied with letting other people or Government agencies manage your harvesting ability without your input, you are not alone. If you are the kind of person who needs to be more active in managing your own harvest, and its legal in your area, kill some coyotes or wolves or whatever you compete with for your wild food. Do your own experiments and see how much of an impact you can have right in the areas you are most familiar with.
It will be interesting to see how things unfold this winter in Michigan. Brother Bear style supernatural beings or not, wolves definately have the ability to get people all fired up and ready to fight, each other.
Mike
