Another opportunity lost
Haven't checked a map, but perhaps it's some very remote country.
This now throws nearly everything I've been forced to learn and understand about wolves out the window!
Big difference between 18 caribou (or even 46 six years ago) to hundreds of thousands of whitetails when it comes to being able to handle predation.
Good point, though if wolves were as thick and nasty as some have been stating for years, Wisconsin should have no elk by now.
Happy, I'm with you on lowering wolf numbers. Would be nice if they'd lower the minimum goal to 100, too. That way there would only be 500 or so once at goal … ;)
A couple western states have been quietly shooting wolves (yes, state agency) now for years. Hundreds every year, and they still are having a difficult time putting a dent in their population. Wisconsin better get proactive about the wolf infestation now, before the problem balloons more yet.
Also, some interesting info on tribal antlerless hunting, which was legal in the no-buck area this year (from GLIFWC website):
Tribal Deer Hunt to Follow Tribal Rules – Including Harvests of Antlerless Deer
"Tribal deer hunting will proceed in 2014 just like it did in 2013. Unfortunately, the Sawyer County Record published an article on June 4 entitled: “No Does Allowed in 2014 Northern Deer Hunt.” What this article failed to mention is that the zero quotas established for all counties and reservation units in the north only applies to state-licensed gun and bow hunters. It does not apply to tribal members hunting either on or off the reservations. There are no limits on the harvest of antlerless deer by tribal members during the 2014 hunting season.
Some may ask, “Why is this?” Why do state-licensed hunters have to forgo shooting antlerless deer while tribal hunters are permitted an unlimited number? The answer is relatively simple. Despite what has been said in the media, state hunters will not be prohibited from shooting antlerless deer. Antlerless deer harvest will be permitted for youth hunters (with no limits), disabled hunters (with no limits), military hunters (with no limits), people whose property is enrolled in the DMAP program (with no limits), and finally farmers experiencing agricultural damage will be able to shoot antlerless deer (with no limits). All of this unlimited antlerless deer harvest will continue to take place despite zero quotas.
The Wisconsin DNR in their press release has characterized this antlerless deer harvest (by youth et al.) as ‘limited.’ They say this despite the fact that there are no limits placed on these harvests. But the DNR may call these hunts ‘limited’ because few people are participating relative to the number of deer hunters, and they will harvest relatively few antlerless deer during these hunts. So because few people will participate and they will harvest few deer, the DNR calls the hunts ‘limited.’
This same logic applies to tribal hunting. Only a small number of tribal members hunt deer compared to the 750,000 deer hunters in Wisconsin. And, tribal off-reservation antlerless deer harvest has been less than 1,000 for many years. So few tribal hunters will harvest a small number of antlerless deer, thus the tribal hunt could be called ‘limited’ as well.
The tribes takes seriously their management responsibilities that flow from their treaty reserved rights and have steadfastly maintained their responsibility to manage the resources of the reservation and the ceded territories, including waawaaskeshi (deer).
Advise to tribal hunters, follow your tribes rules for deer hunting whether it is on or off reservation. If you have questions about the rules you may contact your tribe’s conservation department or Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission."
Great, let them continue to do so. They do not need any support of our tax dollars. I guess this is why we have 2 and maybe 3 fish limits on lakes in the ceded areas, when in reality because of SPEARING the limits should be zero.
Quit stocking lakes so they can just be speared out, start allowing non-indians to build casinos, and shoot and trap every wolf we can in the name of sound game management. The numbers we find wolves in today have designated them parasite status.
As I said, the states in the west are quietly shooting complete packs for the air and they still can't get a handle on their numbers. Once they infest, it is very difficult to bring them to a controllable number. We need open seasons in this state until we do.
There is no denying that spearing is directly responsible for reduced limits on many lakes in WI.
Even with the high declarations each spring (most of which are never met, not even close), that typically represents 5-10 percent of a lakes's adult walleye population.
The tribes always declare a high number, then when it's not even close to being met, most of the bag limits are raised from one or two to three. How many anglers do you know who consistently can hook three walleyes a trip anyway?
DNR surveys over the past 25 years have found that about 75 percent of walleye anglers are unsuccessful, and of those who do catch fish, about half catch just a single walleye.
Like just about anything else, it's hit-and-miss, depending on the spot chosen, time of year and knowledge/skills of the participant. Thank goodness for panfish, bass and pike — all easier to catch.
Now, back to issue.
A bill was in introduced the other day that will put wolves back under state control. It was put forth by a WI representative. The plan is to attach it to legislation that will likely make it into signed law.
From what I understand, they are supposed to stock all the lakes they spear. When I tried to research where the fish from their rearing ponds were going, I was given the run around. Amazingly, they couldn't tell me the number of fish placed in any of the lakes. The tribes should be bragging this information everywhere, yet not a peep anywhere ever?
""White men" still take far more walleyes on most waters — even within the ceded territory — than tribal spearers do. "
Not when you consider they are killing spawning females. Each female equates to how many thousands of eggs and how many fish? That does not even take into account further propagation.
Not trying to give you a difficult time but to support your contention I need to know real, relevant numbers. Why? Because I believe their spearing efforts have been the major cause of reduced limits which have been placed on recreational anglers.
It is not private hunters that are shooting entire wolf packs from the air in our western states, it is the state Fish and Game depts. Not really possible in Wisconsin with our lack of open country, nor would the libs in Madison ever allow for it. We need this new legislation to pass into law, once again placing the wolves under state control and permanently. Where good habitat exists their numbers must be heavily controlled, where proper habitat does not exist for them they must be eliminated. Open season.
Gov. Walker's "Walleye Initiative" even pays tribes and private hatcheries to raise walleyes for stocking.
The initiative provides the following:
$8.2 million to the Department of Natural Resources for infrastructure improvements and $1.3 million each year for operating costs to expand production at state fish hatcheries;
$2 million grant program for municipal, tribal, and private aquaculture facilities to improve infrastructure and enhance ability to stock additional large fingerling walleye in Wisconsin’s waters;
$500,000 in fiscal year 2014-15 to purchase large fingerling walleye from private fish farms; and
$250,000 to expand the Summer Tribal Youth Program.
Capt Mike, there are no real numbers out there in regard to stocking by the tribes. I tried like heck last year to research this and was passed all around with nobody having answers. I feel very confident that the Eagle RIver and Three Lakes chain has never been restocked. They spear it annually.
Complete waste of money. Throwing money at political agenda just so a small number of those fingerling supposedly raised in these hatcheries can be speared. I say we take half that money and send them cases of canned tuna, after we take their spears away of course.
If stocking walleyes in our ceded lakes has been so great why does the sport fishing stink in comparison to the Dakotas for one example? The brood fish, the spawners, are being wiped out, that's why. Not only is spearing spawning fish completely unsportsmanlike, it is decimating to the species.
End the monopoly the indians have on the casinos, end all state paid stocking of walleye and musky in ceded territory, and trap and shoot every wolf we can until that situation is under control. THIS is what needs to be done.
I'll try to get some numbers from the Lac du Flambeau Band, which raises walleyes and muskies and is taking part in the walleye initiative. I do know that for a while in the mid- to late 00s only the tribe was stocking walleyes — not the DNR — partially due to fish health requirements by DATCP (tribe was not impacted by the federal rules).
All the water the past two years should help shoreline-spawning walleyes in natural reproduction lakes. A long drought prior had negatively impacted lake levels, and thus, walleye spawning sites.
I have lived or fished in 13 states . The top 4 KS , CA , MO , and NV . The worst ? yup , Wisconsin .
Just think what kind of a whitetail destination WI could become with a little quality management.
Kansas just completed its annual Monster Buck Classic, Iowa's Deer Classic is March 6-8 and Nebraska's Big Buck Classic is moving to a summer "Buck and Bird" Classic this year.
https://www.facebook.com/MonsterBuckofKansas
http://iowadeerclassic.com
https://www.facebook.com/NebraskaBigBuckClassic
All that said, be careful what you wish for. I have friends in my home port that lease thousands of acres of Nebraska ground. That's common there, as it is in Kansas and even Iowa. Wisconsin's No. 1 ranking is even more amazing IMO due to the fact that dozens of counties are producing book bucks every year, including on fragmented, hard-hunted small tracts (both rural and suburban) and large chunks of public land. Before you say it's all Buffalo County, it's not: in fact, BC has had only three of the top 80 bucks (typical and non-typical, bow and gun) combined the past two years.
