Hunting a valuable tool in wildlife management

This is the second in a two-part series about the future of outdoor activities.

Dear future outdoor-minded people:

Last week we discussed the meaning of consumptive and non-consumptive outdoor activities. We also discussed outdoor ethics. These are subjects you will face throughout your life. Study the lessons carefully, learn all sides of each situation and act appropriately.

Hunting is a consumptive sport and, perhaps, the least understood of all the outdoor activities. Anti-hunters are against the killing of any animal. There is another group, those who do not hunt, but try to understand those who do and why hunters take to the field.

I once asked several friends what I thought was a simple question, "Why do you hunt?" Not one said to kill a game animal or bird.

Instead the answers were varied. The most common answer was camaraderie; visiting during the drive to the hunting area, discussing a past hunt over a cup of coffee and chatting about an upcoming hunt around a campfire.

Another aspect of the outdoors enjoyed by hunters is being in the field and watching the surroundings. This includes seeing hoar frost coat the trees, sagebrush and grasses, turning the entire area into a white wintery wonderland.

Hunters also enjoy watching wildlife. A few years ago I placed my ground blind 100 yards away from a winter-wheat field, with the goal of bagging a 3-point or better buck.

The buck didn't appear this day, but there were many groups of does and game birds. Three doe entered the field, ate their fill and left. A group of seven appeared and was eating when a single does passed me and walked into the field. All of the others left as if this single doe would beat them up if they stayed.

This doe remained for 20 minutes, then slowly walked back the way she came, eating dry grass along the way. As soon as she was out of the field, the others returned.

Next a group of covey of quail stopped by the right rear corner of my blind. They talked softly to each other for a few minutes and disappeared. Movement in the field caught my eye. A group of Hungarian partridge, about 20, was just visible above the wheat. A curious deer walked over to the Huns, went nose to beak with a couple and walked off.

The birds were legal to hunt, but none were killed and a legal buck didn't show up, yet the day was a success in my eyes.

Game birds and animals cause a lot of damage to farm fields, orchards and livestock each year. Deer eat parts of fruit trees taking money out of the pockets of orchardists.

Elk not only eat the fruit trees, but damage fences and other objects. An alfalfa farmer in the Ellensburg area said elk easily ruin a corrugated field with their large hoofs.

Plus their hoofs can break irrigation pipes as they enter and exit the field.

Hunters should be allowed to help control the population by taking more of the over-populated species, when the population of game birds and animals increase.

An example is certain deer herds. Hunters in some areas of the state are allowed to take a 3-point buck, plus an antlerless deer.

Cougar

The cougar is another interesting study. When hunting with hounds was outlawed by Washington citizens, the cougar population increased greatly. These animals invaded the Columbia Basin.

Although they are not seen every day, three were killed in a six-month period within 10 miles of Ephrata and one a few years later near the south end of Lake Lenore. Cougars have been spotted between George and the Columbia River and, also, in Mattawa.

These animals were causing so many problems, there is now a hound-hunting season in the Northeast portion of the state.

Wolves

Wolves are the newcomer to the modern Washington landscape, having disappeared from the land 80 or so years ago.

They are already causing problems. The elk numbers in Montana and Idaho have been decreased dramatically because of the wolf population. This means less revenue for the state because fewer hunters are buying hunting licenses, staying at motels and eating in restaurants.

In Washington, the wolf population is increasing at a fast pace, most likely faster than Fish and Wildlife expected. A pack in the northeast part of the state has started targeting cattle.

Since June 15 calves from the Diamond M Ranch have been killed or injured, with 10 dead and the rest suffering from serious injuries.

As a result, Fish and Wildlife have two teams in the field aimed at killing the members of the Wedge Pack, a group of eight wolves. When a pack targets cattle as the main source of food, they need to be eliminated, according to Fish and Wildlife.

It is a feel-good model to say a wolf pack will only kill the weak and old animals in a herd.

This happens, yes, because when the pack is hunting and the weak and old are slow to keep up with the rest. The slower animal is easier to kill.

A little research will reveal wolves do have a dark side. People who have been in the field in Alaska report a path of death where a pack of wolves leaves behind many animals to teach the pups how to hunt.

There is a report of wolves having a chance to kill a sick moose, but passing up the easy kill because they knew it was sick and the disease may infect the pack.

Another researcher tells of an incidence of two wolves killing 21 deer, but eating part of only two.

Two actions will accelerate the future of wolves in Washington State: First, allow hunting and give extra tags to the livestock ranchers.

Second, establish two packs on the Westside of the state and listen to the howls as citizens lose prized horses, cattle and other livestock.