Download Wolf kill program about conservation, say organizers

Wolf kill program about conservation, say organizers
Dan Singleton, Round Up staff
Sundre Round UP, February 20, 2007
Sundre Fish and Game Association (SFGA), in conjunction with some area ranchers and
trappers, has launched a program that will pay a total of $350 for every wolf killed, up to a
total of 25 animals in 2007, say officials.
The Ungulate Enhancement Program is aimed at helping maintain elk and deer populations
along the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies, says association member Gary Bracken. "We don't
call it a bounty," said Bracken. "The bottom line is the number of elk are going down
drastically. The population on the Ya Ha and the Panther River and the Clearwater River
have gone down drastically. It's a serious problem with these ungulates. "We started the
program to help the trappers out a little bit because a wolf is worth almost nothing in a fur
auction, $50 to $100. Not that we are wasting them. It gives a guy a few extra bucks to
either taxidermy them or do something like that."
Under the program, the association pays $200, with trappers contributing an additional
$100, and a group of area ranchers adding $50 more, he said. The 150-member SFGA is a
non-profit organization formed in 1980 to "promote fishing, hunting and proper
management of the resource and its habitat for today and tomorrow," according to the
association's website. The group believes that protecting the ungulate population in the
region will benefit the Sundre economy by attracting hunters and tourists, said Bracken.
Asked where the association is getting it's portion of the money for the program, Bracken
said it is coming from various sources. "We raise money and some money is coming in from
other organizations, but I'm not going to name those," he said. "They are other wildlife
supporting clubs that know that something has to be done with the wolf. They are other
organizations, as far away as the States even."
To qualify for the money under the program, the wolves must be taken from a specific area
of west central Alberta, he said. "The area is pretty large. It would be from the Clearwater
almost to the Ghost River, from Highway 22 to the mountains. That's a pretty large area."
Trapping the wolves with a snare is "a lot more humane than watching them starve to
death," he said. "If they eat all the ungulates, they are going to starve," he said. "Or they
will get mange and then they die of slowly freezing and itching to death. Mother Nature isn't
very nice when it comes to something like that.
"I know we are going to get some feedback from some of these animal activist people. All
they ever do is whine and cry he said. They don't understand."
Wolves qualify for the money by either being registered with Fish and Wildlife or actually
showing the wolf to the executive of the club (SFGA), he said. The money will be paid until a
total of 25 wolves have been killed, he said. About a dozen wolves have been turned in to
date.
"We're not breaking any laws. It's not like we are saying we want every wolf killed.
Speaking for myself, I don't ever want to see the wolf wiped out, or any species," he said.
The wolf population in the west country has started moving east, he said. "There's been
some spotted as far east as the Dickson Dam area. They are following these rivers out."
Sundre Fish and Wildlife officer Jim Mitchell said wolves can be hunted, but not trapped,
without a licence during all seasons, on public land by a person authorized to keep livestock
on that land, or by a resident who has written permission from that authorized person."
While leghold traps are not permitted in the region, snares for taking fur-bearing animals
may be set by holders of registered fur management licences or by holders of resident fur
management licences for wolf. Setting out bait for the purpose of hunting wolves is lawful,
except during a spring black bear season where the use of bait for hunting black bear is not
allowed.
Non-residents and non-resident alien hunters of big game, wolf and coyote must be
accompanied by a licensed guide or a hunter host. According to the province, a total of 367
wolf pelts were taken between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006, with the mean price per pelt
being $84.46, for a total value of $30,996.82. Jim Allen, a Alberta Sustainable Resource
Development biologist, says the department is encouraging some harvest of the wolf
population on the Eastern Slopes.
"We don't know exactly how many wolves are out there, but we have a healthy population,"
said Allen. "There's been harvest by trappers and hunters for years, for quite awhile, and we
have been doing things to help trappers. For example, we are offering courses in wolf
trapping and providing bait to try and increase the harvest.
"We want wolves on the landscape because it is part of the system. It is certainly like other
species, there is what we call a harvestable surplus, so we are encouraging people, just like
we encourage people to hunt moose. "What's being taken out by hunting and trapping isn't
limiting the population. They are still maintaining the population." Allen said he does not
suspect the SFGA's program will harm the wolf population on the Eastern Slopes.
Meanwhile, wolves are not the only animals putting pressure on ungulates in the west
country, said Bracken. "We have other problems beside the wolf," said Bracken. "The cougar
is a problem on taking these things. And also our grizzly bear because we have no season
due to political opponents; it has nothing to do with biology in my opinion. A grizzly will get
an elk calving ground and they'll just grid it. You tell me how many calves it takes to fill a
grizzly."
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