Fishing Forum

I heard earlier today that there was a wolf attack in Utah but I missed the story on the news. Did anyone hear the whole story? WH2
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Hey WH2 No I did not hear anything about a wolf attack. I would really be surprised if one did occur though. Wolves don't like being around people much so an attack would be something really big! Now as for sheep and cattle they are fair game. No flames from the ranchers please. It was my families business for several generations. We always figured in a certain amount of loss due to the range were they roamed. No wolves there mind you, but lots of big cats and coyotes and they had their way from time to time. My dad never once got out the guns and hunted to their death. He said it was the price we had to pay for using their habitat. So we always had a few extra head to feed and sometimes they were the feed. Just my 2 cents I think the wolves are a good thing for the enviorment and I am awaiting the day I can observe and track a pack up here in the Wasatch. Boy am I going to be unpopular with the locals LOL
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I saw the news Saturday night and it was on. They say it was in the Woodruff area. I was camping at Woodruff on the weekend of the 6th. We heard alot of coyotes, and there were alot of them. I was raised in the mountains of Colorado and I know what coyotes sound like this was not a wolf attack. I think the farmers are still made about the wolves in Yellowstone and want to blame them on these attacks.We heard the coyotes way into the morning til about 10 o'clock and they usually stop howling after the sun comes up. I think they were on the prowel and chasing the sheep.Just my 2 cents.
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Wiperhunter2,

I heard about that on the news as well it seems like who ever you ask has a [size 1]different [/size]opinion on this. Here is the [size 1]article[/size] I read last week on it in the trib.

[url "http://www.sltrib.com/2003/sep/09112003/utah/91464.asp"]http://www.sltrib.com/2003/sep/09112003/utah/91464.asp[/url]
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I tend to agree with the article that is was more likely a wolf/hybrid someone got tired of taking care up and released into the wild. I use to like up southfork canyon in the Evergreen Subdivision just west of Causey, we heard Coyotes all the time and saw lots of strays on Monte Cristo whenever we'd go over the top to visit Evanston on a "BEER RUN".
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Thanks for posting the link to that article GF, now I know the rest of the story. When I first heard about the story I thought the wolf attack was on a person. I'm glad to see that wasn't the case. Thanks everyone for your opinion, I think we all know it is possible that there are more wolves in Utah. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens but it's just a matter of time before more wolves move in. WH2
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My oppinion on this matter is that the wolves never should have been introduced back in to the west. All they've done, primarily, is kill off 90 percent of the elk, deer, and buffalo fawns, and totally anilate the coyote population in Yellowstone. That's coming from the National Geographic. All they'll do is eat, and eat, and eat some more till all of the once mighty Yellowstone Elk herds are down to extinction. I will also say I would not be against shooting one of them if I saw it in Utah. We didn't introduce them back here, so why should we have to let them kill off our animals. Just my 2 cents.
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I will say this once for everybody in the above few post. If you cant post a reply without name calling or being rude DO NOT POST AT ALL. We all come from different paths and have different opions.
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Yes people are allowed to post whatever they may believe, have heard from a friend of a friend, read, seen on tv or what they think. As long as they do it cleanly and with respect to other posters.
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One of the reason's I like this website is you can express your opinion and usually everyone respects this. Let's not forget that.
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very well said.
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Very well put! However, lets not forget that "the human species" is also part of mother natures creation... I say this very respectfully...
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I agree as well let em roam free
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I really don't care, teroy. If these people can't be a man and stick up for their actions by SIGNING UP, I won't listen to them. I would like to voice my oppion on one other thing. Over the past, there have been a few jerks in here doing name calling and getting away with it, all because this sight allows guests to post. I say if you want to post sign up. Just my 2 cents.
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Well Jensen, A lot of people do care on the site so it is my job as well as BLM and pred's to look out for the best interest of the site. I do agree with guest posting and it is being discussed.
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It seems real easy to blame Ranchers and Farmers for the lack of predators and an imbalance to the way things were. But everytime I look to the East I see homes going farther into wildlife winter ranges, roads up every canyon and every time a bear or big cat comes into town or a campground looking for food its a major crisis that ends up with trapping or shooting the animal. It seems to me that the real problem is Man himself and the lack of habitat caused by development which forces our animal friends to come to town and across busy roads for a visit.
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You make a good point on the loss of habitat and that is part of the problem, too many people. However, if you look at the only initial attempt at reintroducing a large predator in the west, the wolf in Yellowstone, the only opposition came from livestock ranchers outside of Yellowstone who funded their campaign with monies from the united Farm Bureau. As far as I know, Yellowstone is not full of housing developments. Utah still has abundant habitat for large predators like bear and cougar and coyote, and game like deer and elk. Wolves and brown bears and linx and wolverines were extirpated from Utah long before it had the population it now has. The State of Utah still pays full time salaries to government trappers to kill cougar and bear that prey on livestock on public lands. They kill many more animals than the ones that unfortunatley wander in to urban areas. I feel reintroduction of these species will never occur until their is a fundamental shift in thinking of the value of cows and sheep versus the value of native predator species.

Kayote
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I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned the value of beef and sheep compared to the value of wild predators. Having traveled around a bit and having seen what food costs are in other parts of this old world. I value more my reasonably priced piece of red meat and the economic impact the industry has on grain and other food products than watching predators eating red meat while I watch.
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Looky look, I'm all registered as of yesterday.

As much as I would like to see predators establish here I do have to think about the ranchers. They make a living off cattle and sheep. I sure wouldn't take to predators well if I was a rancher. But I also believe there are other ways to tackle the problem than just shooting them up. First off, I'm not very sympathetic to those that use public land for grazing. Second, I you do have a predator problem I would think there are ways to fix it. People once used dogs to protect the sheep. I came up on a large herd of sheep up above Ephraim once, the herd was watched over by two very large sheep dogs. And weren't sheep herders used more frequently than just to round them up at the end of the year?

I've felt ranchers have always got what they wanted. I'm a residential designer for AV systems, I have to follow some rules and take precautionary measures, so should the ranchers.
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Nice thread Stickhorse and Ichtys. Let me say, I am not trying to blame ranchers for all the problems associated with wildlife in the state. The reality is, the majority of the 'cheap' beef in this country does not come from cattle fed on public lands. It comes from corporate farms in the mid west who raise animals that never leave the feedlot. Also, the price of beef stays low mostly due to greenbelt tax breaks and beef subsidies from the government, not because of the wanton destruction of native predators. I also believe that more elk and deer are killed because of limits (caps) set on their numbers by legislators catering to the agriculture interests than predators will ever take (i.e. doe and cow permits). That's just the way it is based on Utah's rural ranching history. I also believe, as the population in the west grows, urbanization will create less sympathy for practices such as grazing permits and wanton destruction of predators. People in cities tend to lose those traditional values and tend to make more emotional value judgements. Like it or not, there will be more voters in the future in cities and less rural folk and this being a democracy, legislators will change their views based on the will of the voters and things will inevitably change. This is not necessarily good. These will also be the type of voters who have no symapthy for traditional hunting and fishing activities, things I dearly love. I have no need in my world for the extreme left environmentalist crowd. There are no right answers here, just the way I see things shaking out. I fall somewhere between the rape and pillage crowd and the PETA folks. I do not associate with either extreme. I would however, like to see a reintroduction of the large native predators that once roamed this great state. This may just be a pipe dream and it's probably too late for such fantasies. I hope I have not offended anyone, that was never my intention. I was merely stating a personal desire to support these controversial reintroductions. Boy, I really need to get away from this stupid computer and go fishing. Enough said.

Good Fishing, Kayote
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