Wolves in the Backyard

FinnyDinDin, we live right on the edge where 30,000+/- acres of forested land meets thousands of acres of agriculture.

Our property literally is the edge, half hardwoods and half ag. It should be a deer hunter’s paradise, but we’re in area 183.

It’s a one deer limit, with 100 lottery tags for the zone.

If this same property were in say Polk County, WI we’d see 25-50 deer in the cornfield every evening, AND have UNLIMITED tags. A dream property to own and manage.

But here we see two deer in the field on a good evening. Usually none, and very few tracks. The ones we do see bed less than 100 yards from the house.

It’s not habitat. It’s not hunter over-harvest. It’s a dwindling deer population with too many predators.

All of my neighbors say deer hunting was much better in the past before wolves moved in. Nearly every field used to have a herd of deer in them, now 1 in 10 might have a deer or two. They say it’s nothing like it used to be.

Are wolves 100% the problem? No. But they’re sure as hell a huge part of it.

Coyotes, winter, bears and hunters surely take their toll too, but before wolves arrived the deer population was sustainable/thriving against those factors.

Wolves love a good healthy serving of meatballs seasoned with xylitol.

FinnyDinDin wrote:

That said, we definitely should have a wolf season. Both for managing the population and to put the fear of man back in to them. The longer we go without hunting the more likely we are to having an attack on humans. Some of them are getting pretty bold.

I don’t always agree with your posts Finny, but I do here. I am of the opinion that they are a natural predator that belongs on the landscape that can support them. However, their populations have clearly exceeded stated goals in both MN and WI, and they need to be managed at the state level. A lottery drawn, quota based hunting and/or trapping season would be the solution. Until the feds remove them from the endangered species list, there’s nothing the states can do. They were removed via the legal route twice by Obama and Trump only to be reversed in court both times.

I deer hunted in wolf country east of Leech Lake with 9 other people for 25 years and none of us ever saw one. Not once. The only place I’ve ever seen one is at the zoo. So seeing a live one in the wild would probably be something that occurs once or twice in my lifetime.

There’s a lot of factors that go into local deer populations, and wolves are part of that equation. Completely eliminating or eradicating them is not solution. I am not a biologist nor do I know the intricacies of their predator-prey relationship, so I can only speculate on what might work. There’s no doubt that they have become bolder and more brazen around people, pets, and livestock though. That’s where a limited hunting season would help.

There is only one man who can stop these blood thirsty wolves.

Claiming wolves are not part of the deer herd decline is just idiotic thinking. There has been severe winters, car crashes, and larger hunter harvest in years past and the deer herd never seriously declined. Adding wolves was the 1 factor that totally changed the deer landscape.

It is similar to claiming fisherman and climate are the only reason walleye fishing is not like the old days.

I think wolves should be managed same as any animal. There is zero wilderness left in the world, therefor everything should be managed.

Either way wolves are here to stay. No reason to be nervous if you see one. You’ve got better odds of winning the powerball and getting struck by lightning in the same day than having a wolf bite you.

Couldn’t you argue that deer populations were over what they should be before the wolves? That without natural predators the deer were over populated? Maybe now there is balance and 50 deer in a single field is not sustainable?

I have no idea but you guys seem to have itchy trigger fingers when it comes to wolves. I’d suggest we let Mother Nature regulate herself. Every time people step in we seem to muck it up.

Matt Moen wrote:

Couldn’t you argue that deer populations were over what they should be before the wolves? That without natural predators the deer were over populated? Maybe now there is balance and 50 deer in a single field is not sustainable?

I have no idea but you guys seem to have itchy trigger fingers when it comes to wolves. I’d suggest we let Mother Nature regulate herself. Every time people step in we seem to muck it up.

Agreed, but there needs to be a happy medium. Zero, one or two isn’t a sign of a healthy herd, nor is 50.

I wish we could see 10 deer in a harvested corn field around here. Hell, a semi-consistent 5 would be nice.

The habitat and food around my house could support A LOT more deer without worrying about overpopulation/over-browsing.

As a hunter, it’s pretty sad to sit in great whitetail habitat (edge of big woods and ag) and not see a single deer on rifle opener (two seasons in a row for me now).

Wolves don’t need to be exterminated, but they should be managed. They’re currently 4 times above recovery goals with no end in sight (but hopefully that might change in a couple months).

I’m willing to bet that 9/10 people who live in the Metro like the idea of “nature” taking it’s course.

On the flip side, 9/10 people who live with wolves have an opposite (and real-world) prospective.

Keep in mind the people who settled America didn’t reduce them just for fun.

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A few prior threads on this site and other sites regarding wolves.

A few of my bullet points:
1) USDA kill (shoot & trap) 100-200 wolves in MN. Why pay for this when you can charge fees to control populations?
2) wolves should be managed like bears (MN) and mountain lines (ND) via management that includes hunting.
3) wolves south of highway 2 in MN should be more aggressively controlled.
4) Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have a wolf season. Minnesota wolf population is estimated at double the population of Idaho. What politics are at play here?

B-man wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Matt Moen wrote:</div>
Couldn’t you argue that deer populations were over what they should be before the wolves? That without natural predators the deer were over populated? Maybe now there is balance and 50 deer in a single field is not sustainable?

I have no idea but you guys seem to have itchy trigger fingers when it comes to wolves. I’d suggest we let Mother Nature regulate herself. Every time people step in we seem to muck it up.

Agreed, but there needs to be a happy medium. Zero, one or two isn’t a sign of a healthy herd, nor is 50.

I wish we could see 10 deer in a harvested corn field around here. Hell, a semi-consistent 5 would be nice.

The habitat and food around my house could support A LOT more deer without worrying about overpopulation/over-browsing.

As a hunter, it’s pretty sad to sit in great whitetail habitat (edge of big woods and ag) and not see a single deer on rifle opener (two seasons in a row for me now).

Wolves don’t need to be exterminated, but they should be managed. They’re currently 4 times above recovery goals with no end in sight.

I’m willing to bet that 9/10 people who live in the Metro like the idea of “nature” taking it’s course.

On the flip side, 9/10 people who live with wolves have an opposite (and real-world) prospective.

Keep in mind the people who settled America didn’t reduce them just for fun.

There it is…if you live in the city you just don’t know. If you live in the country you have the real world perspective. Comical.

And you’re bringing up the settlers? Cmon man…it’s not 1850.

So do the coyotes eat deer too?

Bottom line fellas is they need to be managed.We need our candy-@$$ state governments to grow a pair and get something done.
I don’t think getting into a p!$$ing match on here with each other will change anything.

Watch out Matt, they’re gonna gitcha!!

Luckily all of your wolves are confined to one area, I think that’s why Caribou are thriving down there

(Just picking on you)

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Large difference between knowledge of wolves vs applicable knowledge of dealing with wolves. When people who have not dealt with wolves start talking about wolves, it’s interesting to see the lack of empathy there is towards another human being who has dealt with them. There seems to be little to no understanding of the situations or the frustrations.

crawdaddy wrote:

So do the coyotes eat deer too?

They’re not much of a threat to deer in the summer/fall/winter, but they won’t pass up a fawn in the spring when they find one. The same goes for bears.

Wolves don’t care what time of year it is, and whitetails are their primary food source (like me). I’d just like to see enough to share with them.

The boys just found a set of tracks (one wolf this time), it got within 40 yards of the house and 15 yards from the shop. The tracks followed the deer trail from right where they bed then across the driveway.

After the next snowfall I’ll be able to tell you if they got either of the two deer on our land. They follow a very predictable route to the field, if one set of tracks is missing I’ll know right away.

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I’ve heard from a few of my friends who deer hunt how poor it’s been in the recent (the last 5) years. They see a lot of wolf tracks. Before the wolf population grew, hunting was a great way to keep the deer population in check. If there were tough winters and the deer declined it was bucks only. When the deer thrived, bonus tags. Seems pretty simple to me. The wolves need to managed by hunting/trapping.

I’ll just add this. Our family has had property in the chippewa national forest since 1965. I was 6 at the time. Now 67. I’ve seen my adult life the ups and downs of the deer herd as well as the wolves here. Road kill, winter mortality blah blah.

I’ll say this. Talk to any local and they’ll tell you the wolves vs the deer herd.. the wolves are winning

chuck100 wrote:

Bottom line fellas is they need to be managed.We need our candy-@$$ state governments to grow a pair and get something done.
I don’t think getting into a p!$$ing match on here with each other will change anything.

The states hands are tied because they are still federally managed. Both DNRs from MN and WI want to manage them stateside, which I am in agreement with. They cannot until they are federally delisted, and stay there.

They need to be de-listed by the feds and a judge needs to quit overturning that ruling, which has occurred twice. Until that happens nothing is going to change from a management standpoint.

^^^^ I have a feeling it won’t be long (if you know what I’m getting at)

B-man wrote:

^^^^ I have a feeling it won’t be long (if you know what I’m getting at)

This I agree with…the makeup of our judges is gonna be a changin.’

The wolves in my area must not realize they are supposed to destroy the deer population. I live in wolf territory and deer remain almost a nuisance. Car on deer collisions are a major concern and deer hunting success continues to be very high. I don’t see wolves often but tracks are common anytime I am walking the woods in the winter.

walleye216 wrote:

The wolves in my area must not realize they are supposed to destroy the deer population. I live in wolf territory and deer remain almost a nuisance. Car on deer collisions are a major concern and deer hunting success continues to be very high. I don’t see wolves often but tracks are common anytime I am walking the woods in the winter.

A balance like that would be nice

Where are you at?

Matt Moen wrote:

There is only one man who can stop these blood thirsty wolves.

<div class=”ido-oembed-wrap”><iframe loading=”lazy” title=”The Grey Official Trailer #2 – Liam Neeson Movie (2012) HD” width=”850″ height=”478″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/ujrBaHS8UTg?feature=oembed&#8221; frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen=””></iframe></div>

I watched the movie. My first thought was they set it up for a sequel.

gim wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>chuck100 wrote:</div>
Bottom line fellas is they need to be managed.We need our candy-@$$ state governments to grow a pair and get something done.
I don’t think getting into a p!$$ing match on here with each other will change anything.

The states hands are tied because they are still federally managed. Both DNRs from MN and WI want to manage them stateside, which I am in agreement with. They cannot until they are federally delisted, and stay there.

They need to be de-listed by the feds and a judge needs to quit overturning that ruling, which has occurred twice. Until that happens nothing is going to change from a management standpoint.

This attitude drives me nuts. First of all, The Feds are not all powerful rulers that dictate to the states and they must fall in line, in fact our whole system was setup in direct opposition to that. Secondly, states manage wolf populations thru hunting and trapping in the US…today. So it is not some crazy unprecedented big ask. All we need is a Governor and DNR commish with a pair, AND that aren’t owned by the tribe. We currently have neither. Unless that changes, I think the only thing that would do it is some rebel hill billies trapping a bunch and dropping them off with an empty stomach in Theodore Wirth and Pig’s Eye Park.

FWIW I don’t want wolves eliminated, just managed. And some honesty from our DNR on their numbers and range would be nice too.

I agree 100% BW.

No wolves, but we had reindeer in IGH

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chuck100 wrote:

I agree 100% BW.

I agree too.

Not sure how that process works since they are managed by the US Fish & Wildlife in the Great Lakes region. How did the western states gain state management? I think there’s more to it than just having the Governor say “they’re ours now.”

Well they Boys got to see their first wolf this morning

We left the house at 0400 for a couple nights on Red and had one run in front of the truck 3 miles from our driveway.

Wish I could have gotten a litte fur on the bumper but he was MOVING, we got within 30 yards of him

gim wrote:

I agree too.

Not sure how that process works since they are managed by the US Fish & Wildlife in the Great Lakes region. How did the western states gain state management? I think there’s more to it than just having the Governor say “they’re ours now.”

Their governors just grew a pair, it has nothing to do with the Northern Rocky Mountain wolf population not being protected under the ESA