# Getting Close to Home....Wolves!



## Bears Butt (Sep 12, 2007)

Cut the hay yesterday and the man who custom cuts/bales for us told us that two weeks ago, while he was hiking with his dog on the mountain above Willard, he saw a large, black wolf! It was quite a distance away, but watching as they hiked along. He last saw it climbing up and over a drift of snow and headed for Blacks Peak.

Also, two weeks ago, the ex mayor of Willard was driving through Sardine Canyon on his way to Logan and saw a large black wolf in the meadow where the Cache Valley Rendezvous was held back on Memorial Day Weekend.

Same wolf? Probably.

My younger brother, who was also with us cutting the hay, told of him being up on his property at Sourdough (Monte Cristo Road) saw a large, blackish wolf about 75 yards from him on an atv trail. They had a stare down for about 30 seconds and then it ran off.

All, unconfirmed, but it just sounds like we are beginning to see a problem in the making! I just bring this up as an informational posting.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Lisa and I are going up to Doc Flats this evening before we head back up to Alaska. Maybe I shoud take my 6mm AI along for "protection".


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## nickpan (May 6, 2008)

Guaranteed they are already nice and cozy here, and a lot further south!!


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## crimson obsession (Sep 7, 2008)

My brother and I were deer hunting willard basin two years ago and came across a set of tracks that I am sure were wolf. I know what lion tracks are, and I know what sheep dog tracks are. It was neither. I have been waiting for a report or sighting to be announced in this area.


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

These types of "unconfirmed" reports will persist until we all have a story to share about wolves. I don't look forward to that day.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

We were stopped by the fishcops on our way up to Doc Flats last Friday. He just wanted us to know that a bear had been causing trouble up there and they had a trap set for it. His friend, also a fishcop, who lives in Mantua had a bear in his back yard last week. I'm assuming it was the same one.
I asked about the wolf situation and he said there have been numurous sightings in that area this year.


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## Bears Butt (Sep 12, 2007)

I just received an email about the bear at Mantua...they caught it, weighed it and took it somewhere East of Ogden and released it. 170 pound 2 year old.


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Cool! Kinda neat knowing there was a bear around. We had a racoon under our trailer while we were out sitting by the fire. My little lapdog went crazy. Scared the hell out of Lisa until I saw what it was.


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## quakeycrazy (Sep 18, 2007)

My buddy saw one up Diamond Fork canyon on this years turkey hunt. Said he was calling when it came running in looking around, I was not convinced until I had him describe it to me, said it was the size of a very big dog, mostly black, and had a radio collar on it with a small antenna hooked up to the transmitter box. The size of the prints in the snow were also huge, I guess it came in to around 15 yards and was trotting in before my friend stood up so it wouldn't run over him, it took off rather quickly once he did that. Like it or not they are here and I am sure someone knows where certain animals are or packs are located. Afterall, some of them are collared....


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## Guest (Jul 12, 2011)

quakeycrazy said:


> My buddy saw one up Diamond Fork canyon on this years turkey hunt. Said he was calling when it came running in looking around, I was not convinced until I had him describe it to me, said it was the size of a very big dog, mostly black, and had a radio collar on it with a small antenna hooked up to the transmitter box. The size of the prints in the snow were also huge, I guess it came in to around 15 yards and was trotting in before my friend stood up so it wouldn't run over him, it took off rather quickly once he did that. Like it or not they are here and I am sure someone knows where certain animals are or packs are located. Afterall, some of them are collared....


haha and those people are gonna be extremely confused when they realize their collared friend is on I-80 headed east bound  :lol:


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## bullsnot (Aug 10, 2010)

kill_'em_all said:


> quakeycrazy said:
> 
> 
> > Afterall, some of them are collared....
> ...


Yeah I heard of one wolf traveling all the way to Pennsylvania in just 3 days not too long ago.


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

Shoot the darn thing and toss it onto a rail car. Let's see how far it goes.


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## buckley (Aug 14, 2011)

so is it legal to shoot a wolf? sorry probably a dumb question


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

That's a loaded answer. It is not legal to shoot a wolf in Utah. Our comments about shooting them stem from the DWR's position that there are no wolves in Utah. Therefore we call them oversized coyotes.

Idaho and Montana have legal hunts that allow the tag holder to shoot one.


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## royta (Sep 26, 2007)

*Re: Re: Getting Close to Home....Wolves!*



Bears Butt said:


> I just received an email about the bear at Mantua...they caught it, weighed it and took it somewhere East of Ogden and released it. 170 pound 2 year old.


East of Ogden? That's probably the one that got shot up Monte Verde in Mountain Green for stealing the goat.


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## stillhunterman (Feb 15, 2009)

MadHunter said:


> That's a loaded answer. It is not legal to shoot a wolf in Utah. Our comments about shooting them stem from the *DWR's position that there are no wolves in Utah.* Therefore we call them oversized coyotes.
> 
> Idaho and Montana have legal hunts that allow the tag holder to shoot one.


As far as I am aware, the Utah DWR isn't stating that there are NO wolves in the state, in fact they have admitted to having seen several in some of the northern areas. Their official position is there are "No Established PACKS of wolves in the state". They have been told by the State to do whatever they can NOT to allow any packs to become established here. How they plan to go about that is another question. o-||


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## MadHunter (Nov 17, 2009)

That is an interesting point. Does the DWR have some sort of get out of jail free cards when it comes to wolves in Utah? I guess my question really is... Can they kill/controll/erradicate wolves protected by the ESL based on the fact that they are not "officially established" here in Utah? If that is the case then we sportsmen should have that green light as well.


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## stillhunterman (Feb 15, 2009)

MadHunter said:


> That is an interesting point. Does the DWR have some sort of get out of jail free cards when it comes to wolves in Utah? *I guess my question really is... Can they kill/controll/erradicate wolves protected by the ESL based on the fact that they are not "officially established" here in Utah?* If that is the case then we sportsmen should have that green light as well.


No, the State of Utah can't arbitrarily kill/control/eradicate wolves in the state that are in areas that are still listing them as threatened/endangered. When SB36 was passed last year, the state mandated the DWR to "request" the USFWS to remove any and all wolves found such areas: That includes the great majority of the state, with the exception of the extreme north. In that northern area where the wolf is NOT listed, the State of Utah has given the DWR the authority to develop and execute a plan to keep the wolf out however it sees fit to get the job done.

Now, whether they will use hunters to do the job if necessary, your guess is as good as mine. I would think given the spirit of SB36, the DWR won't wait around to issue tags for special hunts, they will just take care of business as quickly as possible. The USFWS has acknowledged that Utah is not considered critical to the "recovery" of the wolves, and it doesn't intend on actively pursuing wolf recovery in Utah. Sooo, it will be and interesting deal when things start to unfold. :?


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