Ill. & Iowa...Coming soon

[Ravin R10 man]

it has begun as I have said before; When our deer are gone they will head south to eat yours;

[h=1]opulation[/h][h=2][/h][h=5]January 1[/h][h=4]BY MICHAEL TARM[/h][h=5]Associated Press[/h]CHICAGO — The wolf was believed to be a lone male expelled by a pack in Wisconsin. The hunter who shot him in northwestern Illinois, allegedly keeping his skull as a trophy, was the first person in the state ever prosecuted for shooting a wolf under federal endangered species laws.

ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES | AP PHOTOThis undated picture released by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources shows a dead gray wolf, killed by hunters in northwestern Illinois in 2011. The hunters said they believed the animal was a coyote, which, especially from a distance, can look similar to wolves. Wolves are usually taller and heavier than coyotes. Illinois’ own once-thriving wolves were hunted, trapped and poisoned to extinction by the 1860s. But since the first confirmed sighting in the state in more than a century in 2002, wolf sightings have gone from rare to regular _ to as many as five over the last three years.

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[h=5]Read more National News[/h]The incident, resolved in 2013 when the hunter pleaded guilty and paid a $2,500 fine, comes amid evidence of a modest but perceptible uptick in the number of wolves roaming across the Wisconsin border into heavily populated and widely farmed Illinois.

Illinois' own once-thriving wolves were hunted to extinction by the 1860s. But since the first confirmed sighting in the state in 150 years, in 2002, wolf sightings have gone from rare to regular — with at least five in the last three years.

"We used to joke with our counterparts in Wisconsin that, 'Yeah, one day your wolves will be coming to Illinois,'" said Joe Kath, the endangered species manager at Illinois' Department of Natural Resources. "Well, we've reached that day."

That has state wildlife officials contemplating another day — still way off — when there are so many wolves in Illinois they'll have to ask residents to decide if they want to encourage the growth of a wolf population or strictly limit it, possibly through hunting or trapping.

"It's too early to ask the question, but it's not too early to prepare for a time when the question might have to be asked," said Kath. That preparation, he said, has already begun, including by drafting plans on how to manage wolf packs should they become established.

The North American wolves, known as gray or timber wolves, have proven resilient.

Their numbers in the lower 48 states fell to a few dozen by 1970 but dramatically rebounded with federal protections and wildly successful reintroduction programs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

Wolves weren't threatened by extinction in Alaska, which by far has the most — 7,000 to 11,000 wolves — of any U.S. state. Minnesota is second, with 2,200 wolves.

In Wisconsin, which shares a 150-mile border with Illinois, wolf numbers went from few to none in the 1970s to more than 800 today.

The core of Wisconsin's wolf population is in its forested north. But Kath noted that the wolves have on their own moved south, and one pack is near Beloit, Wis., only miles from Illinois. Also, lone wolves can leave their packs and roam more than 500 miles away in search of potential mates.

Several shootings of wolves have occurred in JoDaviess County, which hugs the Wisconsin border in the northwestern Illinois.

That was where Earl Sirchia, of Elgin, killed the wolf that drew the scrutiny of federal prosecutors. He was accused of taking the wolf's skull, and prosecutors said investigators had a photo he'd taken of himself with the dead wolf.

Sirchia faced a maximum one-year prison sentence but instead pleaded guilty. No one answered calls from The Associated Press to a phone number listed for Sirchia. His Bartlett-based attorney, Robert J. Krupp, hung up when the case was mentioned.

In another case from 2011 in the same county, Jason T. Bourrette and his friend Perry Vesely, both of Hanover, were hunting on Crazy Hallow Road when they saw what they thought was a coyote — which are legally hunted year around — tossing a mole up and down in its jaws, according to police reports.

After Bourrette shot and killed it, Vesely cursed and said, "Ya know, this could be a wolf,'" he later told an investigator. In the interview, he added about wolves: "I'm sure sooner or later we're going to have a pile of them down here, I'm afraid." Differences between wolves and coyotes can be difficult to spot, especially at a distance. But wolves are typically twice as large as coyotes, weighing as much as 115 pounds, and have larger muzzles and shorter, more rounded ears.

Bourrette and Vesely were charged under state conservation law, but the charges were later dismissed.

Earlier in 2013, the U.S. government declared victory in a four-decade campaign to rescue the gray wolf and lifted the federal protection in the Great Lakes area, including far-northern Illinois. But killing wolves anywhere in Illinois is still prohibited.

Enough wolves are now roaming into Illinois that hunters need to remain cautious, and Kath said it was possible that wolves could eventually, years from now, become commonplace in the state.

There are plenty of white-tail deer, Midwestern wolves' favorite food, in Illinois. But only 14 percent of Illinois land is suitable habitat for wolves, which prefer forests, according to a 2013 study by Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The northwest, west-central Illinois and the southern tip of the state were deemed most suitable.

And then there is the wolf's by most accounts undeserved reputation as bloodthirsty — see "Little Red Riding Hood" — that points to the main factor in wolves' future prospects in Illinois: humans.

"It's really not that they can't survive in Illinois. They could," said Kath. "The question is, will the general public allow them to survive?"

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/01/01/4723989/illinois-preps-for-possibility.html#storylink=cpy

[PotashRLS]

Wait until the outfitters deal with them munching on their bread and butter. I think we here in Wisconsin are more than willing to share our natural resources.

[wtnhunt]

Afraid if allowed they will be adaptive just like yotes.

TN changed the regs so that any species not listed is prohibited. Dunno that they will make their way here, but guess if a mistake happened here and a wolf was shot mistaken for a yote that i would contact our warden, he is a pretty good common sense kind of guy.

[Ravin R10 man]

Wait until the outfitters deal with them munching on their bread and butter. I think we here in Wisconsin are more than willing to share our natural resources.

I had no choice when wolves got introduced , it was a mistake then, and now we have no deer left..They have started moving on south into territory where there are deer..it's that or starve. You would not believe the devestation here in the last 5 years alone. What we have seen here is alarming..deer numbers are dropping from the last year by leaps and bounds. Some areas like our northern barren sands area are nearly barren of any deer at all. Even the Farm ares that always help high populations are down to one third of what we used to have

Edited January 3, 2014 by Mathews XT Man

[fly]

Afraid if allowed they will be adaptive just like yotes.

TN changed the regs so that any species not listed is prohibited. Dunno that they will make their way here, but guess if a mistake happened here and a wolf was shot mistaken for a yote that i would contact our warden, he is a pretty good common sense kind of guy.

That's nice to hear William. Here in IL the shooter would get a - "yea I can see how that would happen - here's your ticket - pay it within 30 days because the Governor is putting in a new pool."

[dbHunterNY]

that's pretty rough to have to tell the difference. good thing we don't have them here. I can't believe we even have a season on coyotes and they can't be hunted year round. our coyote season is 6 months here.

[Ravin R10 man]

Wolves adapt yes....we have had them right in the yard..stand and look at you like you are the one who don't belong here..they have chased horses miles from home down the road, same with cattle, but they can catch them pretty easy..calves don't stand a chance.

Fawns are the first to go..we now are lucky to see a fawn after summer is over..what we have left are the spookiest deer on the planet...

Edited January 4, 2014 by Mathews XT Man

[PotashRLS]

That's nice to hear William. Here in IL the shooter would get a - "yea I can see how that would happen - here's your ticket - pay it within 30 days because the Governor is putting in a new pool."

Not quite........they are under Federal protection in other states so the Feds come a knockin if you shoot one, especially if it is collared or has a tracking device on it.

[wtnhunt]

Not quite........they are under Federal protection in other states so the Feds come a knockin if you shoot one, especially if it is collared or has a tracking device on it.

Dunno that we will see them here in my lifetime. Mistakes happen, just sayin if a case of mistaken identity took place would take my chances with our warden, if he called the feds that would be his call to make. Coydogs are known to be around here along with wild dog packs. I see what looks like a calf and fawn killing yote I am shooting.

[Ravin R10 man]

Dead ones turn up all the time, farmers are allowed to shoot on site, and we are starting to thin a few out the last two years of hunting seasons.

[Strut10]

............good thing we don't have them here.

Don't say that too loud. There's not a whole lot between you and the St. Lawrence but prime wolf habitat. On the other side of the river are..................... ummmmm .............. Oh yeah !! Wolves !!!!!

[Ravin R10 man]

when they clean up the deer, they must move on or starve..guess what?

[RangerClay]

Don't say that too loud. There's not a whole lot between you and the St. Lawrence but prime wolf habitat. On the other side of the river are..................... ummmmm .............. Oh yeah !! Wolves !!!!!

OH I fully expect to see wolves in NYS in my lifetime. Ask Joe (Muff) who lives on the river. He sees coyotes running across the ice all the time. Won't be long till the wolves figure it out.

[Muff]

OH I fully expect to see wolves in NYS in my lifetime. Ask Joe (Muff) who lives on the river. He sees coyotes running across the ice all the time. Won't be long till the wolves figure it out.

yep always see yotes on the ice

[stevebeilgard]

i remember this same talk about coyotes. "we don't have any here". well, they are on their way to a deer near you. and cows, elk, moose and anything else they want to eat. i want them back on the endangered specie list and really be endangered. this is just one more example of a goverment screw up.

[Ravin R10 man]

Thing is, these animals adapt, and they do it very well...with all the wolves around, they are good at hiding or staying out of sight. Don't believe the hooey about "we have no big forest"..They don't need it..they arnt there to eat the trees!

[KirkV]

We here in Illinois don't have to worry about the wolves! The deer population has dwindled in most counties to a mere pitance of what was here due to more suggestive things than I care to mention. BUT the state of Illinois department of Natural Resources is more than happy to sell as many tags as the year before or more if they can to put money somewhere that we will never know about!

I am sick to death of our deer herd being run into the ground by the head people all of the way to the hunters that have not seen a deer where they saw tons before, but still hunt till the last day to kill that doe!

I think we here are in more trouble than the Wolves personally. Heck they may get here and head back north for food lol.

[Ravin R10 man]

There isn't anything left here for them to come back to, they may turn west for Iowa!..lol Trust me you got more deer left than Wis.

[KirkV]

EHD has hit us hard the last two years and I am not sure that Aliens are not swooping in at night and stealing a few more!

[Ravin R10 man]

Oh,... well those darn Aliens...you cant trust them at all!