Hello from Oregon

[more_cowbell]

Glad to join the forum -- lots of great info and opinions. Grew up and still hunt in NE Oregon (or as the signs in some of the locals' yards say, "Greater Idaho").

Elk and deer hunting isn't what it used to be when I started back in 1991. Now if I draw a tag, while I still spend a lot of hours walking around with my rifle and pack, I don't expect to see much, if anything, of what I have a tag for. The units I've mostly hunted have been ground zero for several wolf packs, so hopefully other states with growing wolf populations will manage them better than how Oregon has so far.

Good luck to everyone this year in their application draws and hunt.

 

[Elkhunter24]

Welcome from PA!

 

[sneakypete]

Welcome!

 

[homers]

Welcome

 

[more_cowbell]

Thanks for the greetings everyone!

 

[fishing4sanity]

Welcome to the forum!
I would love for our county here in WA to join Greater Idaho as well.

 

[glass eye]

Welcome !
Was planning on hunting NW Oregon for cacklers but "Climate Change" hindered my plans.

 

[duckhunt]

Welcome from Iowa

 

[MarvB]

Welcome from another Oregon member.

 

[pabearhunter]

Welcome aboard.

 

[Pahoundsman]

Welcome from PA

 

[Rzrbk]

Welcome from NM! Oregon ain't what it used to be since the big cities outvote the rural residents. I'd guess you'll have to adopt a wolf soon.

 

[ashersdad]

Welcome from the West side of the mountain.

 

[more_cowbell]

Welcome from NM! Oregon ain't what it used to be since the big cities outvote the rural residents. I'd guess you'll have to adopt a wolf soon.

Maybe they're already my unwanted, adopted hunting partners. In October deer and elk seasons I see the occasional wolf track, and sometimes hear them howling. One local joke is that the wolves should be rounded up and released into downtown Portland. The voting dynamic might change if a lot of the pro wolf supporters suddenly turn into NIMBYs

 

[FairWeather]

Welcome from Eugene!

 

[XXL]

You and I have similar neighbors, both 2-footed and four. Welcome to the forums.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

Our lazy local wolves prefer beef. Welcome.

 

[more_cowbell]

Our lazy local wolves prefer beef. Welcome.

Very true, and incredibly risky these days for cattle or sheep ranchers to graze national forest.

My theory is that wolves and other predators have pushed a lot of the remaining elk down to lower elevations (at least, in certain areas it's been getting a lot more difficult finding many elk up higher). Then at low elevations the elk damage agricultural fields, which as you know opens another can of worms, which ODFW is trying to fix by creating a months-long OTC cow elk season.

But that further reduces the elk population, which should make predators turn even more of their attention to livestock. It's a dumpster fire of a mess.

 

[bb3134]

Welcome from WI!

 

[Brian McConnell]

Glad to join the forum -- lots of great info and opinions. Grew up and still hunt in NE Oregon (or as the signs in some of the locals' yards say, "Greater Idaho").

Elk and deer hunting isn't what it used to be when I started back in 1991. Now if I draw a tag, while I still spend a lot of hours walking around with my rifle and pack, I don't expect to see much, if anything, of what I have a tag for. The units I've mostly hunted have been ground zero for several wolf packs, so hopefully other states with growing wolf populations will manage them better than how Oregon has so far.

Good luck to everyone this year in their application draws and hunt.

I couldn't agree more regarding the wolves' impact on the hunting. I have hunted the Desolation unit for years and it continues to decline.