MORE FALL TREES, AND A CONTROVERSIAL WOLF HUNT

SMALL GROVE OF TREMBLING ASPEN, FLANKED BY WHITE PINE AND SUGAR MAPLE

RED MAPLE AT THE CEMETERY

   Wisconsin wolves have made an amazing comeback since they were reintroduced a few years back, so amazing that they are no longer on the federal endangered species list and need to be controlled, since they have no natural predators but man,  by hunting and trapping.  The 2013 season is still ongoing, but the state announced last week that 95 wolves have been trapped or shot out of a targeted harvest statewide of 251 wolves.  Of the 95 harvested in 24 counties, 12 have been taken in Bayfield county, the highest  number of any county in the state.  The hunt will continue through February or until the harvest goal is reached.

SILVER MAPLE ON RITTENHOUSE AVE.

Saturday, 9:00 AM.  40 degrees F, wind WNW, moderate with strong gusts.  The sky is mostly overcast with dark storm clouds, but there are occasional patches of blue sky.  We have had a shower or two, rain and snow pellets.  The humidity is 81% and the barometer has fallen to 29.89".
   The parade of colorful fall trees continues, despite  changes in the weather.  The poplar trees, both the familiar trembling aspen and the less recognized big-toth aspen are very colorful this year, turning hillsides and valleys bright yellow.  As I have noted, many red maples have turned shades of yellow this year, but the one pictured, along Washington Ave. at the cemetery, is its usual fiery coloration.  Even the normally drab silver maples are pretty this fall.
   The delisting of the gray wolf from the federal endangered species list and the resulting hunting season has been controversial, with many environmentalists, along with some Indian tribes, opposed to it.  In addition, many forestry interests desire a reduced deer population to control browsing of seedling trees.
   But farmers, ranchers and many deer hunters have been calling for the delisting for some years.  Wolves can cause great economic damage to farmers and ranchers, and can decimate local deer herds, regardless of whether they may be of benefit to the overall deer population by culling  weak individuals and keeping the population in balance with its food supply.
   Last year, the first hunt since delisting, there were 42 wolves killed at this point in the hunt.  This year there have been more than twice as many killed.  Some will say too many wolves are being killed. Others will say the kill has more than doubled because the wolf population is far greater than was estimated.  One thing is certain; the Wisconsin wolf population has expanded exponentially,  from virtually zero to almost a thousand in only a few years.  There are almost four thousand wolves in the the tri-state region of Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
   I myself remain rather neutral in the wolf debate, recognizing both the value of wolves in the balance of nature, and the economic damage that results from out-of-control predators.  A major predator, such as the wolf, that loses its fear of man is best controlled through hunting.  I am not personally interested in hunting wolves, but neither do I want to loose my dog to wolves or coyotes when we are out in the woods, so my pistol goes into my pocket along with my dog whistle.