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Just got back from a hike with my son here in Vernonia. Only went about 4 miles. About a mile into it we found an elk calf that had been chewed to pieces. About another mile down the road we spotted a herd of 20, all mature cows except for two small bulls. They winded us and took off into the timber so we naturally followed them. Just into the timber and a few feet off the elk trail we find another dead calf all chewed up. Heading back to the car we find a bird with it's head chewed off. That's just what we observed while sticking pretty close to the logging roads. I imagine if we did a little more poking around in the timber we would have found more dead.
I guess what I'm getting at is that people say the bears, cougars, and coyotes don't have that much impact and that they're just playing their role in nature. I really starting to think that the predators have to be put in check more than ODF&W is allowing. In the last two years I've come across more bear and cougar sign than in the previous 15 years that I've been hunting. Banning hound hunting is one of the worst decisions the voters of this state ever made in regards to conserving wildlife. Sure, there are more predators running around. They pop up on the news every once in awhile roaming school grounds in places like Vancouver, Tualitin, and Scappoose, places where they're not wanted. But the deer and elk populations are dwindling because of it.
I guess what I'm getting at is that people say the bears, cougars, and coyotes don't have that much impact and that they're just playing their role in nature. I really starting to think that the predators have to be put in check more than ODF&W is allowing. In the last two years I've come across more bear and cougar sign than in the previous 15 years that I've been hunting. Banning hound hunting is one of the worst decisions the voters of this state ever made in regards to conserving wildlife. Sure, there are more predators running around. They pop up on the news every once in awhile roaming school grounds in places like Vancouver, Tualitin, and Scappoose, places where they're not wanted. But the deer and elk populations are dwindling because of it.