The 20th
anniversary of a government program to bring gray wolves to Yellowstone Park
marks two decades of debate over the Federal government’s role in forcing
wolves on individuals, communities and states that may, or may not, want them.
Sixty Canadian wolves planted in Yellowstone Park in 1995 and 1996 have turned
into thousands of wolves roaming the surrounding states. For those who idolize
wolves as an icon of the wilderness, this week marks the historic success of a
government program to bring a species back to an area it once roamed prior to
the settlement of human populations. But there is another side to this story.
Many of those forced to live in areas populated by wolves see them as
unnecessary, and an expensive burden to state budgets, livestock growers, and
hunting industries. As a fourth generation Montanan, who has spent time in
Yellowstone Park almost every year for five decades, I find myself in the
latter category.
Wolves were
removed from most settled areas in the lower 48 states nearly a century ago for
a reason – they are a very difficult predator to manage. This is an apex
predator that multiplies quickly and must kill more animals to survive than any
other species in North America. It is also a species that is a threat to
humans, as evidenced in the recent death of a teacher in Alaska who was killed
by wolves while jogging.......To Read More....
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