As you probably already know either from your own research or earlier posts, wolves were recently taken off the endangered species list in two states: Montana and Idaho. This happened in March of this year after a long battle pitting state legislatures and ranching communities against environmental protection agencies and Native Americans (1). There is still a legal battle going on against the plans that the states, especially Idaho, have drafted (2).
Well, now we see the results of the delisting and it's painfully clear that people simply aren't ready to put aside the age-old hatred they've had for the species and live together with them. Nowwhere is this more apparent than in the quote from Idaho governor himself that was said even before the delisting was final: "I'm prepared to bid for that first ticket to shoot a wolf myself." (3)
In the 118 days since the wolf was delisted, 106 wolves have been killed and none of the new "wolf-killing" planes that Idaho has bought (with taxpayer money) have even hit the skies.
Idaho's plan is the worst: they propose at least a 75% reduction in wolf numbers and completely eradicating them from the Clearwater Basin where they blame wolves for declining elk numbers. This would entail killing over 700 Idaho wolves in order to get the population down to the target number of 100 in the entire state.
Of course, research coming out of Clearwater indicates that wolves aren't even the major factor in that decline (4)...habitat loss is. Also included in their plan: aerial gunning would be legal, wolf hunting permits would be sold for a little over $9, wolf pups could potentially be fair game with the proper interpretation, and this is in addition to the shoot on site allowance already given to ranchers.
Luckily, the other bad plan was rejected as far as I know. Wyoming's plan allowed unregulated, year-round wolf hunting without permits everywhere in the state except Yellowstone National Park itself. Last I heard they were still working on a new one.
Montana's plan seems less based on arbitrary numbers and more on conservation ethics and biology, which is a great thing. They propose managing wolves in three separate areas, a measure which would allow a more considered approach depending on the concentration of people and prey in each areas. They will only allow hunting during the appropriate hunting seasons and if a wolf is threatening pets, livestock, or people (5). From what I've read of the plan, it also doesn't seem as if they would allow trapping or aerial hunting.
I'm interested to see how this plan will go, since it seems much more to be based on biology and conservation than the Idaho plan, which sets a goal for lowering the wolf population (which also happens to be the minimum allowed without the federal government seizing control again).
Still, it seems like there are a bunch of people with a little information and a lot of anger who are running the "wolf management" policies in some of these states. It harkens back to the days when the only living we COULD make was hunting and ranching and predators were considered evil, soulless, killing machines and deserving of everything they got. Accounts of ranchers torturing wolves they caught in pits, hamstringing them, then tying them to their horses and dragging them behind keep floating through my mind and I wonder if we really haven't come any further than believing eradicating a species is the answer.
Then I look at studies of wolf opinions across the country, and I see the the majority of Americans support wolf reintroduction and support living together with these animals rather than living without them. I also see that tourists have started to come to places like Idaho and Montana solely in the hopes of seeing a wolf in its natural habitat. I still think it's possible to put aside irrational hatred and think critically and calmly about what the future of the wolf in modern society can and should be.
(1) http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=15224
(2) http://www.newwest.net/index.php/topic/article/5446/C146/L41
(3) http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-14-idaho-wolves_N.htm
(4) http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/campaigns/wildlife/save-endangered-gray-wo...
(5) http://fwp.mt.gov/content/getItem.aspx?id=33059
UPDATE: A judge just granted a preliminary injuction yesterday (July 18) that gave endangered species protection back to gray wolves in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming (6). This isn't a permanent re-listing, but it seems to indicate that the courts are starting to smell something fishy going on.
(6) http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/18/wolf.delisting.ap/index.html?eref=rss_u...
Wow. That's terrible. Even though I have signed petitions that support keeping wolves on the endangered species list, I didn't realize how set these people are against wolves. Wolves are part of the natural cycle, and getting rid of them or even dramatically reducing their numbers, could hurt the areas as well. wolves eat deer and other herbivores, which keep their numbers reasonable, so when there are too few wolves, there are more deer, which eat lot's of grass and hurt farmers' harvest. Perhaps if we didn't insist on taking up so much space, we would be able to live peacefully with wolves without getting in each others' way.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/tricia0711
It's an ingrained hatred, I believe. Wolves have been persecuted since the first pilgrims set foot in the New World. European settlers had never even seen a wolf (wolves were eradicated in Europe really early) and so it was natural for them to fear and revile them.
What's really sad is that we haven't moved past our roots quite yet...
-------------------------
Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress. --Mahatma Gandhi
My Blog: http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/kablock
My PhotoBlog: http://takingpictures.wordpress.com
I love wolves...I think they embody wilderness and wildness in general...also the way they love and protect each other is amazing/noble. They are very family-oriented for preditors...they are very protective of the pack's cubs and all work together to feed/shelter them. In short, amazing wonderful animals...
I used to call for Defenders of Wildlife to try to raise money for wolves...I was the newest employee at the place I called from, so I got to call people from Montana and Wyoming (notoriously hard places to raise support for wolves...) I got a lot of negative responses from people on my list....these where people who'd sent money to Defenders of Wildlife before, but many where anti-wolf.
It is still easy to understand why wolves are demonized however...just think of any of the Grimm Fairy Tales and you'll see that wolves are considered dangerous and evil...at least in our culture. They are blamed for declining deer/elk populations, just as sea lions are the scape-goat for falling salmon populations on the West Coast...it's the dams, and human activity that are to blame, but people would rather blame another animal. So people who enjoy elk hunting, as well as ranchers who believe wolves will destroy their herds, are understandably wary. I talked to a lot of ranchers in my phone calls that lead me to understand their point of view. However, we've invaded the wolves land, not the other way round.
I hope to do some work at a ranch that rehabilitates wolves that people have tried to make into pets eventually...I'd love to work more for these beautiful animals.
Love ya,
Carrot
They're certainly amazing animals and I agree that they embody wildness. There's also been studies done on how wolves create a more healthy, well-balanced ecosystem by keeping large herbivore populations down. So, having them around is an indication of a more complete wilderness for sure.
The irony for me is that the majority of people in this country and even in the states where they're reintroduced are all for reintroduction efforts. Ranchers are generally the ones who are against reintroduction, but many of them do support it. It's just a very vocal minority that cause politicians like the Idaho governor to support killing wolves and come up with these ridiculous plans.
-------------------------
Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress. --Mahatma Gandhi
My Blog: http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/kablock
My PhotoBlog: http://takingpictures.wordpress.com