Grey Wolf Yellowstone National Park

For one, by 1980, wolves doubled to 50. By then it was apparent, ‘balance of nature’ seems to be the force that guides nature. This shows that wolves should be introduced because they are needed for balance

Yellowstone is the worlds first national park. It was origanally home to Native Americans who lived in the Yellowstone area for at least 11,000 years.The U.S. Army was first commissioned to oversee the park just after its establishment in late 1960. In 1917, administration of the park was transferred to the National Park Service. Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468.4 square miles (8,983 km2), mostly comprising lakes, rivers canyons and mountain ranges. The national park is located primarily in the state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congressand signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872.

Created in 1872 by the department of the Interior, the park was developed by congress for preservation of its "natural curiosities or wonders and prohibiting wanton destruction of its fish and game" (defenders). Wolves were protected in Yellowstone.

Yellowstone National Park is one of the largest and oldest national parks in American history. Yellowstone was the first park to be protected by private investment on March 1, 1872, and the first to be put under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service in 1918, no doubt due to its unique and inspiring landscape and geothermal features. In fact, Yellowstone National Park is home to half of the world’s total hydrothermal features. These awesome attractions draw an incredible amount of visitors, an average of two to three million each year, to Yellowstone’s immense landscape. The park has a total size of 28,125 square miles, is found in three distinct states, and is considered to be one of the largest

On May 3, 1995 female wolf number nine gave birth to eight puppies, the first wolves to be born in the park in nearly 70 years. The mother and pups were recaptured and taken back to the acclimation pen, until the pups were weaned (Sanders par. 15). The reason for this recapture was because at this time, this wolf and her eight pups counted for almost 50% of the park’s wolf population. Since this time there have been no other human interventions preferring to let nature take its course on the population.

Gauss’ Law states that no two organisms can occupy the same ecological niche without excluding the other, but what happens when man gets involved with nature and tries to introduce a species where it doesn’t belong which in turn provides a second organism to fill the same niche as the first? The results of human intervention have often been disastrous for the organism that we’re supposedly helping. Humans often times do not understand the complexity of the implications that are caused directly through our intervention. In 1974, the gray wolf was listed on the Endangered Species List, and in an effort to reestablish their populations, wolves were re-introduced into Yellowstone

“The human history of the Yellowstone region goes back more than 11,000 years. From then until to the very recent past, many groups of Native Americans used the park as their homes, hunting grounds, and transportation routes. These traditional uses of Yellowstone lands continued until a little over 200 years ago when the first people of European descent found their way into the park. In 1872 a country that had not yet seen its first centennial, established Yellowstone as the first national park in the world. A new concept was born and with it a new way for people to preserve and protect

Ed Yong makes very valid points on how the wolves of Yellowstone have impacted the overly populated elk herds. He has this to say about the herds; “Today the population stands at just over 6,000 down from 19,000 in the elk’s wolf-free heyday,” (ll57). This might seem like a terrible drop in the elk’s numbers, but it is actually a good thing. Yong tells us, “The large deer had run amok in the wolf-free decades, causing serious damage to the park’s trees,” (ll5-6). So in reality, while there are far less elk now, the trees can start to build back up again.

This all happened because yellowstone was named one of the many rehabilitation places where the gray wolf species would recover after almost being whipt out entirely in the west of the rockies.The wolves were brought to yellowstone from another part of the country.The rehabilitation was called a success so the federal government made a ackt to tack them of the endangered species list after a so called complete recovery but the scientist said that the wolves were not yet at a point to go to the game and wildlife control so they sud the government to stop them frum taking them of the endangered species

-in 1973 the endangered species act was passed. Following the act in 1995 Yellowstone national park reintroduced grey wolves.

While researching the gray wolf, I found out that it is actually a very touchy subject in Michigan. The hunting of Gray Wolves has been a very controversial topic. Gray wolves are native to Michigan but were nearly wiped out in the 19th and early 20th centuries by hunting and state-sanctioned bounties. In 1973, when Congress created the federal endangered species list, only six wolves were known to still exist in the Michigan wild, and gray wolves were considered an endangered species. By 2007, the wolf population in the Upper Peninsula topped 500 -- far exceeding the recovery benchmark of 100 set by the federal government, making the Great Lakes gray wolf one of the most successful recovery stories in the history of the endangered species list. The gray wolf actually came off the endangered species list in 2012, but as of December 2014, has been relisted.

The reintroduction of the wolves will attract more tourism to national parks. "A survey of visitors to Yellowstone National Park conducted by John Duffield of the University of Montana from 2004 to 2006 found that more than 150,000 people from all over the world come to the park each year specifically because of wolves" (defenders.org). The increase in tourist will increase the number of jobs and money communities earn. Wolf-related tourism brings in $35.5 million annually to Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, stimulating economic activity through local communities. With the increase of tourism, money, and jobs they will then lead to a better economy. The United States has made an income of over $70 million in 2013, which has greatly helped their economy. With the reintroduction of the wolves, the United States makes over $70 million in just one year, has increased the amount of jobs, and tourist around the

These were all key factors to their near extinction. In 1974 the wolves were placed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but were not protected for long. Many environmentalist agreed with this act because environmentalist knew how crucial this keystone specie was to the ecosystem. Without the grey wolves existence, the whole rest of the ecosystem would not function properly. Unfortunately, around the 1960s, the gray wolf population was basically extinct, which resulted in a huge controversy. Luckily, “In 1995, the first 14 wolves were introduced to the Yellowstone National Park to increase the wolf population”(Transplanted) that had been decreasing gradually. Over the years more Canadian wolves were introduced to the Yellowstone National park to increase the wolf population. This procedure was successful because the wolf population throughout the Yellowstone region was on the rise. The long term goal for the environmentalists and Yellowstone park rangers would be to have around 1,000 wolves roaming the region.

For example, their concept indicates that prey species will alter their foraging habits to the features of the terrain in order to avoid areas with a high risk of predation. Predation risk in a changing environment is also focused on by the authors. There are many environmental variables that may influence the degree of predation risk such as weather, wildfires, and other conditions that influence ungulates’ access to vegetation. Finally, the authors focus on ecosystem responses to trophic cascades—primarily on riparian functions and on beaver and bird populations. They also inform us that wolves may represent an indirect control on beaver populations as well as cause ungulates to avoid some riparian areas—therefore reducing herbivory on wooden browse species.

It is believed that Native Americans inhabited the lands of what is now Yellowstone National Park for more than 11,000 years, until approximately 200 years ago, when European settlers began to drive many of them from their homelands. In 1872 Yellowstone was declared the world’s first national park as a way to preserve and protect the land for the “benefit and enjoyment of future generations.” (National Park Service) Yellowstone National Park covers a vast area in the Northwestern United States. Its landscape is very complex and ever changing thanks to the many geological forces that are found there. In fact, the unique geological features such as the geysers, hot springs, steam vents, among many others, are what lead to