The Yellowstone Wolf Controversy Essay

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

Wolves have always been a symbol of the wild, free in spirit and roamers of the land. These animals are considered majestic and protectors of the wilderness. They have always roamed the western United States, although their population has fluctuated over time. Over the past 10 years wolf reintroduction into Yellowstone National Park has been a controversial topic to those of the United States. As of 1995, wolves have been reintroduced into the park. This has come with some strong opposition and yet has prevailed. The future of the wolf in Yellowstone park is now looking bright, although not certain since there still are those who want them banished again.

Throughout the 1970’s, the US Fish and Wildlife Service developed a criteria to help identify the red wolf from the other the canids in order to protect them. Between 1974 and 1980, the US Fish and Wildlife service used this to identify and discovered that there only 17 red wolves remaining in the

The biggest impact the reintroduction of wolves would make is that they control the population of large mammals such as elk. Without wolves in an ecosystem coyotes step into the role of the biggest predator. However coyotes are almost 2.5 times smaller than an average wolf so they are not big enough to kill much of the elk. The elk population then increases rapidly and hurts the ecosystem. Wolves also help reduce the spreading of disease by hunting on the elk that have been injured or have diseases. It gives the wolves a better chance of taking down the large animal and prevents

Also, the government wanted to step in and help the economy, so bounties were set in order to encourage the hunting of the creatures. Communities began to see the "bounty hunters" as heroes, and these men felt as such. The attitude towards wolves spiraled out of control, causing hunts based on vengeance and hatred, and inhumane practices of poisoning, trapping, and torturing began. Even a former governor of Alaska, Jay Hammond, felt that flying in a plane and shooting down hundreds of wolves was necessary to protect the citizens of the state. Wolf furs were coveted, the animals were loathed, and the image of the wolf as a cowardly murderer stuck based on old-fashioned beliefs and legend-based fears. Nothing was done to stop the practices, and the hunts continued to be encouraged, until there were basically no wolves left to hunt (Lopez 139-145). It was nearly too late once the problem was noticed, but the government finally stepped in to address the problem. The wolves were going extinct, and it became clear that the animals were an important part of the ecosystem. The timber (gray) wolf was placed on the endangered species list, and severe consequences were put into action for anyone who hunted the animals illegally. The Wisconsin DNR began a very carefully regulated action plan to reintroduce the wolf to the state, which included radio collars and careful tracking of the animals in order to monitor their progress, as well as make sure they stay in

In 1996-1997 a second group of wolves was captured and brought to Yellowstone for introduction via soft release with two more acclimation pens being built, bringing the total to four. In the winter of 1997-1998 the reintroduction of wolves was stopped due to the high success of the wolf packs breeding and the pups surviving on their own. The breeding

Yellowstone National Park, untamed wild beauty. Stunning landscapes, beautiful waterfalls and rivers, breathtaking wildlife, and geothermal activity all come together to make Yellowstone an amazing place. People come from all over the world to witness the beauty of Yellowstone. It is a regulated national park for a reason, it is so amazing, so beautiful, so spectacular to not preserve it. It hosts bison, elk, deer, bald eagles, bears, moose, beavers, and amazing trout rivers, everything a perfect mountain ecosystem should hold. However now there is something else, something that is natural, was removed but has now returned, flourishing and benefiting its surroundings. Wolves, have been reintroduced into Yellowstone and have greatly benefited the area. These wolves have started a positive and beneficial renewal in the park. The reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park is beneficial because they created and natural and beneficial trophic cascade, other animals in the park benefited from the wolves, and because the land was able to regrow and flourish due to the wolves’ presence.

When the wolves were first reintroduced, having 30 equally distributed breeding pairs was enough to constitute a success. A breeding pair is defined as an adult male and female wolf raising two or more pups in a year, where the pups are born between April and May and then raised till December 31. With the reintroduction of the gray wolf, a recovery population goal had to be established. That was the goal of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for the recovery of the wolf population for the northern Rocky Mountains. Wolf numbers needed to be maintained at this level for at least three consecutive years. According to the USFWS 2002 was the third year where there had been at least 30 breeding pairs throughout Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. After 2002, these wolves are still multiplying and the population continues to soar, even at this very moment.

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.

The purpose of writing the article Wolf Wars was to inform the reader about new situations in the west. The reason is to inform the reader of what problems wolves have been causing. In the article, the Author explains of how wolves became endangered and then flourished once more.

study was done after the United States Parks Services brought wolfs back into the parks after 70

-When the park was founded wolf population were in declination already, protection of wolves was not provided by the park for many years.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service are considering removing the gray wolf from the endangered species list once Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have enough wolves to be deemed sufficient to continue to expand the wolf population, requiring only that each of these three states have a management plan in effect to prevent the gray wolf from becoming endangered again. With the current attitude of the governments in these states, the wolf should not lose their federal support under the Endangered Species Act as it would merely serve to cause the wolves to become endangered once again, or at best, held to the absolute minimum population that the states can pass off as “viable, self-sustaining populations”

The Mexican wolf is the southernmost subspecies of gray wolf in North America, its natural habitat was that of the southwest United States and Mexico, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona as their home range in the US. Mexican wolves typically feed on deer and elk. (Rinkevich, Murphy, & Barrett, 2011). The gray wolves were a menace to rancher’s cattle and farmer’s livestock. Depredation of livestock led ranchers and state governments to declare war on the Mexican gray wolves through public and private bounties. The Mexican gray wolves were successfully removed from the wild. (Foreman, 2004) The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was vital for the protection of the Mexican gray wolf. (Larkin, Noss, & Maehr, 2001) In 1990, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service coordinated and developed a Mexican wolf reintroduction recovery plan to establish a wild population of no less than 100 Mexican Gray wolves in March

The declining wolf population has turned around and is now increasing at a steady pace. The National Park Service says “During the 1980s, wolves began to reestablish breeding packs in Northwestern Montana; 50-60 wolves inhabited Montana in 1994.”(NPS) We are very fortunate for the quick acts of transferring the wolves from Canada down to the Yellowstone National Park and to the intense research that has been done