Wolf Reintroduction: A Case Study

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

In the article Saving America’s Wolves, by Kristin Lewis, the author uses second person point of view and this choice has an affect on the reader. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a wolf? Today, wolves around the country face many dangers today. Throughout history and folklore, wolves have been depicted as being dangerous predators that come after humans, but that is far from the truth. In fact, humans today are more of a danger to them as they are to us!

The Mexican gray wolf is a large prey that, in the past, preyed on livestock which contributed to their near extinction by humans. However, the decline in the Mexican wolf lead to an overabundance in plant life which had a direct effect on other wildlife. There are many challenges involved with re-introducing wolves to other stakeholders such as to academics, mangers, ranchers, or landowners. It is not as simple as taking the Mexican wolf from where they are now and placing them in different areas in Arizona, New Mexico, the US, and across the border in Sonora, Mexico. This is a very large area of land that policies would have to cover. The best ways to illustrate that this concept is not as easy as it may seem are best described by nature culture dichotomy, social-ecological systems involving ecosystems with people, and the Anthropocene comprised with the idea of humans as agents of change.

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.

During the 1940’s, wolves were exterminated from Colorado and few have come back since. As a result the ecosystem that we have in Colorado is somewhat skewed due to the absence of them. Many people think that wolves are a nuisance and would get in the way of the agricultural style that colorado has. However, wolves are considered a keystone species which means their “presence would reinvigorate the natural order” (clifford). For this reason wolves should be reintroduced into montezuma county. The reintroduction would greatly benefit and restore the balance of our ecosystem.

Over the past several years, the gray wolf, native to the Wisconsin area, has been listed federally as an endangered species due to the graphic and horrific treatment they had received during the industrialization periods of America, when they were frowned upon and hated because they are predatory creatures and did, on occasion, attack livestock and pets. Because the government was encouraging the hunting, including bounties for the animals, the wolves were hunted to near extinction. However, now Wisconsin faces a new problem. With the reintroduction of the wolves to the state, and their continued endangered status federally, the population has increased well beyond expectations, reaching what could be considered a problematic state. A

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.

We looked first at the relationship between the wolf population and the moose population. From about 1960 to 1970, the wolf population remained fairly consistent at about 20 to 25 wolves. During this time, the moose population grew steadily from 500 to over 1200. The next 10 years saw a doubling of the wolf population to 50. This same 10 years saw a decrease of the moose population from over 1200 to over 800. Then in 1980 began a two year drastic decline in the moose population, which was brought down to 15. For the rest of the decade, the moose population remained quite low at numbers near 20. During the 1980s, the moose population doubled again from around 800 to

Recently I watched a news article on the reintroduction of wolves to Scotland. This sparked my interest because I felt there was a large misconception about what they eat, why they kill it and how dangerous they are to people. It seems that it could have a vast impact on the environment the questions are: Should large predators such as the wolf be re-introduced into the wild? And is it truly safe?

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 thesis of this article is that wolves, once endangered, have come back and started to flourish causing mixed feelings for locals and biologists. Wolves were once hunted because one, to protect livestock, and two, they were seen as pests and/or vermin. The government then put wolves under the endangered list to try to save them. Since then, wolf populations have multiplied.

Wolf recovery would be a big step in maintaining wildlife. For instance, in Yellowstone a

I am taking a class called global environmental issues and heard about how reintroduction of wolves has had very positive impact in Yellowstone, but we did not go much deeper than just stating so.

The state legislature has favored the ranching industry above ecology and continues to do so. Public polls “conducted by Boise State indicate that the overwhelming majority of Idahoans (nearly 70 percent) support wolf restoration” (Laverty, par. 4) and the legislature is seeking to remedy this by re-educating the public with “a balanced view of the impact of wolves on big game species, those sectors of the economy dependent upon sport hunting, livestock, domestic animals, and humans” (State, 3). Furthermore, the “cost of wolf reintroduction will be presented as a part of any public education program including direct and indirect costs” (State, 3).

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