RMEF CEO Weighs in on Wolf Management

BigHornRam

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Wolves—How About a Little Common Sense?


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by M David Allen

It’s time we let states manage wolves, and start treating wolves simply as wild animals. More specifically, game animals.

When the bald eagle soared off the endangered species list last summer, there were champagne toasts from coast to coast. Americans were proud to have restored this great symbol of freedom and wildness. Just as we were proud to have restored elk, mule deer, black bears, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, mountain goats, whitetails and a host of other wildlife long before anyone dreamed of drafting an Endangered Species Act. Now, 13 years after gray wolves were officially reintroduced to the northern Rockies, our federal government has moved to free them from “the List.” You’d think the people who argued longest and loudest to bring wolves back would be slapping backs and saying thanks. Instead, they’re filing lawsuits. Could be these folks are just terminally gloomy. Or maybe it was the old bait-and-switch.
I’m no scholar of the Endangered Species Act, but I always thought the point was to create un-endangered species. Are we hoping to maintain the equivalent of a permanent witness protection program, or to recover robust, self-sustaining populations?

Listen to this: “The gray wolf population in the northern Rocky Mountains is thriving and no longer requires the protection of the Endangered Species Act. The population has far exceeded its recovery goal and continues to expand its size and range.”

These aren’t the words of some raving wolf-hater. That’s Lynn Scarlett, deputy secretary of the Interior. Not good enough? Ed Bangs is wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He’s been in charge of restoring wolves to the northern Rockies from day one. Bangs has lived in the crucible since those first Canadian wolves hit the ground in Idaho back in 1995. He’s earned a reputation as a man absolutely committed to good science who does things right or not at all. Here’s what he has to say: “We’re rock solid. The Endangered Species Act did its job. It’s time to move on.”

What does it mean to move on? The Elk Foundation’s position on wolves is that the sooner states take on the responsibility for managing wolves, the better. Maybe the lawsuits can be settled and control fully passed to the states before another year goes by.

It’s time we start treating wolves simply as wild animals—more specifically, game animals. Apart from the bald eagle, every one of the animals I listed in the opening paragraph has been an actively hunted species for the past 50 years. States have used the best available science to set seasons and quotas. Then they’ve teamed up with hunters as hands-on managers. In the process, millions of people have reaped a bounty of healthy meat, powerful connections with wild country and lasting memories.

Once again, here’s what Ed Bangs, himself a passionate bowhunter for the past 40 years, has to say: “We strongly support hunting wolves. Look at the success we’ve had with hunting mountain lions and maintaining strong lion populations. There is no reason wolf management cannot be just as successful.”

That’s what we need to get to work on. For those who question whether managing wildlife through hunting really works, think about this: Could wolves have come back if their main prey base consisted of snowshoe hares and Herefords? It was hunters who helped restore—and sustain—the big game populations that made wolf recovery possible.

The sale of hunting licenses provides the great majority of the funds that states use to study and sustain all wildlife, not just game species. For three-quarters of a century now, taxes on hunting equipment, which hunters voluntarily imposed on themselves, have been the primary source of funding for wildlife refuges, game ranges and management areas.

It needs to be said that the proponents of perpetual wolf protection aren’t the only ones who get a little emotional sometimes. When wolves kill an elk or a yearling Angus, it isn’t pretty. And when you see that kind of carnage, it’s easy to imagine wolves might soon lay waste to all wildlife and livestock. Sometimes it’s good to step back and look at the numbers.

Cumulative populations for Idaho, Montana and Wyoming in 2007 break out roughly like this: 3 million people, 1,500 wolves and 350,000 elk. In 1995, there were half a million fewer people, no wolves . . . and around 350,000 elk. That’s right. Since wolves were reintroduced, Montana’s elk population has actually grown by at least 30,000 animals, Wyoming’s elk population is down 8,000 and Idaho’s is 10,000 lower. Hunter harvest numbers have remained very similar (averaging about 20,000 in Idaho, 25,000 in Montana, 20,000 in Wyoming). And hunter success rates on elk are almost identical to what they were 13 years ago: nearly 40 percent in Wyoming, 25 percent in Montana and 20 percent in Idaho).

This does not mean that wolves haven’t taken a heavy toll on elk in some places. They have. They will. And it’s one reason why we should be actively managing them through regulated hunting and other prescribed methods.

As for livestock, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Montana Crop and Livestock Reporter, the statewide toll on lambs broke out this way in 2007: wolves killed 400, dogs 400, poison 500, golden eagles 800, bad weather 6,500. But again, if you’re a rancher and wolves are killing your cattle or sheep or horses, they’re literally eating your livelihood. That’s serious business, and you absolutely need to be able to protect your property without fear of retribution from your government.

From where I sit, the biggest change on the northern Rockies landscape since 1995 is not the return of the wolf. It’s the way our open spaces and wild places are filling up with houses and roads and box stores. There is no Endangered Habitat Act. And that’s why I’m so proud of what we all, as Elk Foundation members, have achieved. Just in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming the Elk Foundation has permanently protected a quarter-million acres of prime habitat for elk and other wildlife. In these three states alone, we’ve greatly improved the habitat on another 11/2 million acres.

So how can each of us continue to make a difference for the future of elk country? Urge the federal government to complete the move to delist wolves in the northern Rockies—and to ensure the funding essential for managing them. Most importantly, keep on supporting the groups that are actively working to ensure our great-grandkids have places to hunt and roam.



David Allen is the Elk Foundation’s President and CEO.
 
I agree with their stance on wolves! But, I think it is best, in the long run, to not getting tied up with the rhetoric and lawsuits associated with these types of issues...
 
"It's time we start treating wolves simply like wild animals" :great quote. (We'll see if those lawsuits get dropped or not -hey look, there goes an ambulance!) David Allen did a great job of finally explaining to me the positive side of wolf reintroduction. Instead of jamming a theroy down my throat like a piece of poisoned meat, he finally rationalized everything without the wolf-worship jargon. Very well written. I can actually understand the other side now- even if I still don't particuarily like it.
 
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