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extinction of wolves in yellowstone
extinction of wolves in yellowstone
wolves in yellowstone controversy
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Reintroducing the Wolf to Yellowstone
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.
History
Many hundreds of years ago wolves roamed the entire North American continent with no barriers and very few predators. As settlers moved into the United States, wolves became more and more scarce in the wild of America. As the wilderness areas of the United States declined, so did the population of the wolf, until there were only a few spots in the wild where wolves could still be found.
Wolves used to thrive in the western United States. There was ample game to hunt and plenty of places to live and wander. Until people moved in, wolves were settled. As European settlement expanded to the west, it began to take its toll on the wolves and their habitat. Clearing of the forests came first, which was then accompanied by significant over-hunting in this area (Noceker). Slowly wolves became concentrated into smaller and smaller areas in the west. Finally, they were assumed to be bothers to the ranchers and farmers and maybe a threat to those people who lived in the area.
As the United States matured, people realized that ...
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...h. "History and current status of the Yellowstone wolf restoration." September 19, 1999. http://www.poky.srv.net/~jjmrm/wpages/yell-o.htm
Maughan, Ralph. "Overview and history of the central Idaho wolf reintroduction." September 25, 1999. visted: October 4, 1999. http://www.poky.srv.net/~jjmrm/wpages/idaho-o.htm
Moody, Joan. ìHistoric Reintroduction Continues Despite Budget Cuts: Defenders Helps Fly Wolves to Yellowstone.î January 22, 1996. Visited: October 20, 1999. http://www.defenders.org/pr012296.html
Noceker, Robert J. ìCongressional Research Service Report for Congress Reintroduction of Wolves.î August 1, 1997. Visited: October 17, 1999.
http://www.cnie.org/nle/biodv-13.html
The Abundant Wildlife Society of North America (AWSNA), ìAn Argument against Wolf Reintroduction in Colorado.î visited: October 17, 1999. http://www.firstrax.com/antipro.htm
The history behind the extirpation of the grey wolf in the United States dates back to the very first European settlers that colonized eastern North America in the late 16th century. The killing of gray wolves was done primarily out of fear in an attempt to protect livestock, and, in some cases, to protect human life within the colonies. As more settlers expanded West, the practice of killing wolves was considerably increased to protect livestock that included cows, pigs, and chickens. As waves of European settlers expanded westward, they began to deplete the deer, moose, and elk populations. The gray wolves food source continual depletion gave rise to wolf populations actively targeting the settler’s livestock, causing great financial loss. The fiscal loss of livestock became such an issue to wealthy ranchers and settlers that they began to offer cash rewards for wolf pelts. This practice gave birth to a lucrative cottage industry of professional hunters and trappers. As the wolves began to move further West, and into Wyoming, they began to diminish the elk and moose population. To respond to this threat, Congress approved funding in 1914, to eliminate the native gray wolves from
1914 began the official war of the wolves. This year Congress officially approves funds for the eradication of wolves, cougars, and other destructive animals. Wolves were declared destructive to agricultural and big game interests and formally hunted. Nearly a century later, in 1995, wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and Idaho's Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness(Phillips, 1996, p.20). The reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park did not end the debate of whether wolves should stay or go. Advocates for wolf reintroduction say the wolves control elk and deer population numbers; preventing the destruction of ranchers cattle and the land. Opponents say the wolves kill elk and deer that could be hunted. Ranchers fear the wolves will kill their livestock decreasing profits.
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 National Park, affecting Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho (Wyoming Wolf Management Plan, 2003). Between 1995 and 1996 thirty one wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone and thirty five wolves into central Idaho. The wolf numbers exploded, leaving these western states with the problem of what to do with these wolves to prevent them from exceeding their carrying capacity and where to go from here.
When the reintroduction of wolves began in the state of Wisconsin, a goal of 350 wolves was set, and this number was reached successfully in a short amount of time. Once this was reached, however, the population continued to rise dramatically and exponentially, and is now in the upper 600s (Allen). The problems now come down to a few simple questions that have complex answers. Will a regulated hunt get out of control, and a repeat of the past begins? Are the wolves posing any sort of threat in the present? Who or what would a hunt benefit? First, the issue of the past must be addressed. Back in the earlier years of the United States, wolves roamed free, and when farmers moved their livestock into what was then the wolves' territo...
Mader,T.R. Wolf reintroduction in the Yellowstone National Park: a historical perspective. Common Man Institute. 1998. 26 pgs.
The red wolf is listed as endangered under the U. S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) (United States Public Law No. 93-205; United States Code Title 16 Section 1531 et seq.). Wild red wolves inhabiting the north eastern North Carolina (NENC), USA recovery area and a single island propagation site (St. Vincent NWR, Florida) are designated as experimental non-essential populations under Section 10(j) of the ESA. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the red wolf’s status as critically endangered.
The controversy surrounding the reintroduction of the wolves are many from both sides. Some local farmers are against it because some wolves hunt their animals. However, if the farmers can prove their animal was attacked by a wolf, then the government would reimburse them for the animals value. Another problem is that some taxpayers are against the reintroduction because it cost them money to get the wolves back into the park. Another issue for taxpayers is that they have to pay for the damage the wolves do to the farmer’s animals.
The reintroduction of wolves into West Yellowstone National Park is detrimental to the quality of life in Yellowstone. Many people in the mainstream media have jumped on the “save the wolves” bandwagon, without knowing what the effect of the wolf on the ecosystem. It is a politically correct thing to be pro-wolf. Unfortunately the people who are making all the noise do not live in or around the park. They do not have their livelihood threatened by the wolf. They aren’t hunters, and so they don’t notice the decrease population of other animals that these large packs of wolves have diminished. The reintroduction of the Grey Wolf into West Yellowstone was devastating to the ecosystem because the wolf endangers the local wildlife, livestock, pets and even the local people’s children.
Human kind began hunting wolves at least 13,000 years ago when the wolf became a threat to their livestock. Over the past hundred years wolves were hunted for their pelts and also so that farmers could keep their livestock safe. What most extremist wolf supporters don’t know is that wolves were not an extinct species. There actually are 40-60 thousand wolves in North America. Within the lower 48 states of the U.S. the
The League of Nations was an Intergovernmental Organisation which persisted from 1919 up until 1946 where it was formally replaced with the United Nations towards the end of the Second World War. Many consider the League as one of the International Systems greatest failures due to it being widely regarded as an ‘ineffective instrument to tackle aggressors’ (Catterall, 1999, p. 52) and its inherent failure to prevent international conflict. However,
National Parks are the cornerstone of every country because it preserves the rich cultural and natural resources of a nation, such as Yellowstone in the United States of America. Yellowstone National Park is the World’s First National Park which brings millions of attraction each year, it is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combine and have over a thousand species of plants and animal (Yellowstone Media). However, a very important type of species has been missing in Yellowstone National Park for a very long time. Wolves, which got reintroduce back into Yellowstone National Park, should stay there because without them the ecosystem would be out of balance.
In the United States the league was met with fierce opposition from those who thought it unwise to enter America into a collective organization, which would restrict its power and influence. Congress especially concerned with Article X, which morally bound the U.S. to aid any member of the League of Nations that was victimized by aggression, and revoke...
Let me tell you something. In 1970, Gray Wolves used to have a population of 250,000. But now due to mass wolf hunting, the numbers are down to 500. Hello everyone. Today, I’d like to speak on behalf of the Wolf Conservation Center about the importance of wolves, and why they should be protected. Wolves are too often a misunderstood creature, instead of showing fascination, we always fear them, which is the exact opposite of what we should be doing. The society of wolves is just like ours, sorted by ranks, defined by confidence, and full of emotions. We are more like them than we think. Except they are being hunted, and we are not. In many parts of where they range, all types of wolves are being persecuted for killing livestock. As a result, humans have been killing wolves for years, because of us, their numbers are decreasing by thousands.
Scientists were able to observe the effects of taking a major species out of an ecosystem, and the effects or reincorporating that species back into the ecosystem, which is described as “Scientific literature.” (Smith) A similar occurrence took place in Central Idaho, however was overshadowed by the prominence of Yellowstone. Wolves were high on the endangered species list and activists wanted to see a return of wolves to Idaho’s backcountry. In both Yellowstone, and Idaho many opposed the introduction to wolves, however many also supported through the Endangered Species Act, and wolf recovery program.
Tolkien, J.R.R.. "Letter 156." The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Ed. Humprey Carpenter & Christopher Tolkien. Expanded ed. Hammersmith: HarperCollins, 04 Nov 1954. Web. 17 Dec. 2013.