In Wyoming, lawmakers pushed through bills which ceded control of wolves to state governments. This was the first step in what was to become a long debate between ranchers, environmental groups, indian tribes, rural citizens, and numerous other players in the arena of wolf conservation. Conservation groups are opposed to any modification of the status of gray wolves in the eyes of the endangered species act, a law which effectively banned hunting seasons for the wolves. The wolves were historically pests to farmers and a serious danger to rural citizens, and were hunted and trapped for sport and for their fur. By the 1930’s, gray wolves were essentially extinct in the northern rockies region of the west, comprising mainly of the states Montana, …show more content…
With hunters groups, they support the delisting of wolves since it provides a source of recreational opportunity for sportsmen. For example, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation wants wolves to be removed from Elk habitats since Wolves reduce the population of elk in hunting areas. It is important to note that Wolves were reintroduced by the USFWS in large part due to the excess of elk damaging wild habitat and vegetation. On the opposition side of the spectrum when it comes to wolves and the rocky mountain habitat are environmental and animal rights coalitions which conduct lawsuits, protests, and lobbying in order to prevent wolves from being delisted in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. For example in 2007, the USFWS wanted to delist wolves from the Endangered species list, but environmental groups such as the Nature Conservancy, the Natural Resources Defense Fund, and Environmental Defense sued to block the delisting, on the grounds that Wyoming did not have an adequate management plan for the hunting of Wolves
Gray Wolf Optimization Gray wolf optimization is presented in the following subsections based on the work in [13]. 1) Inspiration: Grey wolves are considered as apex predators, meaning that they are at the top of the food chain. Grey wolves mostly prefer to live in a pack. The group size is 512 on average. They have a very strict social dominant hierarchy.
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.
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 regulated hunt and a population control procedure has become necessary in Wisconsin to protect state's economic endeavors of game, wildlife, and agriculture, and also the wolves themselves, to keep them from overpopulating and facing starvation and lack of land.
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.
Even though wolves kill livestock and do massive damage, killing wolfs can increase cattle deaths and traps and guns are huge advantage over them.
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
Have you ever felt stuck? Wherever you are, it’s the absolute last place you want to be. In the book Into the Wild, Chris McCandless feels stuck just like the average everyday person may feel. Chris finds his escape plan to the situation and feels he will free himself by going off to the wild. I agree with the author that Chris McCandless wasn’t a crazy person, a sociopath, or an outcast because he got along with many people very well, but he did seem somewhat incompetent, even though he survived for quite some time.
One of the biggest reasons for the reintroduction of wolves back into Yellowstone was that they had originally roamed from Yellowstone all the way down to Mexico. While a lot of people were in favor of the reintroduction of the wolves, there were many who were against it. The main people who were against the reintroduction of the wolves back into the park were the ranchers who made a living in the areas surrounding the park.
Although the ranchers’ difficulties with the wolves are very real, the problem needs to be solved. Ultimately, the wolves need to be protected throughout the United States.
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.
Have dogs always been cute and cuddly? Actually, they have not always been how they are today. All dogs used to be big bad wolves. Scientist has found that all dogs have descended from the grey wolf. They converted into dogs because the wolves came closer and closer to humans. It took a very long time for the wolves to alter to cute cuddly dogs. After the wolves had pups, the pups grew up around humans and grew closer and less ferocious to humans, so the pups were more comfortable with people and that we could hunt with them and use them as pets later. Therefore, the relationship between dogs and humans has changed tremendously over time.
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.
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.