This paper was written by my best friend Charlotte Mazurek. It is very well done. It focuses on the plight of the Grey Wolves of North America.
I feel that I have a responsibility to the environment I live in- everything that a human being does has an effect on all the living things around them and I want my effect to be a positive one. A good world citizen can see the inherent value of Earth in its natural state and will actively seek to protect the environment for the health of both themselves and future generations. I love having a part in its protection by purchasing organic products, planting trees, conserving water, and recycling. Anyone can help the environment through the opportunities available in our society as businesses turn to green energy and products. Protecting our environment will lead not only to longer, improved lives for human beings, but also to the growth of beauty and peace in the few wild, untouched places on Earth.
It is because of my love for the environment that I chose to research gray wolves. As one of only a handful of predators native to North America, the presence of gray wolves has an enormous impact on the environment of the United States. It is important that their assimilation into existing biospheres is handled carefully so that neither wolves nor humans will suffer. Gray wolves cannot be kept under protection of the United States Endangered Species Act indefinitely, and individual states need to develop conservation plans that will allow gray wolves to live in their natural state while minimizing human-wolf conflict. In the most critical population center in the west, Yellowstone National Park and the surrounding area, the gray wolf must be protected and responsibly managed to maintain a stable environment.
Gray wolves had long been a symbol of evil for Europeans and the settlers brought to America stories of werewolves and red riding hood that turned the predators into evil creatures that longed for human flesh. As the colonists spread west gray wolves, immediately labeled dangerous pests, were trapped, shot, and poisoned. In the 1930’s the gray wolf was extinct in the lower 48 states, with only a handful surviving in northern Michigan and Minnesota (Chadwick 44). Their absence took them out of conflict with humans, but also left an unstable environment in the abandoned areas. Elk herds in Yellowstone began wintering in one area, destroying all the vegetation. With the brush gone the soil eroded, rivers grew shallow and with the habitat now disappearing birds, beaver, and fish vanished. The nature preserved in Yellowstone was unnatural without the area’s natural predator. The imbalance lead to overlarge herds of grazing animals that further injured vegetation and proved an easy target for bouts of sickness and starvation. Anyone could see that something was wrong.
However, people grew used to the current situation and human hunters tried to replace wolves in culling elk and whitetail numbers. The missing predator was forgotten until, in the 1980s, a pack of gray wolves migrated south from Canada and began living in Yellowstone. The pack was small but growing and it reminded people that the West had once been different and that gray wolves had been a staple in America’s environment. So between 1995 and 1996, with the support of Yellowstone officials who wanted to restore Yellowstone to its truly original state, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service released 66 Canadian gray wolves into the protected area (Chadwick 44). These wolves acted as a booster for the small packs already living there and the population grew swiftly. As the wolves rebound elk remain on the move during the winter and the vegetation has a chance to recover. Other native species have also returned, bringing beavers back from one dam in Yellowstone to twelve. Yellowstone is reverting to its natural state. Unfortunately, not everyone is happy to see the area flourishing. Hunters are angry that wolves were taking a share of “their” deer and elk. Ranchers are worried about their cattle and sheep herds. Both complaints are understandable. However, wolves prey on sick and injured grazing animals so in reality the deer and elk herds are stronger and healthier than ever before. Also, though wolves did kill some cattle and sheep they were responsible for less than 1% of all sheep deaths and ranchers can apply for government reimbursement on proven wolf kills (Chadwick 42). Coyotes killed many more sheep than wolves and had a much less beneficial impact on the environment in the years researched. The conflict between wolves and humans exists entirely because of human meddling in nature and old superstitions. Men killed off the gray wolves, but they also reintroduced them, and now they must acknowledge that the gray wolf belongs in America and its presence should be dealt with not by force but by cooperation with the natural order.
The biggest challenge and the biggest benefactor for gray wolf recovery is human interference. Ranchers illegally poach wolves to protect their livestock, hunters gun wolves down to “save” deer that they plan to kill, and construction projects in the west destroy wolf habitat and put wolves in conflict with human beings and their pets. None of the wolves’ fellow predators can hurt their population as much as men. Even though some humans hurt wolves and their environment, people can also help wolves and protect their habitat. According to Frank Clifford with Smithsonian magazine, “Wolf watching generates more than $35 million a year for motels, restaurants and other businesses in the three states surrounding the park [Yellowstone]” (Clifford). Wolves attract visitors to Yellowstone and the money they bring creates jobs for people in the area and puts more money in the local economy. They are benefitting the area they live in and even ranchers and hunters will admit that. Organizations like Defenders of Wildlife are also helping wolves by teaching ranchers non-deadly practices such as lighting, alarm systems, fladry, electric fencing, and the removal of dead or dying livestock to protect livestock from predation (Fact). If ranchers can protect their cattle and sheep without killing wolves the two groups can easily coexist.
Even as people bring up their fears about the presence of wolves near human settlements and argue for legal wolf hunts, there is a sense that the majority of people don’t want them to become completely extinct again. As Jim Halfpenny wisely points out, “We have a psychological need for something big and bad that represents wildness. Wolves fulfill that" (Clifford). People enjoy the thrill of hearing a wolf howl under the moon and watching them run across the open ground. Nature fascinates people and most feel a certain kinship to wolves whose packs closely resemble human families. They used to roam the majority of the American west and now, again, they are establishing territory across several thousand acres, bringing with them reminders of old rivalries (Shogren). Wyoming especially has been a hotbed for hunting controversy. When, in 2008, wolves were taken off the endangered species list in that state they were labeled pests, allowing virtually unlimited slaughtering of the population. A resulting lawsuit put the wolves back on the list until Wyoming develops a better plan (Chadwick 40). The issue in Wyoming is that the people there see wolves as killing machines rather than natural predators who hunt only to survive. It would not necessarily be a bad thing for small, well-regulated wolf hunts to occur in order to keep population numbers at sustainable levels. The key is being clear about why the wolves are hunted and defining what a good population number for wolves would be for the existing habitat. As long as people keep clear heads and don’t drag assumptions about wolf behavior (they’re still wild creatures even if they’re under government protection) into their own actions, wolves can have a fighting chance.
Gray wolves are here to stay in the American west and creating a plan that will conserve both wolf habitat and human peace of mind will not only restore the spirit of wilderness to the west, but also make America a better place to live. Wolves bring money into the American economy, maintain balance in their ecosystem, keep deer and elk herds healthy, and bring beauty and grace into their surroundings. Gray wolves are not pests or mindless killers, they are a natural part of North America’s environment, and their survival is something worth fighting for.
Works Cited
Chadwick, Douglas. “Wolf Wars.” National Geographic Mar.2010: 34-55. Print.
Clifford, Frank. “Wolves and the Balance of Nature in the Rockies.” Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Magazine. Feb 2009. Web. 20 April 2012.
“Fact Sheet Gray Wolf.” Defenders.org. Defenders of Wildlife. 2012. Web. 20 April 2012.
Shogren, Elizabeth. “As Gray Wolves Return, So Does Debate Over Hunting.” NPR. NPR. 10 February 2012. Web. 20 April 2012.
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