It's time for environmentalists to stop crying wolf
As both a hunter and a wolf lover, the author explains why hunting is actually good for wolf conservation.
Gray wolf. (Photo: Janet Haas) 
Comments
I propose not to wait until you earn big sum of cash to buy goods! You should get the mortgage loans or just secured loan and feel free
I agree about you point about wolves fulfilling a niche in the ecosystem and about the lazy hunters that have a hard time finding wary game. These are points that many on the anti-wolf side harp about and I don't agree with.
Points that I don't agree with are that the wolves just take the weak, sick or stupid. I have seen the wolves in spring, when they can run on top of the crusted snow and the elk cannot, kill 4 or 5 of the biggest herd cows and just let them lay. Most of these cows.... More
I'll concentrate on one statement you made:
"And what is your proof that wolves can manage elk better than humans?"
Well, let's define "better" first of all.
To me, "better" doesn't mean "larger racks" or "bigger" or "more numerous." It means "evolving as an integral part of a functional ecosystem."
As poet Robinson Jeffers put it:
What but the wolf's tooth whittled so fine
The fleet limbs of the antelope?
Elk have evolved in concert with.... More
The apparent problem that I see with your argument is that you don't seem to recognize that you can both manage a healthy ecosystem and allow human intervention into the equation. Just because there is human influence into an ecosystem does not necessarily mean that ecosystem is somehow destroyed. Yes, wolves and prey survived without us thousands of years ago, but guess what, we are now here and we are not going away. Get used to it. Managing a species based upon what they did thousands of.... More
What an excellent, science-based article from an ardent wolf fan! I say this as a wolf biologist for many years and one who shares the author's sentiments about wolves.
Most of what you wrote is standard pro-wolf-hunting dogma that is both lacking scientific support and supporting a very limited view of "managing" ecosystems for human hunters rather than ecosystem diversity and stability.
"You cannot let an unmanaged apex predator run free and expect to be able to adequately manage the prey base that is within your juridiction of responsibility."
Why not? Wolves and their pret somehow survived and thrived for tens of millions of years without.... More
What do you mean there is no biological reason to hunt wolves? You cannot let an unmanaged apex predator run free and expect to be able to adequately manage the prey base that is within your juridiction of responsibility. Allowing the wolves to come into balance with the prey base will force a curtailment of hunting within areas inhabited by the wolves. We are already seeing this issue in many areas of Idaho where elk permits have been slashed or even dropped althogether. This does not only.... More
A well written piece Matt.
@ Chris the critic - do you have wolves running around in your town?
The author's reasons for promoting wolf hunting are specious and unsupported,
"Most likely, wolves will quickly become just another well-managed big game animal, much like mountain lions. Mountain lions are hunted, and they’re thriving and even expanding their range."
There is no biological reason to hunt wolves *or* mountain lions. There are two additional problems with the author's assumptions, Hunting *is* hurting mountain lions, as recent intensive studies in WA state have.... More
