Living with Wolves – U.S.A
A war on wolves is raging in the American West.
From a population that stood at 1,700 wolves just 17 months ago, hunters and trappers have killed over 1,000 wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. A person with a hunting and a trapping license can kill up to 16 wolves in a single season. At this rate the vast majority of the wolves of the American West will be wiped out within two years.
Why should we treat wolves, the wild brothers of our dogs, with such hostility?
It was less than two years ago that most of the wolves in the West lost their federal protection. The U.S. Congress allowed one senator from Montana to attach language to the national budget bill that stripped wolves of their endangered species status. For the first time ever, a species was removed from the list of endangered species by lawmakers. Politics trumped science and the management of wolves was turned over to the individual states.
After their successful reintroduction to the American West as an endangered species 18 years ago, scientific studies in Yellowstone Park have shown wolves to be widely beneficial to ecosystems, revitalizing the landscape in ways never imagined.
TAKE ACTION_TAKE PART
Related articles
- Wolves were protected under the Endangered Species Act for decades and are only now starting to recover. (sunsetdaily.wordpress.com)
- Why Wolves Need To Be Saved (newbillthurman.wordpress.com)
- Southwest gray wolf population up 3d year in a row (summitcountyvoice.com)
- Judge keeps wolf season going outside Yellowstone (billingsgazette.com)
- Montana won’t limit Yellowstone-area wolf hunts (missoulian.com)
- Wolf numbers up in Arizona, New Mexico (star-telegram.com)
Did you also know that Albert Bierstadt was one of the greatest Painter of the American West!