Keeping Wolves from Maine's door
As preposterous as it sounds, it appears once again that the U.S Fish and Wildife Service (USFWS) is toying with the idea of introducing wolves into the Northeast, Maine included. Just what Maine's moose and troubled deer populations need, right? Another major predator.
The whole scheme is complicated and woven into a web of wolf subspecies and environmental politics of the most expensive kind. Because of lawsuits brought against USFWS by animal rights groups, critics believe that USFWS is using Northeast wolf introduction as a ploy to mitigate its legal problems with Defenders of Wildlife and other well-heeled, litigation-happy fringe groups.
Wolves are fascinating critters. Visitors to Yellowstone Park love to watch these big canids through telescopes and field glasses. For every happy wolf looker in Yellowstone, though, there are a dozen ranchers, elk hunters - and maybe even some state wildlife biologists in the West — who wish that wolf introduction had never happened. The wolf controversy has to be eating up a lot of USFWS's time that might be better spent on other projects.
In Grangerville, Idaho this spring, a local newspaper headline screamed, "Idaho Fish and Game Responsible For Creating Public Safety Nightmare." Although the Canadian Gray Wolf was never a natural part of the Idaho wildlife mix, according to Idahoans, USFWS, with the help of Idaho Fish and Game, introduced the Gray Wolf anyway as an experimental program. Mike Popp, a spokesman for a committee called Wolf Free Idaho, contends that the Idaho wolf introduction was intended to be a well-controlled and restrained experiment that has gotten way out of hand. He says that the U.S. Congress violated its own laws and procedures in the way it handled the Gray Wolf introduction in Idaho.
The Gray Wolf in Idaho is known to be carrying a complex new parasite that is said to be potentially disastrous, not only to domestic animals, but humans as well. The Idaho state legislature, this spring, enacted emergency legislation ordering Idaho Fish and Game to address the problem.
Dr. Delane Kritsky, a respected parasitologist at Idaho State University, says that "the only way this parasite can be eliminated in our area is the elimination of the wolf."
As you can see, the simplistic, romantic notion of introducing wolves into a state where they do not now exist is fraught with hidden perils, of the social, legal and medical kind. There are historical accounts of what was thought to be Gray Wolves wolves in Maine long ago. But apparently there were no coyotes here back then either. All of this is further complicated by the fact that our contemporary coyotes are becoming larger and increasingly wolf like in their physiology.
Looking at the problem-plagued history of the wolf introduction program in the West, Maine might do well to put wolf introduction in the same category of Roxanne's Quimby's dream. We need federal wolves here like we need a federalized National Forest.
Matt Dunlap, the interim director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, this spring testified about wolf recovery in front of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Among other points he made was this:
"We believe the taxonomic information utilized by the Service as the factual and scientific basis to support the proposed rule is not simply logically flawed; it constitutes paleobiological fiction — a complete invention — to justify a sweeping prioritization to policy dominance of wolf recovery in the United States."
Those are commendable words, and not minced. Dunlap made another excellent point, referring to the Endangered Species Act, which started this whole wolf restoration quest: "Protection and restoration, which is the ultimate goal of the Act, should also take into context public tolerance and expectations.
Restoring the Great Plains to suitable habitat for wolves is beyond social capacity in the 21st Century, as is restoring the boreal forest ecology— including a full restoration of the type of wildlife populations that were abundant here in the period preceding forest, farm and urban development."
The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program "Maine Outdoors" heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WQVM-FM 101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is paul@sportingjournal.com and his new book is "A Maine Deer Hunter's Logbook."
The whole scheme is complicated and woven into a web of wolf subspecies and environmental politics of the most expensive kind. Because of lawsuits brought against USFWS by animal rights groups, critics believe that USFWS is using Northeast wolf introduction as a ploy to mitigate its legal problems with Defenders of Wildlife and other well-heeled, litigation-happy fringe groups.
Wolves are fascinating critters. Visitors to Yellowstone Park love to watch these big canids through telescopes and field glasses. For every happy wolf looker in Yellowstone, though, there are a dozen ranchers, elk hunters - and maybe even some state wildlife biologists in the West — who wish that wolf introduction had never happened. The wolf controversy has to be eating up a lot of USFWS's time that might be better spent on other projects.
In Grangerville, Idaho this spring, a local newspaper headline screamed, "Idaho Fish and Game Responsible For Creating Public Safety Nightmare." Although the Canadian Gray Wolf was never a natural part of the Idaho wildlife mix, according to Idahoans, USFWS, with the help of Idaho Fish and Game, introduced the Gray Wolf anyway as an experimental program. Mike Popp, a spokesman for a committee called Wolf Free Idaho, contends that the Idaho wolf introduction was intended to be a well-controlled and restrained experiment that has gotten way out of hand. He says that the U.S. Congress violated its own laws and procedures in the way it handled the Gray Wolf introduction in Idaho.
The Gray Wolf in Idaho is known to be carrying a complex new parasite that is said to be potentially disastrous, not only to domestic animals, but humans as well. The Idaho state legislature, this spring, enacted emergency legislation ordering Idaho Fish and Game to address the problem.
Dr. Delane Kritsky, a respected parasitologist at Idaho State University, says that "the only way this parasite can be eliminated in our area is the elimination of the wolf."
As you can see, the simplistic, romantic notion of introducing wolves into a state where they do not now exist is fraught with hidden perils, of the social, legal and medical kind. There are historical accounts of what was thought to be Gray Wolves wolves in Maine long ago. But apparently there were no coyotes here back then either. All of this is further complicated by the fact that our contemporary coyotes are becoming larger and increasingly wolf like in their physiology.
Looking at the problem-plagued history of the wolf introduction program in the West, Maine might do well to put wolf introduction in the same category of Roxanne's Quimby's dream. We need federal wolves here like we need a federalized National Forest.
Matt Dunlap, the interim director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, this spring testified about wolf recovery in front of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Among other points he made was this:
"We believe the taxonomic information utilized by the Service as the factual and scientific basis to support the proposed rule is not simply logically flawed; it constitutes paleobiological fiction — a complete invention — to justify a sweeping prioritization to policy dominance of wolf recovery in the United States."
Those are commendable words, and not minced. Dunlap made another excellent point, referring to the Endangered Species Act, which started this whole wolf restoration quest: "Protection and restoration, which is the ultimate goal of the Act, should also take into context public tolerance and expectations.
Restoring the Great Plains to suitable habitat for wolves is beyond social capacity in the 21st Century, as is restoring the boreal forest ecology— including a full restoration of the type of wildlife populations that were abundant here in the period preceding forest, farm and urban development."
The author is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program "Maine Outdoors" heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WQVM-FM 101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is paul@sportingjournal.com and his new book is "A Maine Deer Hunter's Logbook."
No comments:
Post a Comment