Return of the Yellowstone Wolves

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"We're not antiwildlife, we're the people who've preserved the open spaces that provide their food and habitat," said Bob Budd, director of the Wyoming Stockgrowers' Association in Cheyenne. "But we don't want wolves at Yellowstone for the simple reason that there's no way to control them when they inevitably move outside the park. There are no legal mechanisms in place that specify what will happen when we have some stock killed by wolves or even a whole herd wiped out, which has occurred."

"Economic damage suffered by farmers and ranchers is the real issue in wolf recovery," agreed Hank Fisher, Northern Rockies representative of the Washington-based pro-wolf lobbying organization, Defenders of Wildlife. "And fortunately, we have good solutions to that problem now."

The measures Fisher is talking about have been developed over years of trial and error by the stockgrowers and wildlife managers of an area in northern Minnesota that's never stopped being wolf country. Of 12,000 farms with livestock there,, records show that predation has occurred on just 40 and accounts for only 0.5% of total losses per year. Stockgrowers are reimbursed by the state for animals killed by wolves, and game officers kill problem wolves to help control predation. The Yellowstone recovery area has less livestock and would have many fewer wolves, so the damage should be less, too. "In Yellowstone, just as in Minnesota, problem animals will be killed and ranchers will be compensated for any losses, in this case, by the Defenders of Wildlife," said Fisher. "We're willing to put our money where our mouth is."

To keep the Yellowstone region's sportsmen and outfitters tolerant of recovery as well, wolves could become fair game once their population becomes well established. An area with 50 to 150 unmanaged wolves might lose 300 to 1,200 elk annually, a significant game decline. Allowing the wolf to be hunted at certain times and places would protect hoofed game and may even incline residents to value it as a trophy animal rather than disparage it as a varmint.

Because the issue of wolf recovery is so sensitive out West, two separate legislative approaches to effect it are currently being considered in Congress. In the House, Congressman Wayne Owens (D-Utah) has introduced a proposal to approve .the first step of wolf restoration: an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), a study of the impact wolves would have on the Yellowstone area. Usually an EIS is initiated at the bureaucratic level. Because wolf recovery is so politically sensitive, Owens and his 62 cosponsors are going right to Congress for an OK. If they get it, the necessary research will be completed and published. Then, after various agencies and the public review the EIS, the recovery project's ground rules will be determined. Finally, Congress will grant funding, and the wolves will be on the way, perhaps in three to five years.

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