Wolves are ecosystem engineers that play an important role in the habitats they live in by improving the environment and helping to increase biodiversity. Currently very rare but in some places increasing since wolf reintroduction, willow and aspen are important for many bird species, small mammals, beavers, and moose. In 1995 96, gray wolves were reintroduced to yellowstone national park. The remarkable inside story of the restoration of wolves to yellowstone. When wolves are hungry and they dont have any natural prey to capture, livestock looks like a pretty tempting target. Pros and cons of reintroducing the wolf back into yellowstone. With the reintroduction of the gray wolf, a recovery population goal had to be established. To see both sides of the story, lets look at one of the most successful wolf reintroduction programs in history, at yellowstone national park. Wolf reintroduction proved to be less costly and speedier than anticipated. The reintroduction of wolves to yellowstone national park. The reintroduction of gray wolves to yellowstone national park and central idaho. The dillon montana examiner, 1921 perhaps no other large predator is more deeply embedded in our psyche than the wolf. Im prepared to bid for the first ticket to shoot a wolf myself, said idaho gov. The reintroduction of wolves in yellowstone national park.
Babbittpurportedly drew on legislative history in finding that wolf reintroduction violated section 10j of the esa. Yellowstone wolves reintroduce ecology of fear live. A new york times notable book the inside account of the environmental story of the decade early in this century, u. Butch otter at a press conference at the state capitol in boise on january 11, 2007.
Latest shocker from antiwolf is no shock at allthe antiwolf folks are always coming up with new charges, which generally just show they havent been paying attention. I would have given the book all five stars but the wolves are numbered through out the book, making a bit tough to keep track of who is in what pack and where the wolf originated. The latest is that there were wolves in montana prior to the reintroduction in idaho and yellowstone. What you need to know about the effort to bring wolves back to. To them, the reintroduction of the grey wolf to yellowstone created a new threat to their business and their income. In 1995, gray wolves were first reintroduced into yellowstone in the lamar valley. Wolf reintroduction into yellowstone national park. Macnulty is published by university of chicago press.
Almost 75 years after the last two wolves in yellowstone were shot, the gray wolf was back. Reintroduction of the gray wolf to yellowstone national park. Science and discovery in the worlds first national park, edited by douglas w. Nine pups were born in the spring of 1995, and 14 in the spring of 1996. The reintroduction of the gray wolf to yellowstone essay. Fish and wildlife service, but efforts to reintroduce the wolf were continually stagnated by the public, politicians, and state governments around yellowstone. Reviews of internationally renowned reintroduction programs for wolves, european lynx and african wild dog reveal the successes and failures of these actions. When yellowstone national park was created in 1872, gray wolf canis lupus populations. The reintroduction yellowstone national park and central idaho. Reintroduction of wolves to yellowstone mother earth news. Everyones heard the story that bringing back wolves to the yellowstone ecosystem suddenly returned it to normal, but did you know that claim may be only partially true.
Wolf reintroduction changes ecosystem in yellowstone my. The trump administration has announced a plan to strip endangered species act protections from wolves across almost all of the lower 48. Nearly twenty years later, the reintroduction of the wolf is still a hot button issue in montana, subtitled the first year, fergusons book follows the lives of the first wolves reintroduced to yellowstone national park from alberta, canada in 1995. What we have forgotten about the vilified gray wolf the. Vilified throughout history in both legend and literature, humans had effectively eradicated wolves from europe by. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. What we have forgotten about the vilified gray wolf the saga of osix lays bare the intricacies of a familiar, parallel society in wolves. The history of wolves in yellowstone chronicles these periods of extirpation, absence and reintroduction, more importantly, how the reintroduction of gray wolves to yellowstone was not without controversy or surprises for scientists, governments or park managers. Beschtab aenvironmental remote sensing applications laboratory ersal, department of forest resources, oregon state university, corvallis, or 97331, usa. In lieu of an abstract, below is the essays first paragraph. Wolves of yellowstone timeline timetoast timelines.
Depending on the side of the wolf reintroduction fence you sit upon, you will support the books tenets, or find quite a bit of fault in its pages. The new threat to wolves in and around yellowstone the. The wolves preyed primarily on elk, with a pack killing an elk every two to three days. Yellowstone after wolves bioscience oxford academic. History of the greater yellowstone wolf restoration the. When yellowstone national park was created in 1872, gray wolf canis lupus populations were already in decline in montana, wyoming and idaho. A true story of survival and obsession in the west. Reintroduction is only considered where large tracts of suitable wilderness still exist and where certain prey species are abundant enough to support a predetermined wolf population. There is one about the return of the mexican wolves to the southwest.
Yellowstone wolf impact study national park foundation. Fish and wildlife service, gray wolf eis, 1994 nature. This is true, but it is not some hidden conspiracy. Shadow mountain is a beautifully written book, although i didnt care much for her ponderings on the meaning of wild and dog and tamethey were wellwritten and had great prose, but stood out like they were essays she wrote in grad school. Hallberg, and janice morgan, at the may 1997 purdue bioethics workshop the u. Two decades ago, yellowstone national park was the victim of defoliation, erosion and an unbalanced ecosystem. Reintroduction of the gray wolf to yellowstone national. Once again yellowstone harbors all native species of large carnivoresgrizzly and black bears, mountain lions, and wolves. Reintroduction of wolves to yellowstone and how it changed the ecosystem. There were wolves in montana before the reintroduction. Has the reintroduction of wolves really saved yellowstone.
Colorado would do the same were it to reintroduce wolves that had been or were. Ongoing research will continue to sort through this very complex issue, which could well turn out to be the most important aspect of wolf reintroduction to yellowstone. Yellowstone wolf project 7 were killed by wolves during the first two years, which was fewer than expected. Wolf reintroduction changes ecosystem in yellowstone wolves are causing a trophic cascade of ecological change, including helping to increase beaver populations and bring back aspen, and vegetation. Ive been reading several books about the yellowstone wolf reintroduction project. The wolves of yellowstone the wolf is a monstrosity of naturepossessing the cruelty of satan himself. Wolf reintroduction involves the reestablishment of a portion of gray wolves in areas where native wolves have been extirpated. Wolves of yellowstone timeline created by piratetrucker2. The yellowstone wolf controversy essay 1466 words bartleby. Table s1 presents basic information about the yellowstone and central idaho primary analysis areas. How wolves saved the foxes, mice and rivers of yellowstone. It helps describe those areas and may be useful in understanding the potential impact of wolf reintroduction. Recent science suggests that, while important to restoring yellowstone parks ecological health, wolves are not the primary solution.
After a long and heated debate which lasted almost a decade, in january 1995, fourteen wolves were captured in rocky mountains of western alberta and brought to yellowstone national park. For many years ive thought that rick mcintyre is the gotoguy for all things wolf, and his latest book, the rise of wolf 8, amply confirms my belief. During the wolfs 70yearlong absence from the park as a. Experts on tigers, snow leopards and jaguars contend that there are other conservation options of higher priority that will ensure their security in the longterm. The final goal for mexican wolf recovery is a wild, selfsustaining population of at least 300 individuals. Between 1995 and 1997, yellowstone national park reintroduced into the park a total of 41 wolves, after an absence of almost a century. It was the first deliberate attempt to reintroduce a toplevel predator into a complex ecosystem. Yellowstone national park and central idaho primary analysis areas for the feis. Wolves flourished amidst yellowstones abundant prey and expansive, protected wilderness. Fifteen additional wolves were captured and sent to central idaho. The first wolves in the restoration arrived in yellowstone national park in 1995. Wolf reintroduction in yellowstone was part of the much larger northern rocky mountain wolf recovery effort. Nearly twenty years later, the reintroduction of the wolf is still a hot button issue in montana, the process was a long time coming.
Wolf 8 was a pup that came to yellowstone with his family when wolves were first introduced to the park. To date there are seven books about the reintroduction of the wolves to yellowstone. For a farmer or rancher, their livestock is the living. Two decades have passed since the reintroduction of gray wolves in yellowstone national park and idahos frank. The return of the yellowstone wolf has elks shaking in their hooves, and thats good news for the national parks young aspen trees. Eis completed for wolf reintroduction in yellowstone and central idaho. Wolf reintroduction, predation risk, and cottonwood recovery in yellowstone national park william j. The wolf leads a harsh existence of grueling dayandnight hunts yearround.
Wolf reintroduction, predation risk, and cottonwood. In wolf country tells the story of the first groups of wolves that emigrated from reintroduced areas in idaho to recolonize their former habitat in the pacific northwest, how government officials prepared for their arrival, and the battles between the people who welcome them and the people who dont, set against the backdrop of the ongoing political controversy surrounding wolf populations. When the grey wolf was reintroduced into the greater yellowstone ecosystem in 1995, there was only one beaver colony in the park, said doug smith, a wildlife biologist in charge of the yellowstone wolf project today, the park is home to nine beaver colonies, with the promise of more to come, as the reintroduction of wolves continues to astonish biologists with a ripple of direct and. How wolf reintroduction is changing yellowstone rivers. Wolf numbers needed to be maintained at this level for at least three consecutive years. Despite the controversy, the reintroduction of the gray wolf in yellowstone national park was approved in 1995, and 14 wolves from canada were brought and released in three park locations. Reintroduction of wolves to yellowstone debating science. Actual wolf reintroduction took only two years, not five, and cost only. We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. With the wolves known as a natural predator to livestock and many other species, it is understandable that ranchers were opposed to the idea of reintroduction when it was first proposed. Join us as wolf watch uk takes you on a journey through george monbiots ted talk about how the reintroduction of wolves in yellowstone national park had a balancing effect on continue reading the reintroduction of wolves in. Since the mid1990s when 31 wolves were trucked into the. That was the goal of the united states fish and wildlife service usfws for the recovery of the wolf population for the northern rocky mountains. Fish and wildlife service began to reintroduce gray wolves to yellowstone national park in 1996.
459 1546 1049 842 243 1109 24 1483 751 41 1012 505 197 298 1385 881 603 905 638 1472 968 1458 1273 656 1219 182 1209 1329 237 1226 420 607 1013 830 488 1020 32 846 360 1319