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--></style><title>Re: [Vision2020] NY Times OP/ED: Mixed News for
Wolves</title></head><body>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Verdana"
color="#333333"> Wayne,</font></blockquote>
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<div>Wolves play a very important role in the ecosystems they
inhabit. In fact they can reinvigorate an unhealthy elk or deer
herd because they tend to predate on old cows (average age in several
studies including Idaho and Yellowstone show that they favor 12-13
year old cows, thereby encouraging young cows to be more productive).
For more ecological benefits afforded us by wolves read on and please
attend the Tuesday, Feb 20, 7pm talk by Dr. Jim Peek at the UI Law
School Courtroom. He has studied the ungulate populations of the Frank
Church and vicinity for decades.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Will Boyd</div>
<div>Friends of the Clearwater</div>
<div><br></div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Verdana"
color="#333333">Wolves play a key role in their ecosystem by culling
weak and old elk and deer (Smith, Peterson and Houston 2003) and
reducing the long-term concentration of elk herds on sensitive meadows
and wetlands (Ripple and Beshta 2004). In what is known as the cascade
effect, the presence of wolves affects a multitude of species within
the ecosystem. Elk, wary of the new top predator, have altered their
grazing behaviour. With less grazing pressure from elk, streambed
vegetation such as willow and aspen are regenerating after decades of
over-browsing. As the trees are restored, they create better habitat
for native birds and fish, beaver and other species. In addition,
wolves have reduced the Park's coyote population by as much as 50
percent in some areas, which led to increased populations of pronghorn
antelope and red fox (Crabtree and Sheldon 1999). In short, wolves
play an important role in nature and their presence enhances native
biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. Source: Smith, D.W., R.O.
Petersen, and D.B. Houston. 2003. Yellowstone after Wolves. Bioscience
53 (4): 330 - 340. Ripple, W.J., and R.L. Beschta. 2004. Wolves,
elk, willows, and trophic cascades in the upper Gallatin range of
southwestern Montana, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 200:
161-181. Crabtree R.L., and J.W. Sheldon. 1999. Coyotes and canid
coexistence. Pp 127-163 in Clark TW, Curlee AP, Minta SC, Kareiva
PM, eds. Carnivores in Ecosystems: The Yellowstone Experience. New
Haven (CT): Yale University Press. </font></blockquote>
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</div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Verdana"
color="#333333"> </font>In an editorial posted by Wayne from the
NYT:<br>
<br>
"This eagerness to resume the slaughter is based on claims that
the<br>
wolves are devastating livestock populations and game animals like
elk.<br>
These claims have little basis in fact and should be rigorously
examined<br>
during the public comment period ahead. Even then, the wolves should
not<br>
be de-listed until Idaho and Wyoming adopt adequate regulatory<br>
mechanisms for protecting wolf populations that present no threat
to<br>
humans, are valuable to the ecosystem and have taken years to
rebuild."<br>
<br>
Honestly, I don't care one way or the other about the wolves (there
is<br>
only so much food to go around, and I can protect myself in the
woods),<br>
but the writer states that there is "little basis in fact"
regarding the<br>
claims that wolves are devastating livestock and wild game
populations,<br>
yet only a couple sentences later states that "[wolves] are
valuable to<br>
the ecosystem".<br>
<br>
Seems to me the ecosystem has been getting along without the
wolves<br>
while they were endangered in some areas and absent in others, so
that<br>
claim of "value to the ecosystem" would also have little
basis in fact.<br>
<br>
I guess that's why it's an editorial.<br>
<br>
DC<br>
<br>
<br>
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