Wolves- Friend or Foe?

By Emily T

In the early 1900s, the wolf population declined throughout the United States, including areas of Montana, due to loss of habitat and extermination by humans. Wolves were once even hunted in the national parks. They were viewed as a pests because they were a major threat to livestock and a vicious predator. However, as most people know now, the extermination of any species due to human interaction is extremely harmful to an ecosystem, as it also changes other species within that ecosystem.

However, when the major extermination of wolves was taking place, the idea of an endangered species was not very relevant at the time. It was not until 1973, that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the northern Rocky Mountain wolf as an endangered species. Yellowstone National Park was then designated as a place where the wolf population could recover. From 1995 to 1997, 41 wolves from Canada and northern Montana were released into the park. Since then, the population within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has risen to about 500. The following link is to a video by National Geographic explains how the wolf has positively affected the ecosystem at Yellowstone:

http://education.nationalgeographic.org/media/wolves-yellowstone/

While in many ways it is viewed positively that the wolf population is going up, many of the reasons that people used to hunt wolves for remain. While there may be no harm to wolves on territory owned by the National Park Service, wolves naturally stray from this land.

The problem arises with the people living outside of Yellowstone. There are a number of ranchers trying to raise livestock just on the outskirts of the park. Many of these ranchers are living on land that their family has owned for generations, and they depend on their livestock for their living. Wolves attack the livestock these people raise. Many ranchers believe that they have the right to protect their livestock from wolves by killing the wolves. The following link is to a video which displays a few different perspectives on the wolves in Montana, including a rancher’s perspective:

https://vimeo.com/36581236

The sad reality of all of this is that both groups are advocating for justly causes. We need to take care of our wildlife and maintain an ecosystem, but ranchers and farmers need to protect their livestock and living. With the wolf population increasing in other areas of the United States and moving to different areas, including the lower peninsula of Michigan, ranchers and those advocating for protection of the wolves will continue to debate over the issue.

Work Cited:

Schwier, Alexandra. "Searching for Middle Ground: Montana's Wolf Controversy." Vimeo. N.p., 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

United States. National Park Service. "Wolves in Yellowstone." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, 11 Mar. 2016. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

"Wolf Reintroduction Changes Ecosystem." Yellowstone Park. N.p., 21 June 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

"Wolves in Michigan." DNR. State of Michigan, 2016. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

"Wolves of Yellowstone." National Geographic Education. N.p., 30 Jan. 2015. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

Images:

"BLOG." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

United States. National Park Service. "Wolves in Yellowstone." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, 11 Mar. 2016. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.