the 06/17/2008

Guest Opinion: Wolf population warrants delisting

The Mountain Goats By DAVID ALLEN When bald eagles soared off the endangered-species list lastsummer, there were champagne toasts from coast to coast. Americanswere proud to have restored another symbol of freedom and wildness.It was a success that mirrored previous restorations of elk, muledeer, black bears, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, mountain goatsand a host of other wildlife - long before anyone dreamed ofdrafting an Endangered Species Act. Now, 13 years after gray wolves were officially reintroduced to thenorthern Rockies, federal biologists have moved to free them from"the list," too. You'd think the people who argued longest andloudest to bring wolves back would be slapping backs andcelebrating. Instead, they're filing lawsuits. The Endangered Species Act was never intended to create a permanentwitness protection program for wolves. It was meant to recoverrobust self-sustaining populations, to create un-endangeredspecies. And wolves are so there. Ed Bangs is wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service. He's been in charge of restoring wolves to theNorthern Rockies from day one. Bangs has lived in the cruciblesince those first Canadian wolves hit the ground in 1995. He'searned a reputation as a man absolutely committed to good science,not politics or opinion. On wolves, he says, "We're rock-solid. TheEndangered Species Act did its job. It's time to move on." State management needed What does it mean to move on? The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundationbelieves the sooner states take on the responsibility for managingwolves, the better. Maybe the lawsuits can be settled and control fully passed to thestates before another year goes by. It's high time we starttreating wolves as wild animals - more specifically, game animals. Apart from the bald eagle, all of the once-rare species listed inthe opening paragraph have been plentiful and actively hunted for50 years. States have used the best available science to setseasons and quotas. They've teamed up with hunters as hands-onmanagers, keeping wild populations within local environmental andcultural tolerances. In the process, millions of families havecollected a bounty of healthy meat, powerful connections with wildcountry and lasting fond memories. "We strongly support hunting wolves," Bangs says. "Look at thesuccess we've had with hunting mountain lions and maintainingstrong lion populations. There is no reason wolf management cannotbe just as successful." It was hunters who financed the restoration - and continuingstewardship - of the big-game populations that made wolf recoverypossible. Hunting licenses and excise taxes on guns, ammunition,bows and arrows still provide most of the funds that states use tostudy and manage wild species. But rather than supporting huntersand America's proven system of conservation, lawsuit plaintiffs arecondemning both. Certainly, proponents of perpetual wolf protection aren't the onlyones who can get a little emotional. When wolves kill elk orcattle, the carnage makes it easy to imagine that wolves might soonlay waste to all wildlife and livestock. Sometimes it's good tostep back and look at the numbers. Cumulative 2007 numbers for Idaho, Montana and Wyoming: 3 millionpeople, 1,500 wolves - and around 350,000 elk. In 1995, there were a half-million fewer people, no wolves - andaround 350,000 elk. That's right. Since wolves were reintroduced, Montana's elkpopulation has grown by at least 30,000 animals, Wyoming's elkpopulation is down 8,000 and Idaho's is 10,000 lower. Hunterharvest totals have remained very similar since 1995, averaging20,000 in Idaho, 25,000 in Montana, and 20,000 in Wyoming. This doesn't mean that wolves haven't taken an extremely heavy tollon elk and livestock in some places. They have. They will. Andthat's another reason why we should be actively managing wolvesthrough regulated hunting. Endangered habitat From where I sit, the biggest change on the Northern Rockieslandscape since 1995 is not the return of wolves. It's the way ourwild places and open spaces are filling up with houses and roadsand box stores. There is no Endangered Habitat Act. That's why I'mso proud of what the Elk Foundation has accomplished. In Idaho,Montana and Wyoming, our organization has helped conserve aquarter-million acres of prime habitat, and enhance habitat onanother 1.5 million acres for elk and other wildlife. Your role? Support state-based wolf management via hunting. And,even more importantly, support organizations working to ensure thatall of us - you, me, our children and grandchildren, and allwildlife - have plenty of wild country to roam. David Allen of Billings is president and CEO of the Rocky MountainElk Foundation, an international conservation organization based inMissoula. Copyright ? The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises .