Delist wolves
Updated Aug 28, 2010 12:01AM
Tom Wharton says he’s conflicted about elk and wolves, so it’s no surprise that he disputes the strong words and actions of an organization that sees the issue clearly (“What’s all the howling over wolves about? It’s complicated,” Tribune, Aug. 22). We at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation believe wolf populations must be taken off the endangered species list and managed alongside other wildlife — now.
Areas of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are hard hit by wolf predation, with local elk herds as much as 60 percent below objectives. Calf survival rates, which need to be 30-35 percent to sustain a herd, now fall below 10 percent. If Wharton doesn’t think that’s an epic wildlife management disaster, he should buy an elk tag for those areas and try his luck.
Yes, elk numbers are growing in places that don’t have wolves (yet). We celebrate that growth as a sign of improving habitat, but we also recognize that those big statewide elk totals mask local devastations.
For years, lawsuits by animal rights activists have stymied common-sense solutions, so Congress must intervene on behalf of sound science and balanced management. Real conservationists have been patient long enough.
M. David Allen CEO, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Missoula, Mont.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/50153683-82/elk-wolves-percent-areas.html.csp
