If we fail to come together as on large Voice of 54,800 Strong… I dont want to think of what will happen to our Wildlife.
The shooting is likely to intensify debate about how to best manage wolves in the Yellowstone area. As it is, park wolves can be legally shot when they wander outside of the park. At least one group, the Native American advocacy organization Protect the Wolves, has proposed establishing a 31-mile “buffer zone” outside of the park where wolves cannot be shot.
Wolves were extirpated from most of the continental United States by the 20th century due to widespread persecution. In 1995, officials reintroduced a small number of wolves in Yellowstone National Park. Since then, wolf numbers have increased in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, and they have been removed from Endangered Species Act protections in all three states. It’s currently legal to shoot wolves with a permit in Montana from September to April, but obviously not within park territory.
Source: A Famous White Wolf in Yellowstone Was Illegally Shot to Death, Necropsy Shows
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Here’s some numbers:
Total New Mexico and Arizona population 2013, at the time poll was taken: 8.718 million
67% of two-state population agrees that too few Mexican Wolves present: 5.842 million
Having seen similar percentages favoring wolf return in CA, CO, MT, OR, WA, WY, arounnd the same period, we can possibly add a total of nealry 40 million more citizens who favor wolf reutrn and presence.
45 million, then support wolves.
While many citizens may feel that any number will do, and tend to support whatever their Wildlife agencies tell them is enough, we know that in no case outside certain limited areas, have wolves reached ecologically effective populations, their natural numbers in systems not destroyed or damaged by humans.
So ,, even if we only ascribe a small proportion of those 45 million inn western states (I have ignored Utah for this purpose, as an extremely small number of politicians and others in that population have been the source of extreme attempts to eradicate not only wolves, but the native natural lands upon which natural inhabitants depend), there is a large number of humans who would support protecting wolves from the crazy practice of shooting whatever wolf comes into sight – even with managing agencies limiting the number of times one can pull the trigger.
Across other state, including those in the Great Lakes where wolves are present, and most of those where wolves have been lost, this number of pro-wolf individuals must be far greater.
Large groups like Defenders of Wildlife and Center for Biological Diversity include a few million members. Although they do not exclusively focus on wolves., they have supporters who came to them exactly for this purpose.
CBD appears to not compromise, and Defenders perhaps not. THese disparate sources of advocacy do engage in several states to protect.
I’ve stated elsewhere that even the Ojibwe/Chippewa, a tribe identifying most closely with complete wolf protection, contains numerous members who are anti-wolf, largely due to personal involvement in livestock-keeping, a nontraditional activity. So identification with any incompletely committed group over pure wolf/wildlife advocates may be both inaccurate and too politically mixed up.
Love, compassion, relationship, are commonalities, born in each of us before, more deeply, and beyond, all allegiances.
That which we perceive to be sacred, is shared to varying degrees. Without finding personally the equivalence of all that is sacred – there is and should not be hierarchy – any group identification is not real.
While I, along with many, have sought to protect wildlife in and around real refugia, National Parks so far being the best, those parks, including Yellowstonne are too small, too isolated, to protect. What wolves really need, is protection from lethal human response. They managed themselves in continuing balance across North America, Eurasia, and even a little into highland Africa without human controls, for possibly 2 million years, long before any humans who looked at all like those of the present, existed.
The goal must not be little islands, little reservations. The goal should be return.
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The Goal is at the Present protecting our Sacred Species 😉
It’s got to stop the killing of our wolves and wildlife. Yesterday in fact. Animals know No boundaries and migrate to survive.. All animals do.. We need to state taking care of this issue asap before all is gone. Extintintion is forever. Not to return. We need to co-exist.. As humans were supposed to be the smart ones ,but I see no compassion . Only extraction commissioned and special interests. We have a native saying. You can’t eat money and mud. For once gone it’s gone forever. Stop killing our planet. From every aspect.
I agree that there should be a buffer zone all the way round Yellowstone. Specially after we lost the beautiful White Lady. We need to protect these beautiful wolves. Wolves have only been in Yellowstone for just over 30 years. Wolves have changed the eco-system of Yellowstone and they have in proved the health of the Elk, Deer and Bison. Wolves all so bring in a lot of money, because people come to Yellowstone to see them in their natural habitat. I will always fight for the protection of these amazing animals.