Why the Wolf Introduction was a Mistake

The introduction of the Grey Wolf from Canada was, at worst, a strategic attack on several of Idaho’s rural industries, and at best is was a biological, economic and social blunder. It was first of all a biological blunder because the introduced wolf is a different subspecies from the wolf that was here. The wolf introduced from Canada grows in excess of 130#, its bite can crush the skulls of hound dogs so that their brains come out their eye and ear openings. One or two of these can take down a mature bull elk. The wolf native to this area did not have that size and power. Prior to the introduction of the wolves from Canada there were occasional sightings of our smaller native wolf. One occurred outside of Elk River in the ‘70s when a den was located by a resident of Elk River. He reported it to Fish and Game, but they assured him that the den did not exist and refused to come out and see it for themselves. After the game warden who received the report retired, he admitted that it was a lack of funding that kept them from acknowledging the existence of the small resident population. It would have cost too much to deal with since it would qualify as an endangered species. Ironic that the Endangered Species Act, in this case, sealed the fate of what it was supposed to preserve. Since wolves are highly territorial, the larger introduced wolves have probably killed off any remaining resident at this point.

I am sure that the biologists will deny all this as hearsay. They refuse to give credence to any reporting that does not line up with their political (and religious?) agenda. However, it has been my observation that the mainstream biological assertions have frequently been proven false. The claim that wolves primarily attack the old and the sick and are therefore necessary to maintain the health of the elk, moose and deer is simply a lie. Wolves and other predators are opportunists and savor the young and tender. Nor do they consume all that they kill when game is plentiful. Idaho sportsmen have well documented how the wolves will attack cow elk and eat only the fetus out of them, in some cases leaving the cow still alive and struggling when they are done with the favorite parts. There is no reason to believe that wolves and elk can coexist in Idaho’s mountains, and our mountains are the only elk habitat left, for the most part. Snowmobilers have been cautioned against disturbing elk during the winter, since any disruption to the elk during the winter decreases their chances of surviving through till spring on critically low reserves of fat needed to keep them warm and alive. As far as disturbing elk and stressing animals, I doubt that snowmobilers hold a candle to a pack of wolves. Conditions can also come along that favor the wolves over the elk, moose, and deer. When the snow is deep and develops a crust that supports the wolves and not the members of the deer family, it is easy pickings for the wolves as their prey flounders helplessly.

With the disappearing elk herds, also go the livelihood of our big game guides and a good share of our outdoor recreation industry. In and out of state hunters spend a lot of money on food, lodging, supplies and licenses. As the elk disappear, so does most of that business. And the rural economy takes another well-placed hit.

But the recreation-related businesses are not the only ones under attack in this case. All the Idaho residents who get a good part of their annual protein from hunting and enjoy some good clean sustainable family recreation are also paying dearly. How many more years will we be able to hunt elk or moose given the current trends?

Also on the sacrificial altar are Idaho’s rural cattlemen. These guys are not whiners, so you may not hear much from them. Nor does the press care about them/give them coverage, as they mock the idea that the wolves are creating an emergency in parts of Idaho. I have talked to ranchers in the Riggins area who have lost 30 to 40 head of beef a year to wolves for a number of years and are going out of business because of it. The reimbursements for the losses by the state have been insignificantly small.

To let out-of-state interests take out several of our industry segments, while we ignore it is a dereliction of duty. We owe our neighbors more than that kind of indifference. Jobs are not that plentiful. What are we going to do for a living, push paper for some federal bureaucracy near some sustainable housing project served by lots of public transportation? And who are we going to tax to pay for all that when we have eliminated much of the rural businesses, and continue to throw shackles on the wealth producing parts of our hollowed out economy?