Wolf and ESA question?

[Tom]

Would you tell me if this conclusion is correct:

1. The wolf reintro is within the law.
2. The wolf reintro is supported by the majority of the people.

Based on the above 2 points, consideration to possible economic, ecological, or safety concerns were not considered - and need not have been considered - prior to the reintroduction.

A friend asked me that, I don't know much about it. Do you guys know?
*******************************************************
I guess ESA, how was that passed?, says reintroducing wolves is good, but how is it legal for a government program to kill people's cattle and sheep on a daily basis? How is it a pack of 20 wolves can roam freely? The habitat may not be big enough to make that be safe, then it would be illegal, right?

What do you guys know about these question? Got a good link for me?
What's the history of ESA? Was it popular support? How did it pass?

 

[Ithaca 37]

Here's where to start reading:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=history+of+wolf+re-introduction&btnG=Google+Search

It's a complicated issue with lots of twists. I'd have to write a book to answer your questions. After you read all the articles in the first link, try these:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=wolf+re-introduction&btnG=Search

 

[Tom]

Well, I read this chapter on wolves from a 1986 book, Playing God in Yellowstone by Alston Chase. I don't know that there ever were very many wolves in Yellowstone, over many years of irradication, they only killed 135 or so wolves. Then, in 1967, at a Senate meeting in Casper Wyoming, they ruled no hunting of elk in Yellowstone for elk management. Shortly after that, these guys Anderson and Cole apparently releaced some trapped wolves in Yellowstone, but they soon left, so that didn't work for elk managment there. Then, that species of wolf got put on the endangered species list in 1973 by US Fish and Wildlife. Now, it costs about $40,000/wolf to have a wolf there.

Why don't we just have elk hunts there, rather than manage with expensive wolves and winter die out? Why did they not allow hunting? In our state parks in Texas, we have public hunts. They close down the parks for a weekend and run some hunts.

Was it anti hunters there in Casper or what, back in 1967, that led to a no elk hunting decision there? It could be a food for the hungry hunt, is could be food for prisoners even, but why pay for wolves to eat them and why let them wastefully die off in the winters. What happened to America's hunting tradition on that one?

Heck, we even have great expense, sort of, feeding the elk on the elk refuge now too.

Where's some data on elk management, bull to doe ratios, acres needed per elk, stuff like that?

 

[JoseCuervo]

Tom,
Can an Elk have value to you if it can't be hunted?

 

[Tom]

Yes. Message too short, so I added this, you mean like a good mount on the wall? haha

 

[JoseCuervo]

Thanks Tom. You pretty much showed your limited value of wildlife.

 

[Tom]

My limited value of wildlife includes hunting, doesn't yours? We can maximize wildlife populations for viewing, etc. using hunting. If we don't population rise and fall, taking many years to recover from a fall, that destroys much of the habitat also. Some people like lots of plants around too.

 

[ELKCHSR]

The only limited 'anything' around here is guner/sybils ability to act civil...

But as a shit for brains, he/she/it has more then enough to go around...