Cool video Stam.

I like wolves, just like I like most wildlife. As a biologist and (for Art's benefit) a Birkenstock wearin' hippie realist, I know that the survival of both wolves and their prey requires active management. In a wilderness environment lacking humans and our development, the predator-prey relationships between wolves and prey isn't pretty. It consists of sharp booms and busts, each species boom lagging behind the other. In human modified environments, which is just about everywhere, active management results in more stable populations of both the wolves and elk.

I'm not into hunting animals that I don't eat, but just as over-abundant sea lions in the Columbia River need to be controlled, so do certain wolf populations that have expanded like Catholics and Mormans.

The Yellowstone elk population was up to around 16 or 18,000. Wildlife biologists said the range would better support about 6 or 8,000. The reintroduction of wolves has had the desired effect of reducing the elk population and even increasing the health and productivity of the elk population. However, since it's a national park with no human management of wildlife resources supposedly allowed, the wolves will probably over use the elk population, possibly causing it to crash, at which point wolves will crash to, both due to higher natural mortality and also by moving away in search of prey. Then elk will bounce back, and the whole boom and bust will occur again. That is the natural balance - although a wildly dynamic one - with many predator-prey populations. That might be workable in Yellowstone, but it isn't a good wildlife management model on other public lands where other wildlife users - hunters - want a crack at a share of the surplus herd production.

As for ranchers who complain about wolf depredation on cattle that are grazing on public land, I say "screw 'em." They are already being subsidized by me and every other American for their cheap grazing fees. Wildlife depredation is just part of the "rent." Cattle grazing on public land occurs at the expense of reduced wildlife populations, so it is illogical for me to sympathize with natural wildlife predator depredation on their subsidized cattle. They can control wildlife depredation on their private ranch land, however. That's fair.

So to both the "save all the wolves" and "kill all the wolves" crowd, I say F ya' cuz neither of you are very beneficial to the planet.

Sg