Sierra Blogging Post Archives

Wolf hunting is now legal in the United States, with the hunting season starting last week in Idaho and September 15th in Montana. Sheep and cattle ranchers are happy about the ruling but environmentalists and animal activists are singing a different tune.

Ranchers like Cindy Siddoway of Idaho say wolves kill her sheep and even her guard dogs, leaving her flock open to predation from other species as well. Like most ranchers, she's all for the hunt. "We have worked very hard to protect what we have, and it's not very successful," she said in this article on CNN. "It is devastating for us to put all of the money and the time and the genetics and work to produce a great product and then just have it half-eaten and left to die."


But environmentalists are seeking an injunction against the public hunt ruling, saying the wolves should never have been taken off the endangered species list in the first place. Melanie Stein, a Sierra Club spokeswoman, said that the wolf populations "are just on the cusp of recovery and that we are almost there." But she says the hunts represent "a step backward and away from recovery" of the wolf populations.

Defenders of Wildlife also oppose the decision, saying on their website that the return of the gray wolf is good for the ecosystem:

"In what is known as the cascade effect, wolves are exerting influence over a multitude of species within the park's ecosystem. Elk, wary of the reintroduced top predator, have altered their grazing behavior. With less grazing pressure from elk, streambed vegetation such as willow and aspen is regenerating after decades of overbrowsing. As the trees are restored, they create better habitat for native birds and fish, beaver and other species."

There are currently an estimated 1,600 wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming (wolf hunting is not legal in Wyoming). 330 will be killed in Montana and 220 is the limit in Idaho for the 2009 hunting season.

What do you think about the wolf hunt? Is it the right thing to do or not?