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by John Guastella on Sat Dec 20, 2014 11:40 am
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This is great news and may have implications for species other than the wolf.

Wolf Back on Endangered Species List (LA Times)


John
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by Mike in O on Sat Dec 20, 2014 12:04 pm
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It is a long term fight for our native wildlife and one judge will not make any difference unless we citizens start fighting back against the exploiters.
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by Blck-shouldered Kite on Sat Dec 20, 2014 5:34 pm
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John Guastella wrote:This is great news and may have implications for species other than the wolf.

Wolf Back on Endangered Species List (LA Times)


John
Thanks for this exciting news!  This is one for the Good side!  

IMO…taking this animal off the endangered species list was irresponsible.  Taking any apex predator off the ES list is irresponsible.  As far as I can see, if the USFWS finds the need to put an apex predator on the ES list in the first place, it should never be taken off.   

Here's why: 

Available energy is at the very least at the top of terrestrial energy pyramids, where apex predators are.  Please check out this link for quick and simple illustrations:

forest ecosystem energy pyramid

1,  So, all apex predators, relative to other species, must have low reproductive potentials…again, because there is not that much energy at the top to support a lot of offspring.  

2,  Also, many apex predators rely on large corridors to obtain their survival requirements, and the gray wolf is one of them that greatly benefits from corridors.  With all the irreversible habitat fragmentation that exists today, these corridors are very unlikely to ever be re-established.    

IMO, it all adds up to one thing:  

If we want to have a higher likelihood of seeing the gray wolf for as far into the future as we are capable of seeing…..it should never be taken off the endangered species list.   

BTW, I found this link and attempted to thank the judge for the decision favoring the wolf's survival:

http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/dcd/howell-info


Last edited by Blck-shouldered Kite on Sun Dec 21, 2014 3:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by SantaFeJoe on Sat Dec 20, 2014 8:22 pm
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Just being on the list isn't enough. In New Mexico and Arizona, the Mexican Gray Wolf has been in the reintroduction process for some time now. Very often there is another one shot or otherwise killed. If I remember correctly, there are only about 80 in the wild and a few in captivity. I once talked to someone in Queens, N.M., and asked what he thought of the reintroduction of the Mexican Wolf. I didn't suggest any feelings on my part in asking, but asked from a neutral standpoint. The gentleman went off so adamantly about how they were the worst thing to happen to the southwest and they should never be released. I had never seen such a strong reaction. Since then, I have seen the same attitude over and over. They are shot like they were rabid or something. They don't stand a chance, IMO. Ranchers hate them, even though they graze their cattle on public land for a minimal fee and funds have been set up to reimburse them for any losses. I don't see the possibility of overcoming ignorance and stupidity in the area where the wolves roam. I hope I'm wrong!!!

Joe
Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.  -Pablo Picasso
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by Blck-shouldered Kite on Sun Dec 21, 2014 2:51 am
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From what I have gathered from the press over the years, the contempt you described that a lot of folks have for the gray wolf….is true.  And I too believe that listing is not enough. 

But it is interesting that today, there is equal sentiment favoring the re-establishment of the wolf.  

So the gray wolf is possibly the most controversial wildlife species and probably, along with the grizzly, the species that most represents true wilderness.  

The Gray Wolf Historically:
As you know the gray wolf has been scorned and eliminated throughout human history.  Here is a very interesting map I just found on wiki showing the historic vs current range of the gray wolf (Canis lupus)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_wolf# ... _wolf2.png

Regarding ranchers who hate the gray wolf:
IMO, and for obvious reasons, ranchers who lease federal land and call for the eradication of the gray wolf are showing the epitome of audacity.  And if the cattle were not grazing this "rangeland", it would recover for the purpose of supporting native systems (that are disappearing), which was its function before the cattle arrived in the first place.  

I want the protection that the gray wolf rightfully deserves after centuries of persecution.    My motivations come from simple love for all that represents wilderness.

Listing is not enough:  USFWS and Critical Habitat
It seems that keeping the wolf listed as endangered also tends to preserve wilderness.  The USFWS is responsible for more than evaluating a species in question and then declaring its status.  The Service defines the Critical Habitat of each Endangered Species, a huge undertaking.  I could be wrong here:  I believe that the Service has defined the Critical Habitats of just over 600 of the 1500+ endangered species.  Mike and you express concern that listing is not enough.  And that brings us to the Critical Habitat.  I do not know if Critical Habitat has yet been delineated for the gray wolf.  I suspect not.  It seems that it will be very controversial.   And this illustrates what we are involved in today; a fight for what is left of wilderness, of natural systems.  This fight is never going to go away and will likely intensify.  

The Y2Y Corridor
Also, please keep in mind the Y2Y non-profit efforts, to lock up a long corridor of wilderness:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowston ... Initiative

Go Wolves!  Go Wilderness!  It seems that "As the wolf goes….so goes the wilderness".  And just think of the future opportunities to photograph nature.  The more ways that can be found to make money in nature photojournalism and ecotourism…the better for nature!

Finally….I do agree with you that "in the long haul", it seems that the gray wolf does not stand much of a chance.  And this is all the more reason that the wolf deserves all the protection we can give it in the time it has left.

Thanks much to NSN for this forum.

Robert King
http://itsaboutnature.net
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