Manage wolves before it’s too late
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Editor,
Though I am only 14 years old, I’ve seen what the wolves are doing to wildlife and livestock. I’ve hunted for two years and this fall will be my third. I’ve hardly seen so much as one elk in the mountains during hunting season, let alone any other time of year. As for livestock, ranching is also greatly affected. This is because the wolves don’t only kill the calves, but also take advantage during the winter when they can run up on top of the snow harassing cattle, causing them to starve. This hurts ranchers because they can’t sell livestock to get money they need to pay bills.
What was all this talk about the “reintroduction” of the wolf? In case they didn’t know, the wolves were still here – just seldom seen. Even at my young age, I know this isn’t right. The Wolf Recovery Act was forced on us and we didn’t have a say. Shouldn’t we be able to sue the Federal Wildlife Agency for “reintroducing” something that was never gone?
My great-grandmother tells of an incident that happened when she was just 6 years old. In Canada a family was sledding in the hills when a pack of wolves came, drug the baby off, and killed it. This is obviously nothing new. When will something be done? Does it have to go from wildlife to children?
I don’t want to worry about being attacked by a pack of wolves when I’m hunting, fishing or hiking. Two years ago I went hunting with my dad in the Bitterroot. That trip we saw no elk when they had been seen in large numbers just months earlier. Will elk go extinct because we are trying to “bring back” an unwanted creature? Or will my children ever even see an elk?
I just want to let Judge Molloy, environmentalists, and others know that even us younger generations know we are being cheated and it isn’t fair. I’d like to shoot an elk before I die if it’s possible before the wolves kill them all.
Carley Elverud
St. Ignatius
