Connection: Home On The Range

Humans, who killed off gray wolves in the Rocky Mountains, are bringing them back. But while some Westerners are thrilled by the idea of hearing the creatures howl, others shudder at the sound.

In the latter category are hunters who worry about competition for big-game animals, and the owners of tourist-oriented businesses that fear the wolves will devour “watchable wildlife.”

The strongest opposition has come from ranchers who fear their livestock will be attacked. Agricultural organizations fought the reintroduction of the endangered species to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in 1995 and 1996. A court order that would have removed the Canadian transplants was overturned by a federal appeals court in January.

Beyond lawsuits and political salvos, ammunition used in the battle over the wolf has ranged from payoffs to poisonings:

To limit illegal killing of the predators and increase tolerance of them, the Defenders of Wildlife pays ranchers for confirmed livestock losses. In 1999, payments amounted to $35,000.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is looking for whoever used a long-banned form of rat poison to kill two wolves near Salmon, Idaho, last year.

Other animals have fallen victim to the “shoot, shovel and shut up” approach by livestock owners. Still others have been killed by wildlife authorities after the wolves killed or harassed cattle or sheep.

Despite the problems, the wolves have taken a fancy to their new habitat. Their numbers are growing. In central Idaho alone, there are an estimated 168 wolves.

The species won’t be removed from the federal endangered list, however, until Idaho, Montana and Wyoming each have 10 breeding pairs for three years.