Wolf coverage one-sided

Whether through shocking pictures of possible wolf kills, or by presenting selective evidence, The Spokesman has once again fueled the hysterics that surround an issue. Rather than using wolves as the scapegoat, what about how loss of habitat due to human encroachment is contributing to the lower elk populations (they have lowered in some regions and risen in others)?

Also never pointed out is how elk are returning to the higher elevations where they once lived, before all their natural predators were eliminated, making them less afraid to graze in more open land.

Readers are done a disservice when your newspaper neglects to give well-rounded coverage to complex issues. Simply saying that there are too many wolves in Idaho and that they are killing off all the elk (not to mention the hyperbole concerning their predation of livestock), is to leave out the fact that long before humans came, wolves, bears, elk, etc., managed to keep up healthy populations.

Without a plan that uses discretion, you’ll have hunters indiscriminately killing mature wolves, leaving the young to fend for themselves, which ironically will lead to a higher incidence of livestock predation because they won’t be taught how to hunt.

Jason Keedy

Spokane