Out & About: Panel brings 6 perspective on wolf revival

OUTBACK – Hunter, biologist, conservationist, cattleman, philosopher, ethicist – these six perspectives will take on the topic of gray wolf reintroduction during a special panel discussion, 7 p.m. Thursday at Gonzaga University’s Jepson Center, Wolff Auditorium, 502 E. Boone Ave.

It’s the final event in the winter Big Read activities organized by the Spokane County Library District. This year’s Big Read has focused on the novel Call of the Wild, by Jack London.

The panel discussion is described by library staff as an “informational event meant to spark a civil discussion on the reintroduction of the wolf into the natural environment and some of the issues that have arisen as a result.”

The program, sponsored by Humanities Washington, will be moderated by Rich Landers, Outdoors editor of The Spokesman-Review, who has written about wolves since the 1980s when they were trickling from Canada into Montana.

Gray wolves were listed as endangered species in 1967. The first den documented in Montana in more than 50 years was found in Glacier National Park in 1986.

In 1995 and 1996, wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho. They quickly expanded their range and population through Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and more recently into Oregon and Washington.

The panel will explore the emotions, excitement and concerns as well as the damage and management efforts wolf recovery has prompted in the region.

Perspectives will be presented by these panelists:

• Leonard Wolf – hunter; Inland Northwest Wildlife Council president.

• Andy Braks – SFCC philosophy lecturer; environmental ethicist.

• Justin Hedrick – fifth-generation rancher directly affected by wolves; president of the Stevens County Cattlemen’s Association.

• Jay Kehne – Conservation Northwest expert in non-lethal tactics for managing wolves near livestock; Washington Wildlife commissioner.

• Joey McCanna –Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist; private lands and wildlife conflict supervisor.

• Dr. Brian Henning – Gonzaga University professor of philosophy and environmental Studies.

The audience will be invited to turn in questions for the panelists.

A Gonzaga men’s basketball game also is set for Thursday night, but parking should be available on the west side of campus reasonably close to the Jepson Center, organizers say.