When You Disagree With Wildlilfe Management, Call It “Flawed Science”

Words are easy to put together that can make something sound wonderful. Words are incredibly powerful and smart people can use them to alter facts and completely change perceptions and reality. They can just as easily be used to present the truth. It is then left up to the individual to learn and decide for themselves.

Jeremy Hance provides commentary on the “flaws in science” of wolf management on a website called Mongabay.com. I’m not going to spend my time attempting to debunk the commentary but I will say that it contains mostly all the same rhetoric we hear day in and day out about how the top wolf scientists in the world don’t know what they are doing. He presents incomplete information leading readers to believe things that aren’t quite true. But what I find interesting is his interest in convincing readers that science pertaining to wolves should involve non-scientific theories of fantasy about how ignorant man has no understanding of nature and all we ever do is destroy it.

For the sake of this article, here is one part of the commentary where Hance is offering comment on the decision by the Obama administration to continue with former President Bush’s proposal to once again attempt to remove the gray wolf from protection under the Endangered Species Act.

While Salazar states that his decision is based entirely on science—and I believe him and commend such a change from the Bush Administration—the problem is that the science is shortsighted and rooted in conservation ideas that are making their way out the door due to the fact that they are not proving effective in sustaining healthy, long-term populations of species in trouble—especially of large predators like the wolf.

The de-listing of wolves from the ESA is too soon and will unravel decades of work, wasting countless hours of work and the 27 million dollars spent on reintroducing wolves into lost habitat.

This is obviously Hance’s opinion and we can take that as such because this piece is labeled “commentary”. Readers should know that wildlife science is not making its way “out the door” because what they do is ineffective. Quite to the contrary. Fantasy worship of wolves by groups of individuals who have their own unproven theories spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaigns to promote their ideals. Such has always been the case with animal rights groups and in this case wolf advocates.

Tony Mayer, a founder of Save Our Elk and a long time supporter of complete wildlife management, has offered his own rebuttal to this commentary.

ENOUGH OF THIS NON-SENSE

Why is it that whenever anyone suggests the need for wolf management that a self proclaimed “expert” (such as the author of this article) sees the need to portray the decision as lacking “depth” and in the “knowledge” that they have mystically endowed upon themselves.

The decision by Secretary Salazar and President Obama to affirm delisting was reached only after significant deliberation of all the facts, and only after assessing the “sound science” facts and studies presented by the expert scientists and biologists involved. Their decision was arrived at only after considering the overwhelming evidence and facts supporting the immediate need for delisting. Their decision followed principles of “SOUND SCIENCE”.

Wolves were re-introduced in 1994-95, with and all stated wolf recovery goals reached and surpassed in early 2002. Since then, wolves have continued to grow at 25% annually with the current stated wolf population exceeding 850 in Idaho and over 1550 in the three states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. However, the actual wolf population is much higher. Dr. David Mech, the lead USFW wolf biologist instrumental in the original Gray Wolf introduction, acknowledged under oath that due to conservative counting methods, the actual rocky mountain wolf population exceeds 3000 wolves (over 10 times their original recovery goal). Dr. Mech is known as the preeminent world wolf expert. However, because he chose to speak the scientific truth about wolves, he has been shunned and discredited by the same pro-wolf groups who had previously endorsed him.

It’s time for all pro-wolf advocates to recognize that wolves have fully recovered, and that they have surpassed their recovery goals by over 1000%.

It’s beyond time for recognition of the need for delisting, and it is time to allow states to implement their Federally Approved State Management Plans as was always intended and promised. It’s time to move forward with the “sound science” principles afforded in the states management plans for wolves to co-exist in our wildlife ecosystem, and be afforded long term guarantees for survival that are incorporated in these Management Plans. Interior Secretary Salazar and President Obama understand and accept this need, and of the “sound science” involved. The readers of this article have a choice on who they will believe and what type of science to follow.

Tony Mayer

SaveElk.com

Tom Remington