Relist wolves on ESA

To the Editor:

I am a senior citizen and I care about North American wildlife, especially the predators that are so important to keeping healthy ecosystems in our continent. The predator of most concern to me right now is the gray wolf.

Right now, wolves are being killed in large numbers in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, the states of the Northern Rockies. Today, hunters from Montana can sit just feet outside of Yellowstone National Park and use bait and recorded wolf calls to lure wolves out of the park to be shot. These hunters can kill as many as 10 wolves each. In Idaho, legislators have pledged to encourage the killing of 90 percent of the wolves in the state. The State of Idaho has hired private contractors to trap and shoot as many wolves as possible. They even pay bounties for each dead wolf and travel expenses for the killers.

One of the reasons these states give for killing wolves is to preserve elk for hunters to kill. But in these states, the elk populations are so large that elk are dying of starvation.

When I voted for President Biden, I believed that his administration would handle important environmental issues and protect wildlife like the grey wolf. But so far, he and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland have ignored the best available science and pleas from conservation organizations, Tribal leaders, businesses, and the public to save wolves from slaughter.

The Biden Administration owes us better response, especially we who voted Biden into office. I urge the Biden Administration, and especially Secretary Haaland, to relist wolves in the Northern Rockies under the Endangered Species Act and stop the killing.

Dr. Rin Porter

Fairmont