EASTERN WOLF HABITAT RESTORATION COMMITTEE
NEWS RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
ALAN GARDNER (435) 467-9312
LIN HINTZE (208) 390-2829
ALAN.GARDNER@
LINHINTZE@CS.COM
GRAY WOLF RESTORATION INITIATIVE WARRANTS FURTHER STUDY
Custer County, Idaho – February 10, 2010, 11:00 AM
The federal government has announced plans to hire sharp shooters to kill hundreds of white-tailed deer in the national park surrounding the Camp David presidential retreat in western Maryland.
Out west, meanwhile, state Fish and Game Officials in Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Montana officials are trying to balance big game and domestic livestock resource requirements with the growing population and expanding range of the gray wolf. Once listed as endangered, the wolf population in the lower 48 states is now estimated at more than 5,000. One way these states are dealing with the over-population of wolves is by hunting and issuing “take permits.”
According to Defenders of Wildlife, wolves were once common to almost all of North America, but were killed in most areas of the United States by the 1930’s. Thanks to the reintroduction of these magnificent animals to Yellowstone Park in 1995, they’ve staged a tremendous comeback.
The Gray Wolf (Canis Lupis) is the largest member of the canine family. They prefer a diet of ungulates (large hoofed mammals) like elk and deer. Since the forests surrounding Camp David are teeming with deer as a result of the loss of the natural predators that once lived there, and because Camp David and the surrounding forest was once prime habitat for the majestic gray wolf, a better solution would be to restore this magnificent carnivore to its rightful habitat by reintroducing it to the area it once roamed.
This would provide a win-win for all concerned. Instead of being forced to destroy wolf populations that are growing unchecked in the West, they could successfully be re-introduced in Maryland where they could play their natural role of predator in restoring balance and harmony in the forests of Maryland surrounding Camp David.
