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Brett,<br>
<br>
Thanks for the insights... I feel similarly. I don't think programs
like this can be successful without cooperation of the local
population. What'll end up happening is a lot of law-breaking,
resentment, mis-information, sabotage, and general polarization...
that's not good for anyone. I just hope some way can be found to keep a
couple sustainable populations of gray wolves going somewhere, so they
don't completely vanish from existence. Someday - maybe even 100 years
from now - conditions on the ground might be different & more
favorable to their wider re-introduction.<br>
<br>
Now, what about those Jaguar sightings? ;-)<br>
<br>
-Jonathan<br>
<br>
Brett wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:4877C40C.7060505@yahoo.com" type="cite">
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<pre wrap="">Neal wrote:
>>It seems that public opinion (or some large part of it) in New Mexico
(and the rest of the CDT?) is permanently hostile to wolves, mountain
lions etc...I can't imagine what would happen if there was an attempt
to introduce Grizzly Bears back into the Gila.</pre>
<br>
<font face="Arial">Public opinion in the affected communities is at
odds with the broader pro-wolf consensus. It's entirely understandable,
and it goes back generations among area ranchers, many of whom are
related to those who killed off the Mexican gray wolf in the first
place. <br>
<br>
To the extent that one is willing to accept their premise - that wolves
are incompatible with a ranching economy, and that ranchers have a
right to defend their livelihood - the environmentalist's arguments for
wolf reintroduction become harder to defend on the ground in a place
like Reserve or Glenwood. The wolf "re-introductionists" counter that
ranchers could do more to reduce enticements for wolves to predate
cattle (such as removal of natural-death cattle carcasses from the
backcountry, where some suggest wolves first learn to associate cows
with an easy meal). Ranchers that I've spoken with are quick to point
out that wolves have always been intelligent, opportunistic pack
hunters, and that nothing is likely to keep them away from cattle short
of the wholesale removal of cattle from the land. They feel, and
perhaps rightly so, that the Mexican gray wolf reintroduction program
was foisted upon them by idealistic outsiders with expectations of
grandeur and little regard for the human part of the equation. <br>
<br>
I find myself empathetic to both sides. The successful return of the
wolf to the Southwest is an exciting prospect, but unfortunately it
simply seems unrealistic to assume that wolves and cowboys in this
region of wild land dotted with small ranching communities can coexist
in numbers with sustainable prosperity for each. The wolf was likely
doomed at the original settling, though I'm all for seeing the
experiment through, with a greater spirit of tolerance to the plight of
all concerned parties.<br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2008/mexican-wolves-07-03-2008.html">http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2008/mexican-wolves-07-03-2008.html</a><br>
<br>
To their credit, many ranchers I've spoken with feel very differently
about mountain lions, both because cattle predation is simply less in
the nature of big cats than of wolves, and for the cougar's furtive and
solitary ways. "You gotta respect an animal that kills quietly and
cleanly like that," one rancher related.<br>
<br>
- blisterfree<br>
<br>
</font><br>
Neal Leavitt wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mid:8b4917840807111200k4be9f337k5dbbe32a24aeaddf@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Hello All,
When I went through southern New Mexico in June, I received an earful
from folks about wolves and mountain lions...
One rancher told me that he lost "30 %" of his calves from wolves in
the past year. He was also convinced that the EPA was engaged in a
plot to push all New Mexicans off of their ranches through the Mexican
Grey Wolf program...The librarian in Reserve was convinced that wolves
were a threat...the owner of the Rode Inn told me she felt they should
be removed...and a ranger in the Gila said wolves with collars were
disappearing, collar and all; they had a $10,000 reward posted for
information leading to the arrest of a person who had harmed a wolf.
It seems that public opinion (or some large part of it) in New Mexico
(and the rest of the CDT?) is permanently hostile to wolves, mountain
lions etc...I can't imagine what would happen if there was an attempt
to introduce Grizzly Bears back into the Gila.
I feel very bad for the man killed by the mountain lion and his
family...and I feel bad for the animals. Everyone loses when this
happens.
As for me, I saw either a wolf or a coyote north of Snow Lake. It was
trailing some dear that had passed by a minute earlier. When it saw
me, it fled. If anyone can help with identifying it I would really
appreciate it - I was able to get one photo, albeit at a good
distance.
Neal
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