Wolf Wars: The Remarkable Inside Story of the Restoration of Wolves to Yellowstone. - book reviews

Whole Earth Review, Spring, 1996 by Jessie Piper

The 1995 release of wolves into Yellowstone was one of the most starring events wolf conservation has witnessed. It followed decodes of embroiled debate between wolves' supporters and their would-be annihilators. Hank Fischer, field representative for Defenders of Wildlife, has written a book that would well serve a course on environmental policy, Documenting events, attitudes, and the positions of landowners, legislators, biological conservationist, and land management agents, Wolf Wars goes beyond the wolf wars to underscore the conflict and challenge in any major preservation issue.

"Yellowstone Park is a place that literally begs to have wolves. It's teeming with prey; it used to have wolves; and all the species that were there originally should be restored. Wolves would add an element to the ecosystem that would restore it to a more natural state, that would allow the public to better enjoy the park. The only thing missing in Yellowstone is the wolf, and the park can't really be wild without it. It's not a complete or natural wilderness to have all the species of prey that are there and not have the main predator they evolved with."

The room was quiet. Wolf advocates glanced nervously at one another. With two of the team's most influential members opposed to the idea, it seemed as if Yellowstone Park wolf reintroduction was about to get deep-sixed. Then Weaver took the floor. He argued that the scientific case for wolves' returning to Yellowstone Park without reintroduction was weak. Glacier Park is less than one hundred fifty miles from wolf populations in Canada, he said, yet it had taken more than twenty years for wolves to bridge that gap. He questioned the likelihood that wolves would move another three hundred miles farther south anytime in the foreseeable future.