Posted: Thursday, July 24, 2008 12:00 am
Editor:
Wolves - again?
So, one person has decided that all the work done by thousands of Americans to establish the Canadian wolf in the northern Rockies is not good enough! Judge Donald Molloy does not want the three states to work their management plans that have been reviewed by multitudes of wildlife biologists and game managers.
He must have no faith in our U.S. Fish and Wildlife or the Department of the Interior. He must think the game departments of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming do not know their job. How about all the citizens who voiced their opinions during the comment periods?
Guess what, the people of this country are fast losing faith in our judicial system. These courts make decisions that make us shake our heads in wonder. We depend on the folks with experience to guide the program and then one person throws everything away!
Here is an alternative plan that might make everyone happy. In order to keep the wolf population at reasonable and workable levels in the Rockies, let's trap the excess wolves and transplant them to other national parks. There are lots of these areas, large and small, scattered across our country.
So what if the wolves won't stay where they are placed? So what if the wolves begin harassing people who live nearby? So what if the wolves kill domestic livestock and people's pets? What is fair for the three wolf states is fair across the board. Let's let everyone share in the responsibility of this so-called "endangered" species.
One day, even those with no common sense on matters such as this, including Judge Molloy, will walk into the grocery store and look at empty shelves and meat counters and delis. They will not understand the correlation between decisions from the court and no food.
If the esteemed judge had lost several thousand dollars from his livelihood, or his favorite horse, or the ability to hunt, or his pet dog, or the freedom to walk outside his own home without fear of an encounter, perhaps his decision would have gone the other way.
When are Americans going to insist that the courts become realistic? When are Americans going to hold our elected officials responsible for the laws they create with little thought to the unintended consequences? Judge Molloy has made a huge error in judgment and now we all have to pay the price!
DARLENE VAUGHN, Lander