Robert Espinosa shames his namesake in a column in today’s Albuquerque Journal. Leave aside his petty swipes at “fairies†and his conflation of wolf reintroduction with wildfires. Focus on his profound ignorance of the role of predators other than man in promoting healthy ecosystems. If Espinosa is a hunter who puts down his beer and gets out of his truck before shooting, then he should appreciate the hunt he’ll get from prey kept on its toes by wolves. It seems he’d prefer the situation found around the country where deer and elk are so over-abundant they are a nuisance.
By the way, Bobby, overgrazing of our forests removes grasses that play a critical role in the flash fires that keep down the larger burns. So, wolves help prevent forest fires.
Finally, Espinosa feels he is being treated as an “invasive species,†yet he ridicules those who see things differently and pointedly rejects those of us who enter wildlands for reasons other than to kill, destroy, or extract.
[The Journal provides some counterpoint from a biologist who doesn’t sound like a fairy-dancing religious naturologist.]
ABQJournal Online » State Has Wasted Money On Wolves Long Enough
By Robert Espinoza / Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife New Mexico on Wed, Jun 15, 2011
For 13 years now, the state of New Mexico has been an active and willing participant with the federal government in the effort to reintroduce the Mexican gray wolf to the region.
At best, the program has been a distraction from sound land management. At worst, it has been a financial boondoggle, a safety issue and a travesty as a portion of hunters’ fees have gone to fund a program intended to further reduce game opportunities by nurturing populations of this predator.
…fairy tale dance with wolf advocates. These advocates have made the wolf an almost religious idol and seem to regard hunters and ranchers as interlopers into their own private cathedral. In truth, nobody cares more about true environmental conservation and sound land management practices than sportsmen, ranchers and outfitters. …
The sooner the federal government stops giving disproportionate credence to the “naturology†of wolf worshippers and quits treating the rest of us like an “invasive species,†the better.
At the New Mexico Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, we believe people belong, whether for hunting and fishing or ranching – or logging – or other parts of the core historical culture of our communities.
ABQJournal Online » State Has Wasted Money On Wolves Long Enough
ABQJournal Online » State Shows Disrespect For Planet and Future
By Joseph Cook / Professor of Biology, University of New Mexico on Wed, Jun 15, 2011
We know that top predators are essential to healthy ecosystems. When top predators are removed, a cascade of other losses often follows.
We also know that the Mexican gray wolf is the most distinctive form of wolf in North America and is globally significant because it harbors highly distinctive genes. We further know that, contrary to the bluster of a few politicians and shock jocks, wolves and humans can coexist.
ABQJournal Online » State Shows Disrespect For Planet and Future
Three images taken from space of the Wallow North fire in Arizona in June 2011 show the fierce magnitude of this event.