[via nmwild.org]
A New Way to Help Mexican Wolves
One of the ongoing battles for Mexican
Wolves is convincing the politicians and agencies that people
want to see wolves, and convincing reluctant locals that wolf
tourism really can help the economy.
Now, there’s an
easy way to bring home this message. The New
Mexico Department of Game and Fish is offering an opportunity to
go out with their wolf biologist, Ellen Heilhecker, as
she monitors Mexican wolves in the Gila National
Forest. They will use a lottery system to decide who
gets to go – and that’s the
opportunity! We want them to be amazed when 1000
people sign up for the chance.
Please help us reach this goal – even if you
don’t plan to go looking for lobos. And if you do
win, the cost is $74. Just applying will cost you $6, but
believe me that 2-lattes-worth will send a great message about
wolves. And if you do win, you will get to learn how
NMDG&F uses radio telemetry equipment, GPS units, and
digital trail cameras in keeping track of approximately 15
collared lobos currently in the wild in the state.
Please go to www.wildlife.state.nm.us
and click on the “Wildlife Adventures” sheep photo at the top of
the page. The sign-up process is complicated, and it appears you
take pot luck on dates, but this is a really cool deal. The
three dates for the adventures are 9/23, 10/13, and 10/20.
Good Luck!
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I’m glad people may want to be wolf eco-tourists, but I have some problems with the concept.
First, these wolves are supposed to be wild predators. Our problems in Catron County with Mexican wolves derive from wolves which have no fear from humans (i.e. have become habituated). My understanding was that the NM G&F program was to help track collared wolves through telemetry, which is most definitely not the same as wolf tourism. I would imagine wolf eco-tourists would expect to *see* the wolves, thus contributing to the problems we have with habituated wolves.
Second point I have with the concept of wolf tourism is that moving around the Gila National Forest, where many of the wolves are, is not like a hike in a park. Even areas that are not part of the wilderness are wild, without many roads, trails or signs, inhospitable to anyone without genuine back country skills. Water is not easy to come across, temperature extremes are common (changes of 50° in 24 hours happen regularly), terrain is rugged. There’s a reason that the surrounding non-federal lands are not highly populated!
People get lost here. Some of them manage to walk out themselves. Some are hurt or just can’t get out – they can wait a long time for rescue. Cell phones don’t work here and we don’t have the personnel to be rescuing people. Most of us are thankful there are locals who are willing to act as outfitters and guides and we hope all outsiders, no matter how back-country accomplished they are, to employ the services of a knowledgeable local guide. The Gila is the real thing – it’s real frontier, and that’s why they chose it for the wolf program.
I think just like so many ideas generated by people who don’t live in the place that will be impacted by those ideas, the idea of wolf eco-tourism in the Gila is just going to cause all of us here more problems.
I agree with cred that the Gila is a wild place and should remain so. At the same time, be aware that there are campgrounds and trails around the edges. Those should be approached with the same sensible pre-cautions one would exercise in any backcountry, but it is possible for a prepared dayhiker or carcamper to enjoy the Gila.
As one who signed up for the lottery, I don’t expect to pet any wolves. I’d be surprised and thrilled to see one in the distance and hope I wouldn’t be too disappointed to see no wolves at all. I’m signed up to put my money where my mouth is and show support for alternative ways of thinking that recognize the wolves are here to stay.
In the middle of the night, on the edge of the Frank Church Wilderness, we heard wolves howl. That was magical and memorable.
In Yellowstone, people flock to see wolves across the valley. Have those wolves become habituated to humans?
peace, mjh
mjh wrote: In Yellowstone, people flock to see wolves across the valley. Have those wolves become habituated to humans?
Different situation. First, the Gila is too rugged for anyone to be seeing wolves across any valley. We’re talking thousands of square miles of forest, not a valley, anyway.
Second, so many Mexican wolves are routinely handled and fed by humans (via the wolf program itself) that it’s not surprising they become habituated. I would hope that Yellowstone wolves are allowed to just be wild – it sure seems that the ones in the Mexican wolf program will never be allowed to be wild.
Think about it: How do those collars get on the wolves? By the wolves being trapped and handled by humans. How do the batteries in the collars get replaced? By the wolves being trapped and handled by humans. Mexican wolves are also trapped and given routine vaccinations and health exams, they’re sometimes trapped and kept in captivity to be bred – how in the world could any Mexican wolf *not* become habituated? And when there are dozens more eco-tourists out there following them around via telemetry, will that help the wolves be more wild? I don’t think so.
(For more info on how often wolves are handled, go to the Mexican wolf program website, pick any wolf’s ID number and start going through his/her history, and that of his/her pack. You might be shocked how often these wolves are handled by humans.)
The Mexican Wolf Recovery Program Home – USFWS
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/mexicanwolf/
Analogy is a natural and legitimate analytical tool, keeping in mind analogies can mislead and no two situations are identical. The Gila is not Yellowstone (though there are areas that are very similar); lobos are not gray wolves. Still, we need something to compare anything to — it’s how we understand, through context.
We agree that wolves should be as wild as possible (short of preying on entire towns). If you’re proposing doing away with collars, I’m with you, so long as that doesn’t mean open season to anyone.
Politics and culture force compromise on science. Still, a program that introduces wolves and also kills them has to seem mad to anyone.
If we removed all cattle from the Gila, that would remove a human-introduced food source and also many of the incidental contacts with humans. Would wolves be wilder then? But that’s not going to happen, is it. peace, mjh