Let wild wolves roam in wilderness

Arizona Daily Sun (Original) Letter to the Editor Posted on June 13, 2014 by Nicole Walker

To the editor:

The Mexican gray wolf, nearly eradicated to a population of only seven, was reintroduced to a small contiguous region in New Mexico and Arizona in 1998. Since then, the number of wolves in the region has grown to only 83 — a much, much smaller number than is feasible for genetic viability. The proposed expanded "wolf zone" is bounded by two freeways, I-10 and I-40.

If a wolf crosses beyond the boundaries of this narrow band of land, it is "relocated," which often does not go well for the wolf.

It is time to let the wolf roam further north, toward the Grand Canyon, where the people who live there and visit there do so for what the wolf represents: open spaces, ecologically sound land, wild animals and the dream of wilderness.

Wolves are not the dangerous animals conveyed by the media. They are intelligent, family-oriented creatures. A bit like us.

Even if we put all human proclivities above animals, we, by confining the wolf to one small region and preventing the wolf population from growing, effectively destroy the wildness of wilderness.

Nicole Walker

Flagstaff