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Defenders View: Always Forward
Our country has made considerable progress in replacing our frontier ethic of unlimited nature exploitation with a more enlightened ethic that sees humans as stewards of nature. The reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone and the northern Rockies in 1995 was a stunning example of that progress and, I noted at the time, had the potential to be a turning point in American conservation history.
Why did I see that cause then—and continue to see it now—in such a light? Because with the wolf’s long history of persecution, the campaign to reverse government policy toward the animal made that cause into a symbol of the larger struggle to upgrade the wildlife conservation values of society as a whole. Thus, if society could alter its attitude and policies toward the wolf, then widespread adoption of a more beneficial conservation ethic might not be far behind.
Ten plus years later, I think this reasoning is still sound. And I continue to believe those of us who fight for adoption of a truly enlightened conservation ethic will prevail. But those who would turn back the clock to the days of mindless wildlife exploitation are still hard at work. Perhaps because these anti-conservationists also see decisions on the wolf’s future as being symbolic of the larger struggle, battles over the wolf continue to be prominent. A handful of examples:
• In Idaho, despite the clear requirements of federal law, the state legislature has passed a resolution calling for the eradication of wolves by any means necessary. (Not content with that as a statement, anti-wolf zealots are promoting a ballot initiative to require wolf eradication as a matter of state law.)
• In Wyoming, elements of state government are apparently so opposed to wolf conservation that they refuse to develop a plan necessary to allow wolf management to be transferred from the federal to state government.
• In Alaska, Gov. Frank Murkowski and his personally appointed Board of Game, with support from the legislature, continue to thwart the will of the majority by promoting the savage and unsportsmanlike practice of slaughtering wolves from aircraft.
• In Washington, D.C., Interior Department officials refuse to enforce the clear intent of the Federal Airborne Hunting Act and stop the aerial wolf slaughter in Alaska, and continue to prematurely promote the removal of wolves from federal protection in the lower 48 states.
Defenders of Wildlife and our allies are determined to let none of this stop the protection and ultimate restoration of wolves. We have been fighting and mostly winning battles against this kind of politically inspired mindlessness for a long time, with common sense, science, public opinion and the law on our side. But our opponents are working feverishly to change the one factor over which they have leverage—the law. Their champion, Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), is leading the effort to eviscerate our most crucial wildlife law, the Endangered Species Act. We, however, are determined that he will not succeed.
It isn’t hard to guess what most motivates these erroneously described public servants: It is probably nothing other than their desire to satisfy the special interests whose support and money fuel their political careers. They may try to hide their motivations behind rhetoric claiming fidelity to a superior, pro-business political ideology, but it's almost always unadulterated self-interest and money. The many current Washington corruption stories underscore the point.
We will survive the anti-conservation efforts of the Bush administration, of Richard Pombo and his allies like the disgraced Tom DeLay who gave him his chairmanship, and of sadly misguided officials in Idaho, Wyoming and Alaska. We will move on and eventually secure the future for the wolf and for all our imperiled wildlife, protected by a conservation ethic that is in keeping with our—and most importantly—our progenies' needs.
To paraphrase Thomas Paine: These are times that truly try conservationists' souls, but we know the value not only of our ultimate goal but of the steps toward it that we have made. We will not now allow ourselves or our cause to be pushed backward.
