A recent correspondent on this page has it wrong when he says, “Ranchers and rural communities are living with the reality of this reintroduction” concerning the presence of wolves in Washington state.

There has never been a reintroduction of wolves into the state; all wolves now present resulted from natural movement from neighboring areas where wolves already existed. If he has got this simple fact wrong, what confidence can a reader have in any of the other information he presents?

He fails to substantiate his assertions concerning lower pregnancy rates due to wolves and seems to rely on the non-scientific thinking, “Well the only difference is that wolves are here now,” which doesn’t consider, among other possibilities, the effects of climate change (i.e. drier summers that produce less forage that may impact whether a cow can conceive). If he has science to back him up regarding wolf-induced lower pregnancy rates in Washington, I welcome it.

While I acknowledge that cattle-raising can be economically challenging, laying the blame on the wolf is crying wolf. There are several environmental organizations that pay for the costs of what he terms “ineffective lethal deterrents.” These tools, while not 100% effective, are far more affordable than having the state spend thousands upon thousands of dollars trying to kill wolves from helicopters. Some of the increased cost to the rancher is offset right off the top by the incredibly below-market grazing fees charged by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management — subsidies paid by the taxpayers so that private citizens/businessmen have the privilege (not the right) to graze their livestock and profit off of public lands.

Again, the assertion of “Economic losses stemming from decreased hunting and game-viewing opportunities is reducing sporting goods sales, hunting, hotel and restaurant profits,” is unproven for Washington. Northeastern Washington is no Yellowstone, but wolves could contribute to local communities by providing “game-viewing opportunities.”

Jim Holyan

Enumclaw, Wash.