Waiting for Wolves

For some reason we all hate the wolf. As a country, we systematically eliminated them from the continent out of (largely) unfounded fear, and forged the wolf into a perfect embodiment of the perils of wilderness. Accused of killing cattle and terrorizing the western plains, not even the protection of the National Park system could defend the wolf from hunters at the turn of the 20^th century, as they were eliminated everywhere from Yellowstone to the Adirondacks. While they have since been re-introduced to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (and with great effect) their absence within the Blue Line remains unchanged for over 100 years. Perhaps it’s the relatively large population within the wilderness that has deterred lawmakers, but more likely it is the taboo surrounding the apex hunter is at the core of the issue. The owners of the wildlife refuge maintained that wolves, while carnivores maintain that wolves are incredibly timid by nature and flee human presence when given the opportunity. Wolves control many of the herbivores that currently overpopulate the regrowth of the Adirondacks. Beavers, for example, currently have no natural predator. Protected by their sturdy dams, beavers alter river systems with an effect outmatched only by humans and without wolves, currently disrupt many of the cool water mountain streams. Similarly, deer consume saplings across the park, preventing the regrowth of boreal forest, the crux of the Adirondack wilderness. But somehow the wolf remains banished, and political tensions begin to infiltrate the issue. The owner of the Wildlife Refuge (presumably very liberal) bemoaned the republican opposition to wildlife protection, not in the local government, but in Washington, far from the landscapes which co miss their lost monarch.