Wolfish appetite for cash

It is truly disheartening to see local educators indoctrinating today's youth with one-sided presentations. I commend educator Justin Taylor for getting his students to research, debate and rebut such a controversial subject as wolf hunting as it is here in Idaho. But ...

You allowed your charges to be greatly influenced to one side of the argument by not allowing a counter presentation, opposite of the view Wolf People and Nancy Taylor have. For example, Mr. Taylor should have had IFG show his class a full-grown Canadian Gray, such as we have running around here locally, rather than the cute, cuddly, face licking Arctic Wolf pup. Did either of the Taylors explain to the young minds seated in front of them that this wolf on the leash is not even a threatened species, when they reproduce they typically have half as many pups as our local population and that they rarely grow to the same size as our neighbor in the woods? I doubt it.

Mr. Taylor should have allowed his kids to hear from a local rancher or anyone who has lost livestock to our local predator because it is very clear in the article that Mrs. Taylor does not believe nor trust IFG to present any "facts." Mr. Taylor, I have a contact down in the Grangeville area that could tell your charges of the lone wolf that killed three of his bear dogs and seriously wounded a fourth. All in one visit.

I'm sure I could find someone who has horses that would love to share their story of a pack attacking one of her foals, bringing it down and then tearing into its belly and all the while listening to the foal bawl and scream for close to 20 minutes before death. Might even have some video for the children to watch as Bambi is taken down in the same manner.

Do you think that side of the argument would sway those little minds counter to Mrs. Taylor's presentation of the cute, cuddly, face-licking non-native pup she had brought along for the visit? You allowed Nancy Taylor to speak the "real truth" regarding wolf population. Where did she get her facts? From the non-scientific Defenders of Wildlife who sit in an office and collect contribution checks or was it some source from within IFG who didn't want to be named? Either way I would believe the source that has the most hours tromping through the state and flying overhead doing the research.

Did you show your students the original wolf introduction agreement from 1995 that required 120 breeding pairs of non-native wolf take hold before the USFG could consider de-listing their experiment? Did you show your students where the animal activists agreed to this number when de-listing could occur? And did you share with them that when that number was reached, animal activists such as Mrs. Taylor went back on their word and said 120 is not enough and has tied the whole situation up in court for the last 10 years? Please tell me that at least one of your students discovered the "fact" that Idaho has a native wolf population that was protected long before the introduction of a non-native species.

There was a man who lived in Germany during the early 1900s who knew full well the advantage he would have if he could indoctrinate an entire generation of youth. A subspecies even exists here in North Idaho.

I'm quite sure at least one of your students presented the fact that ranchers and folks who lose livestock can be compensated through a fund set up by the Defenders of Wildlife. And I'm sure they discovered during hours of exhaustive research that it is nearly impossible to confirm a wolf kill and meet the guidelines they set up in order to get reimbursed.

And finally ... Hank Fischer, Representative for Defenders of Wildlife, stated: "The purpose of a compensation program isn't to make ranchers happy or gain their support ... The purpose of the program is to develop enough of a political and economic comfort level with the public so as to allow wolf recovery to proceed unimpeded."

It has worked very well for them. After all, it's not about wolf recovery, it's about the money.

Duane Martin is a Post Falls resident.