The howling in Arizona

The howling in Arizona

Arizona Republic: In a wintry forest in eastern Arizona, wolf howls cut the cushiony silence of falling snow. It is eloquent testimony to the success of the Mexican-gray-wolf reintroduction effort.

Yes. We said success.

We say this as the program continues to be tarred by both supporters and critics. Mexican gray wolves were reintroduced more than a decade ago from a remnant population of captive animals. They learned to live, hunt and reproduce in the wild.

Ranchers who lease grazing rights on public land say the wolves threaten their livelihood. Environmentalists say the reintroduction effort was designed more to placate public-land ranchers than to serve wolf recovery.

Wolf numbers support the argument of environmentalists. The current population is about 52 animals; wildlife biologists expected twice that many by now.

The paltry population is largely the result of a long-controversial policy that doomed a wolf after his or her third confirmed livestock kill.

The three-strikes policy was ended as part of a settlement of a lawsuit by a coalition of environmental groups. In addition, the settlement makes it clear that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has the final authority over wolf recovery, not a committee of agencies that was formed after the reintroduction effort began.

This is not a local issue. The preservation of species diversity is a national goal reflected in the federal Endangered Species Act. It has significance well beyond the perceived or real inconveniences wolves cause public-land ranchers.