Don't wolves harm living things?

Did anyone else see the irony in this week’s news about Earth First! putting out a manual on how to disrupt wolf hunts and sabotage wolf traps?

A spokesman for the so-called Redneck Wolf Lovin’ Brigade was quoted as saying the manual “is only about protecting life, not killing it. We’re completely against the harming of living things.”

We wonder how they square that attitude with the fact that wolves indeed are known for killing living things.  

And if any of the Earth First! tactics do manage to spare wolves, doesn’t that mean more wolves in the woods preying on the environmentalists’ precious living creatures?

That’s how wolves survive. We doubt Earth First! is only going to save vegan wolves.

Debt of gratitude

We owe a debt of gratitude to the World War II Navy “Seabees” who performed some 4,000 salvage dives during the war, many times encountering some pretty grim circumstances underwater. One of those remaining salvage divers, Ken Hartle, spent his 100th birthday in the Flathead last week with family members who live here.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hartle was among those who dove to retrieve bombs and torpedoes that hadn’t detonated. It was mighty dangerous work.

On Independence Day this year, volunteers with the Quilts of Valor Foundation honored Hartle with a special ceremony and gave him a quilt for his service to his country. We extend a sincere thank-you to Hartle and all of the veterans who have put themselves in harm’s way for their country.

North shore preservation

If there’s anywhere around the Flathead where conservation efforts are entirely warranted, it would be the north shore of Flathead Lake, where Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is pursuing the acquisition of 189 acres of farmland.

It has been well-documented how the Flathead River is not confined to its banks. There is a connected groundwater system that flows south into the lake and the north shore is essentially an expansive filter protecting the lake’s water quality.

Protecting that filter from development while maintaining wildlife habitat and public access are what this and other north-shore conservation efforts have been aimed at. In this case, the state would purchase the property and put it under a conservation easement that would keep the land in farming.

There is plenty of development all around the lake. The north shore is special just because it remains mostly undeveloped.

Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.