LETTER: Consider the facts before condemning the wolves

With all due respect to Kelly Baracker (“About that moose decline, what about wolves?”), many of us seek to navigate the contentious ground that is wolf stewardship by relying on actual facts and science, not just the opinion of one group.

Despite “what everyone would tell you,” predation by wolves is only one factor in moose survival. Thankfully Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is in the midst of a 10-year study on moose hoping to obtain actual data to either corroborate or dispel anecdotal information.

Sometimes our most cherished beliefs are just plain wrong. It will be good to see the data.

Moose numbers are also decreasing in places like Maine where there are no wolves.

As for the elk and deer, if they are “severely and obviously suffering as a result of wolf predation,” why does Montana report more elk than ever, necessitating a “shoulder season”?

One of the things I always ponder is that before white men came to this land, when Lewis and Clark passed through, there were teeming herds of game and uncontrolled, unmanaged predators. Some say up to 2 million wolves. The wolves didn’t kill off the prey then, why do people think they would now? —Chris Albert, Lebanon Junction, Kentucky