Arizona Daily Sun Letter to the Editor (original) Posted: February 7, 2013 by Kathy Cheatham
To the editor:
My letter is in response to the Daily Sun's article on opening up an elk season at the top of the San Francisco Peaks this fall because the elk are destroying the aspen groves. To me, this sounds like a "lack of predator" problem. Man can't beat Mother Nature at her own job and the more we try, the more we mess it up.
The Grand Canyon area historically was Mexican wolf territory and this is why they should be allowed to re-establish themselves in other areas of Arizona and New Mexico that have suitable wolf habitat.
The Grand Canyon area is also having an elk problem and what would be better than the return of wolves there? This would also help the condor population, which has suffered severe losses this hunting season due to hunters not being willing to use copper shot instead of lead. If wolves were taking down prey, there would be ample food for condors. It would be a win-win-win for three species immediately and a positive trickle-down effect for many plants and animals for the future.
We have dozens of Mexican wolves ready for release that have had "taste aversion training" to stay away from beef. We need to release them for the genetic diversity this species of animals needs to be able to recover, and releasing them in areas where elk are out of control would be a great event.
KATHY CHEATHAM
Laveen
