For over fifty years, the gray wolf has been shot, poisoned, burned, and otherwise slaughtered in and around Yellowstone National Park, located primarily in northwest Wyoming. Wolves, in general, have been thought of as villains and the killers of small animals. In the literature (stories like "Red Riding Hood"), they are often the "bad animal." This might contribute to the public's concern over having wolves around. Another concern is that wolves sometimes kill farm animals because they are easy food for them.

As we now know, however, wolves have an important role in ecosystems. Rangers in Yellowstone Park, working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, had a plan back in 1995 to reintroduce wolves into the park. Nine gray wolves were to be captured in Canada and brought to Yellowstone. The plan was studied extensively: 150 public hearing were held, $12 million was spent in conducting and examining scientific studies, 100,000 public comments were read.

It has always been the policy at Yellowstone to keep hands off. Ten years ago, when a giant fire threatened the park, the rangers argued not to put the fire out. Fires are a part of nature's way to force regrowth in an area. In prairies, for example, every year fires clean away old growth to allow new shoots to grow. In early America, such fires spread over hundreds of acres. During the large Yellowstone fire, rangers wouldn't allow firefighters to put out the fire until it appeared to be out of control.

When the rangers announced the plan to reintroduce wolves into the park, many argued that this was against the rangers' general hands-off policy. Nor could the rangers say that the wolves were being reintroduced because they were disappearing elsewhere. They weren't. The release was essentially symbolic -- the wolf was the only animal native to the area that was missing in Yellowstone. Ranchers and many other residents of the area felt unsafe with the wolves back in the area.

1. Should the wolves be released?
2. Are the park rangers right in their hands-off policy for the park?
3. The idea of setting aside areas of our country to remain in their natural condition is lovely, but should we then allow people to visit these areas? Doesn't this ruin the areas?
4. As part of the agreement about the wolves, residents of the area would be allowed to shoot any wolf they caught killing livestock or coming onto their property. Do you think this is right?
5. Is it possible that the concept of the "big, bad wolf," portrayed in children's books and cartoons, has contributed to our killing of wolves in the wild? Why or why not?
6. In Peter Benchley's book Jaws, the shark is portrayed in a similar way, as a villain. After the release of the film Jaws, there was a large increase in people chartering boats to catch and kill sharks. Can one book or film have a dangerous impact?