Pros And Cons Of Reintroducing The Elk Population At Yellowstone

Reintroducing any species into the environment is very risky. You have to make sure you considered every possible outcome. The species could wreak havoc on the whole ecosystem, so its no wonder why when Yellowstone decided to reintroduce wolves into the area, it was met with criticism. Even till this very day, it is still a controversial issue. However, when taking in consideration of all the factors it turns out that idea to reintroduce the wolves into the area was actually a good idea. To prove this point I will examine the history of the park and look at the pros and cons of this issue. As well as taking into consideration the philosophical viewpoints of both the utilitarian perspective and Land Ethic perspective.
First, it is important

For one, wolves helped with overpopulation of Elk. In addition the Elk population, there is a strong correlation between wolves and the increase of trees in the area which a big deal for the local area. As a matter of fact, in 1995 the Elk population at Yellowstone was around 18,000, this is according to the PBS article, Did wolves help restore trees to Yellowstone? Now the Elk population is 4,500, which is a manageable number. The overpopulation of Elk led to the destruction of habitats and overgrazing. The Elk in the area would eat branches off the Aspen trees in the Park. Now, what lead the Elk to eat the branches of the trees is that snow covered the grass, so they resorted to eating the branches of the Aspen trees. (Tobin). This led to the destruction of the Aspen trees and other animals were affected by this. In fact, birds and beaver populations declined because of the eating of branches in Yellowstone, (Tobin). Since the wolves have been reintroduced to Yellowstone the Aspen trees started flourish because of the fact that wolves hunt elk as their prey. The reintroduction of the wolves at Yellowstone also helped with other animals in the park. All of the bears including Grizzly bears, black bears, birds, and coyotes eat off the carcasses that the wolves leave behind, (Tobin). Next, we to understand the issues with the reintroduction of wolves into

The utilitarian theory states that “… directs us to maximize the overall good or to produce the greatest good for the greatest number”, (Desjardins, 33). The wolves are doing that for all who live in, around and visits the park. Wolf numbers have helped with the re-growth of vegetation, this in turns helps the other animals in the park. Beavers and other animals that depend on trees for shelters now have that back. This also gives humans a chance to see the beautiful aspen trees that grow in the park and all the animals that live in them. The trees have instrumental value because they provide shelter for the animals and also provide humans pleasure and happiness because of their beauty. In turn, wolf attacks have not happened at Yellowstone, (Evan). As well as Wolves are even helping farmers keeping their cattle safe, “Unfortunately, the ranching community does not recognize that the wolves may be doing them a huge favor by removing sick elk and mule deer infected with CWD..” In fact according to the journal Yellowstone Wolves and the Forces That Structure Natural Systems, By Andy P. Dobson. The discussion of the overall good wolves in Yellowstone leads me to my next topic, The Land