One of the most well-known ecological experiments is the reintroduction of wolves into the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in 1995, which was surrounded by immense controversy by local hunters. As an undergrad student studying ecology, I am well versed in the importance of predators and the role that they play in trophic cascades and food webs. An apex predator like a wolf helps keep their prey species, elk, from overgrazing important vegetation. A hunter in Wyoming may not think the way that I do, for a hunter the wolves act as another source of competition.  

I did not grow up surrounded by hunters, or a culture that greatly emphasizes the importance of hunting for necessity or sport. In fact, I have often found myself questioning the reason why so many people in urban areas romanticize the sport of hunting and have previously thought of hunting as taking unnecessarily from land. So to me, the introduction of wolves helped to reinstate the natural checks and balances found before human intervention.  

After spending a little over a week here, I have been able to hold conversations with ranch owners and hunters. Several of which willingly offered their perspective on the reintroduction of wolves, and to put it quite frankly, they are not fans. According to them, they hardly see any elk out here anymore, how are they supposed to hunt? These stories of a drastically different perspective has helped me understand the different culture I find myself in, and as an environmentalist it is important to understand all aspects of an ecosystem and find ways to convey the importance of necessary change to further conservation efforts. Even if those efforts were originally shrouded in controversy and backlash.  

Pictured above: My classmates and I meeting with Yellowstone Wolf Biologist Kira Cassidy