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The Myth of Scientific Wildlife Management: How Predators Are Mismanaged to Death
There doesn't seem to be a wildlife or public lands sort of forum and this is less about science than it is about wildlife and public lands so I'm posting this here.The Myth of Scientific Wildlife Management: How Predators Are Mismanaged to Death
https://www.thewildlifenews.com/2026/04/23/the-myth-of-scientific-wildlife-management-how-predators-are-mismanaged-to-death/
(long article, much more at link)
by David Stalling – From the Wild Side April 23, 2026
The way wolves are being managed in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho isn’t just controversial — it’s a case study in how politics can overwhelm science when it’s inconvenient.
Grizzly bears are next.
What’s happening to these animals is often framed as “management,” but that word loses its meaning when the underlying decisions are driven less by ecological evidence and more by pressure from entrenched hunting and agricultural interests and outdated narratives.
Grizzly bears are next.
What’s happening to these animals is often framed as “management,” but that word loses its meaning when the underlying decisions are driven less by ecological evidence and more by pressure from entrenched hunting and agricultural interests and outdated narratives.
--- Big leap edit ---
And once again, it will be framed as science. It’s not.
But science doesn’t support dismantling complex predator societies in ways that destabilize ecosystems. Science doesn’t support ignoring the cascading effects of removing apex predators. Science doesn’t support policies rooted in mythologies that date back centuries.
What’s at stake here is bigger than wolves or even grizzlies. It’s about whether wildlife policy is going to be guided by evidence and ecological understanding, or by fear, tradition, and political convenience. It’s about whether public lands and the animals on them are truly managed for the public good, or for a narrow set of interests.
But science doesn’t support dismantling complex predator societies in ways that destabilize ecosystems. Science doesn’t support ignoring the cascading effects of removing apex predators. Science doesn’t support policies rooted in mythologies that date back centuries.
What’s at stake here is bigger than wolves or even grizzlies. It’s about whether wildlife policy is going to be guided by evidence and ecological understanding, or by fear, tradition, and political convenience. It’s about whether public lands and the animals on them are truly managed for the public good, or for a narrow set of interests.
---Not the end of article---
https://www.thewildlifenews.com/2026/04/23/the-myth-of-scientific-wildlife-management-how-predators-are-mismanaged-to-death/
(This is a long but well written article that describes, in detail, what has been going on for the last 30+ years and what's coming and why it matters. The whole way of thinking about this has been loosely correct, at best, but managed for the sentiment of myth and uninformed traditions rather than what is truly best for the species under protections. - 2na)
15 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
I drove through a protected area every day on my way to and from work and there was at least one that lived there and would sit at the edge of the forest. I would always drive through the area slowly and watch in the evening for a glimpse. Magnificent creatures! They're incredibly beautiful.
Too but this seems to not really fit in that category. Maybe we can petition for a new category since this is somewhat exclusive of the E&E forum.
I'm glad that people are looking at it.
