Letters to the Editor: The southern Sierra have a new wolfpack. Why ranchers shouldn’t worry

To the editor: I celebrate that the southern Sierra Nevada have finally felt a wolf’s paw. (“After more than 100 years, gray wolves reappear in Giant Sequoia National Monument,” Aug. 30)

It’s been clear for generations that many people (including some ranchers) feel that wolves should not be much more than target practice. Livestock depredation by wolves, however, is vanishingly small.

In 2015, about 1,900 wolves shared the Rocky Mountain West with 1.6 million cattle. Wolves managed to kill 148 cattle, or 0.01% of the livestock, and the states compensated the ranchers.

Wolves are vital to a thriving ecosystem. The disappearance of keystone species like top-predator wolves can create a tragic domino effect because wolves play an important role in keeping other wild animals and vegetation in check and in balance.

Linda Nicholes, Huntington Beach

..

To the editor: What a crown jewel for California that we once again have wild wolves roaming amid the giant sequoias.

As a 70-something male who maintains a triathlete workout regimen and who has not eaten red meat in 18 years, I say lose the cows and keep the wolves. Cows are bad for the planet and the human body.

Read about the “blue zones” of the world, where people live the longest, healthiest lives. You’ll find that beef is not on the menu.

Chuck Heinz, West Hills

..

To the editor: Back in 1940, when I was a kid in the Sierra Nevada town of Big Creek, northeast of Fresno, several of us had trapping lines for raccoon, skunk, coyote, bobcat and other animals. We would sell the fur to Sears and Roebuck.

My brother and I trapped two wolves, and when I retell the story, I’m told that wolves did not come that far south.

Your article on the wolfpack discovered in the southern Sierra confirms my story.

Raymond Holm, Thousand Oaks