Introduction
The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood are classic children's fairy
tales, but the tale of the Rocky Mountain Gray Wolf is real. Wolves are
predators, and in 1914, the United States Congress huffed and puffed and
approved the funding to destroy the wolves. Government bounty hunters helped
ranchers protect their livestock by killing the wolves. Sixty years later
the Gray Wolf was listed as endangered. In 1973, Congress enacted the
Endangered Species Act, and the Wolf Recovery Program was started to
reintroduce the Gray Wolf to its natural habitat. Currently about 160
wolves have been reintroduced to central Idaho and Yellowstone National
Park. But this story does not have a fairy tale ending. Fearing for their
livestock, the ranchers filed a lawsuit, and in December 1997, U.S. District
Judge William Downes ruled that all the wolves and their offspring must be
removed.
Performance Task
Your task will be to analyze the Rocky Mountain Gray Wolf problem, and draw
your own conclusion to the following question.
Should the wolves in Yellowstone National Park be removed?
Remember that there is no right or wrong answer. The Gray Wolf issue is
complex. You will be assessed on how you support your conclusion and
communicate effectively. Government, environmental, and agricultural leaders
can't seem to solve the issue. Maybe they need to see it through the eyes of
a student.
The Process
You will be working together in a small group of 3 to 6 students. As an
individual member of your group, you will be called on to explore several Web
pages. You will be the expert, and your group will be counting on you to
provide a clear explanation of your portion of the information. As a group,
your job will be to:
Step 1 - Investigate Wolf Behavior
Assign each group member one of the Web pages below. It's ok if more than
one student reads an article. After exploring the Web pages individually,
get back together in your group and answer the questions below.
1. Describe each type of howl.
2. Identify two ways that humans communicate with their pack.
3. How do wolves help the environment?
4. Why is it important that the wolves be reintroduced to Yellowstone
National Park?
5. Explain why wolves are considered predators.
6. Why do wolves kill sheep and other livestock?
7. How is family life for a wolf similar to that of a human?
8. Craft one additional question for each article, and answer it. Please
avoid yes or no type questions.
What's in a howl?
Wolves' return to Yellowstone sparks controversy
What Good is The Wolf?
Step 2 - Yellowstone Reintroduction Background Information
Assign each group member one of the articles below. It's ok if
more than one student reads an article. While you are exploring
the Web page, answer the following questions. Concentrate on not
reaching any conclusion about the wolf reintroduction program.
Just the facts!
1. What is the Wolf Reintroduction Program trying to accomplish?
2. Who are the organizations (people) involved in reintroducing
the wolves?
3. Where, when, and how were the wolves reintroduced in
Yellowstone?
4. Why are many of the local ranchers opposed to the wolves being
reintroduced?
5. Craft one additional question for each article, and answer it.
Please avoid yes or no type questions.
Expert Interview By Wolf People
Farm Bureau pleased that wolf de-listing can proceed
Bring Wolves Home
Analysis of Farm Bureau Victory
Step 3 - What Seems to be the Problem?
Identifying the problem is frequently the most difficult part of
a good solution. Instead of identifying the true problem, people
tend to focus on obstacles to the problem. This is because
people have deep feelings about their side of the issue. Here
are two editorials appearing on the same day in The Post Register
Online.
Your group needs to review both articles, and for each article,
write a single sentence that identifies what the author believes
is the real issue behind the wolf reintroduction program.
Remember that you are reading articles written by real people
with a passion for their side of the issue, so you may need to
get help from your teacher or parent to pull out the information.
You Really Don't Understand the News
Send The Wolves Back
Other Resources
Here are some other resources that you can't find on the internet.