When needed. There's a danger of having large carnivores become iconic species and where public pressure would have us manage for large predators and not for all wildlife. Wildlife management conservation has to be balanced. We have to consider all the different factors.
As much as we would like to think that we will some day have this natural ecosystem where we're not interfering, it's never going to happen in the world again. There's too much commercialization. There's too much development. There's too much interference. I think we need to be prepared, as the governments have done with the woodland caribou populations, to do what needs to be done to keep all species. We cannot manage wildlife for one iconic species, for wolves, grizzly bears, or cougars. We have to look at a balanced approach. We have to manage for all wildlife.
A good friend from South Africa, named Ron Thomson, worked in the park system in Zimbabwe for for years. He said wildlife management has to start at the soil. If we don't protect the soil, we won't have the plants, and if we don't have the plants, we can't have the animals. We can't start at the top and manage wildlife for wolves and bears. We have to start by protecting the land and protecting everything down the chain.
