People representing several groups staged a protest against the proposal to return wolves here.
Troy Mader, spokesman for the Abundant Wildlife Society of Gillette and the demonstration's organizer, on Friday said the purpose of the protest at Mammoth Hot Springs was to show the real impacts of the federal proposal to return wolves to Yellowstone.Protesters carried signs that said "Wolf Recovery - Millions of Wasted Taxpayer Dollars" and "Wolves - Packs of Problems."
"Our purpose here today is to make people aware that wolves will cause severe impacts on recreation, multiple use, hunting around Yellowstone, on livestock and on children's pets," Mader said. "Wolves are not warm, cuddly animals; they're efficient predators."
The Abundant Wildlife Society is seeking a permit from the National Park Service to distribute information in opposition to releasing wolves in Yellowstone, Mader said.
The groups represented at the protest included Montana Wool Growers, Montana Women in Timber, the No Wolf Option Committee, Idaho State Rifle and Pistol Association Inc., the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation, the Gallatin Valley Snowmobile Association and the Wind River Multiple Use Advocates Chapter.
Mader said the groups wanted to tell visitors to Yellowstone that they will be negatively affected if wolves are released in the park.
"Few people realize that if wolves are brought back, there will be fewer wild animals to see in Yellowstone," he said. "First, you won't see wolves as they are shy, elusive and nocturnal by nature."
And the predator's need for food means the wolves will kill several animals in the park, Mader said.
"If people were told the truth about wolves, they wouldn't be in favor of bringing them back," he added.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in cooperation with the Park Service and the Forest Service, has started work on an environmental impact statement on returning the wolf to Yellowstone.
The predator once roamed through much of the country, but a federally encouraged extermination program from 1860 to the early 1900s nearly wiped out the animals, which are on the endangered species list. Wolves haven't been sighted in Yellowstone in decades and are considered by some to be the missing link in the 2.2-million-acre park's ecosystem.