It is disappointing that the CEO of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (

Perhaps he doesn’t realize that elk and wolves evolved together for millenia. That the very majesty and athleticism of elk are due to the pressure of predation and resultant selection of faster, stronger, smarter animals.

He is quite right that experts debate and disagree on the theories of how the return of large predators like the wolf impact the whole ecosystem. But there is general consensus that these animals benefit the ecosystem and should be there.

As Chronic Wasting Disease creeps ever closer to our beloved elk herds, he ignores the most likely ally: the wolf who can likely detect and remove infected elk far sooner that we can. Finally, let’s understand that we manage elk and wolves and other populations of wild animals not because they need that, but because we do.

We need to be managed, so we manage everything else.

Let’s humbly remember that we humans are the ones precipitating mass extinction (nearly including the elk in the 1800’s), and that without us, nature manages just fine.

Chris Albert

Lebanon Junction, Ky.