As a business owner, I support the recovery of wolves, specifically in the Grand Canyon region in northern Arizona and southern Utah. I view the recovery of the Mexican wolf in the Grand Canyon ecoregion as a positive for our region. My business will benefit from the increased tourism that can be expected based on the experience of the recovery of the gray wolf in the Yellowstone region, where wolf-tourism has brought
$82 million a year into the region.
Here in Arizona, the presence of wolves in the remote Blue Range Wolf Recovery area has brought in between
$3.2 and $3.8 million annually in net benefits. We can look forward to similar effects in our region, perhaps on the scale of those experienced in the Yellowstone region given the presence of Grand Canyon National Park and the tourism infrastructure that already exists here.
In addition, our region can
benefit from the ecological effects that wolves as top carnivore can exert on ecosystems as documented in the Yellowstone region. Biodiversity among plants and animals increased as wolves affected the movements of deer and elk in the region. No longer are these animals over-browsing some areas, causing erosion along waterways, and inhibiting new growth of plants that provide shelter, nesting material, shade to streams, and food for other species. Healthy forests with high biodiversity will be important as we continue to experience the effects of a warming planet, and also will provide improved opportunities for recreational activities such as bird-watching, hiking, camping, and wildlife viewing.
Therefore, I urge the USFWS to stick to the principle of basing recovery goals for the Mexican wolf on peer-reviewed science and to resist the efforts of narrow political interests that undermine this recovery.
I am with the 81% of Arizona voters who support the return of the Mexican wolf to the Grand Canyon region and who look forward to the benefits, both ecological and economic, which will accompany this return.
