First, I’d like to thank everyone who stopped by to comment on last week’s wolf question. Today I have another. I’m hoping you can help me out with something. I wouldn’t exactly call this crowdsourcing, since so far the crowds visiting here are relatively small. But here’s the thing: I have a few ideas for wolf stories I’d like to tell, and yet I have a feeling there are more out there that I’m missing. These might be stories worthy of a blog post, a magazine article, or even a whole book. I’m just not sure what they are.
Over the past decade there’s been a constant legal battle over the delisting of Midwestern wolves. During that time they’ve been delisted, relisted, delisted, relisted, and now probably delisted for good. Boring, or not? Ancient history, or not?
Wolf advocates and animal rights activists have fought hard to prevent these wolves from being delisted. Next, they may fight to prevent them from being hunted. Interesting people you’d like to meet (at least vicariously), or not?
In only a matter of months, on the other hand, it could quite literally be open season on
Midwestern wolves. Want to learn more about how all that will work? Or should I just wait and let you know when tags go on sale down at the hardware store? Or if you’re not into wolf hunting, should I just let you know when might be a good Saturday morning to not walk your German Shepherd down any back roads while wearing that favorite fur hat of yours?
These are only three of the most obvious stories. But are there bigger wolf stories out there that no one’s noticed yet? Or bigger stories coming next year, stories about topics most of us haven’t yet anticipated? Any Western history likely to repeat itself here in the Midwest?
I live in wolf country. If I were about to go poking around in the woods down the road from here—or more frighteningly, in certain office buildings down in Saint Paul, Madison, or Lansing—in search of new stories, then what would they be? What wolf stories would you like to hear? If you have ideas, you can either comment here or go to the menu bar and click on Contact to shoot me an e-mail.
By the way… The images I’ve used to illustrate this post are not from stories I plan to research further. Other than that, I’m open to suggestion.
© 2012 Al Cambronne
I think today’s most interesting story that isn’t being covered is the federal governments new intent to delist across the entire lower 48. http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/five_year_review/doc3978.%20lupus%205-YR%20review%20PDF.pdf
Seems to have not rated a mention across the blogosphere. I think it’s old news to most and many mourn the passing of such a great cash cow. Probably the less mention the better for donations.
Stories I’d like to read.. Interview with fish and game officers involved in the process and their opinion on numbers, affect on hunter opportunity, etc.
Hard for me to say what would interest me to read about the midwest. I guess mostly I’d like to know more about the biology. I suspect things are much different from the west. Different prey. I’ve heard wolves like bigger animals than deer. Whitetail are survivors.
Maybe some sort of story about those cheese curd things, are they from Wisconsin?
Minnesota has no season yet, lots of Hmong hunters, wonder what the older Hmong think of all this.
Thanks Somsai! Definitely some ideas worth pursuing…..