In Yellowstone Park, [which touches Wyoming, Montana and Idaho] in the United States, people thought wolves were bad because they ate the elk and moose.
People shot the wolves until there were none left. Once the wolves were gone, changes began to happen.
The willows and aspens began to die, birds began to leave, and beavers found new places to live. How could a wolf be connected to this?
When the wolves were gone, moose and elk became less cautious. They ate the willows and aspens.
They ate and ate. They even ate the new sprouts. That meant they did not have food for the next year.
People realized wolves were important to the park because they made the elk and moose wary. Then they didn't eat the willows and aspens as much, so they had food for next year.
The birds needed the willows to make their nests. Wolves need to live so other animals can.
When I found out about [our provincial] government's new law about being able to shoot wolves, I felt sad.
If people can shoot all the wolves, beavers and birds will leave. The moose and elk will die.
If people can shoot mother wolves when they have babies, the babies will die, and we will have changes like they had in Yellowstone Park.
Please think of the lives of lots of animals. We need the wolves.
My family has a farm and we don't want our animals to be killed, but we don't want to shoot all the wolves. It's the wrong thing to do.
The better thing to do is to try to protect our animals by other ways.
In stories and movies, wolves are often the bad thing, but they're really not.
Violet Stock
10 years old
Forest Grove