Editor,
I’m David J. Forjan, and I aim to save Wolves.
This letter is entitled, "Wolves and You," because as you’ll see, the persecution of wolves is the same kind of persecution that most of you will have to confront.
But first, I’ll share this quote, because you all should never forget that your natural idealism should be preserved at all costs.
It’s a quote from Matthew Norman, who said:
“The young are generally dismissed as unserious, of course — but nothing could be more wrong. They see things with a crystal clarity — which becomes obscured as the passing of the years makes hypocrites of us by tempting us to make accommodations with our principles. What the middle-aged smugly know as naive idealism is the recognition of simple truth.”
That’s so true — and don’t ever forget it.
Now I present you another quote; remember this thought throughout this letter; it’s the root cause of the persecution that Mexican Gray Wolves face, and you all as well.
“If you have men…who will exclude any of God's creatures…from the shelter of compassion and pity…you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”
That quote if from St. Francis of Assisi, renowned 800 years now for his passion for helping animals. And that same sentiment has been spoken in similar words by many other admirable and intelligent people, like Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, Pope Francis, Leonardo Da Vinci, St. Francis de Paula, Milan Kundera, Jimmy Stewart, Immanuel Kant, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Leo Tolstoy, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Arthur Schopenhauer, Paul McCartney and many more.
Remember that thought, because that explains how the persecution of wolves affects all of you. I’ll get into that soon, but first the setting.
Now if times were good for Mexican Gray Wolves, I’d gladly be talking only about all the good things about their lives. How beautiful they are, how athletic and smart. I’d be bragging for them about their superb teamwork, their commitment to each other and their dedication to their family, which is unsurpassed in the animal kingdom and much more so than us humans, sadly.
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But folks, times ain’t good for wolves, especially Mexican Gray Wolves.
And so while we celebrate your mascot, the Mexican Gray Wolves, we don’t want your mascot to simply be a memorial to them — we have to address this persecution of these magnificent wolves. They need us humans to save them. There’s only about 100 left in the wild here in America. And 100 of anything ain’t much.
Ask yourselves, do you want a mascot that’s extinct?
Wolves are persecuted everywhere. I’ve seen photos of piles of dead wolves. I’ve seen photos of piles of their skins and fur. And I’ve seen photos of Wolf heads on tables. Can you imagine? Just wolf heads, lined up on tables.
This persecution of wolves shows no regard for beauty or for life itself. No regard for their beauty or life. Persecuted everywhere. It’s horrible, it’s unjust, it’s unconscionable and it’s also quite stupid from a biological standpoint. And it's blasphemy as I’ll explain below.
Now, a little about history and the persecution by politicians and industry. For hundreds of years, just here in America, and for hundreds of years earlier in Europe, wolves were just slaughtered. Eradicated — like genocide. Trophy hunting is horrible enough, but the slaughter of wolves is driven also by hatred. Vicious hatred and ruthlessness and lies and deceit. And that persecution continues to this day.
Wherever they live — even where people are happiest like in Finland and Norway. Where people are the happiest on this planet, wolves are still being slaughtered.
And then there’s the industry influences: the ranching industry, the hunting industry, the oil and gas industry, powerful industries that exert significant control over state and federal politics, which causes this persecution to continue. They want wolves gone forever.
And here, in New Mexico, that collusion between politicians and industry is dooming Mexican Gray Wolves. All the while, 75 percent of New Mexicans want wolves on the landscape and to be allowed to thrive — 75 percent. While only one percent is all that the ranching industry adds to New Mexico revenue — one percent.
Now about it being blasphemy, bear with me here. Lest you think that blasphemy is only a spiritual concept, I offer two definitions:
Blasphemy One: Irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred, priceless, etc. — He uttered blasphemies against life itself.
Two: Impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things.
To net that out for the purposes of this article, we’ll say that blasphemy is irreverent or impious behavior, toward priceless or sacred things, like wolves. Priceless. Sacred.
Priceless means “so precious that its value cannot be determined.” Sacred means "regarded with great respect and reverence by a particular religion, group, or individual” — and in an amazing coincidence, in the dictionary I looked up, the example they gave was, “like an animal sacred to Mexican culture.” Like the Mexican Gray Wolf. For real, that’s the example they gave. Ain’t that a cool coincidence or omen if you will?
Another definition of sacred is “sacrosanct,” which is defined as: "something so important that there cannot be change or question"
And aren’t Wolves really so important to the biota that that there cannot be question? Don’t they deserve “great respect and reverence”? And aren’t they “so precious that their value cannot be determined”?
One example, a biological example, is that without wolves in the landscape, the natural biological systems fall apart, like in Yellowstone National Park.
Here’s a quote from a BBC documentary about the reintroduction of wolves back into Yellowstone:
“In 1995 wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone. This gave biologists a unique opportunity to study what happens when a top predator returns to an ecosystem. They were brought in to manage the rising elk population, which had been overgrazing much of the park. But (the wolves’) effect went far beyond that.” And indeed it did.
Aspen trees came back. And with them came beavers. And the beavers created ponds. And then fish came back, and insects, and birds, and butterflies. An abundance of wildlife, a myriad of wild creatures came back, simply because wolves were allowed back into the ecosystem. All that, just from letting wolves return. Amazing huh?
And heck, it was in 1949, almost 70 years ago, that Aldo Leopold taught us all this same thing, in the book, he wrote, “A Sand County Almanac” (which I recommend to everyone. A wonderful book).
One chapter in that book is called “Thinking like a mountain.” His point was that the mountain would say that, yes, wolves need to be on this mountain. Here’s his comment on that moment:
“We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes — something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters’ paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.”
Here’s how the Aldo Leopold Foundation explains it:
"The impact of his gunshot from a rim rock in Arizona started a shift in Aldo Leopold’s thinking, one that would lead him to the insight that culminated his life’s work: the need for an ethical relationship between people and nature."
That wolf that turned Aldo Leopold into a conservationist was a Mexican Gray Wolf. Yes, it was a Mexican Gray Wolf that turned Aldo Leopold into the man he became.
And that was in 1949. Almost seven decades have gone by since he published that insight. And as for that “hunters’ paradise,” here’s what Leopold wrote:
"In the end, the starved bones of the hoped-for deer herd, dead of its own too-much, bleach with the bones of the dead sage."
And while we do need "an ethical relationship between people and nature," the obligation to protect wolves and nature goes beyond just ethical — it truly constitutes blasphemy if we don’t.
Each wolf is priceless; their existence is sacrosanct and vital to the ecosystem.
I’ll add my personal opinion here and since I know there’s a God. I’ll put it this way:
We have an obligation, out of respect and gratitude, to protect and preserve the priceless and sacred wildlife that God bestowed upon this Earth — especially Wolves — and even more especially, Mexican Gray Wolves.
And folks, this attitude is essentially supported by 75 percent of New Mexicans, and yet Mexican Gray Wolves still struggle at the brink of extinction.
Now all this brings me to the way this relates to you all.
Remember St. Francis of Assisi’s 800-year-old insight which shows that the persecution of wolves — in this case — is exactly how us humans get persecuted. By the collusion of power between politicians and industries.
And this subverts democracy.
And sooner or later, folks, this subversion of democracy will negatively affect you, your family, your friends and your community. For sure. It already has, if you think about it.
It has negatively affected Mexican Gray Wolves too, to the point of being on the brink of extinction. Remember 75 percent of U.S. citizens want wolves to thrive in our state vs. the one percent ranching community.
And so this is the advice to you all: You have to learn how to subdue the powerful collusion forces when they subvert democracy. You have to learn how to impose democracy when it's being subverted, for the sake of you and your family and friends and community — and Mexican Gray Wolves.
Learn to subdue those forces, folks. And get good at it. Learn how to do it — and get good at it, folks.
Band together like a good wolf pack. Stand up and speak up like a pack of howling wolves to protect your territory and your home. Defend yourselves and your pack fiercely from outside invaders who will try to harm your way of life — the actual methods to learn is a whole other article.
And as a start to learning this skill, I ask you to do so now for Mexican Gray Wolves.
Folks, saving wolves is by far the hardest animal rights’ struggle there is, and their existence is vital, and if we can’t save these wolves, then just kiss everything else goodbye.
And when we show that we can save wolves, then we show that we can save anyone. So, like I asked, please as a start, get good at subduing the forces that subvert democracy and do so for Mexican Gray Wolves.
One easy way to start: inundate, all of you, inundate the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with comments supporting rapid and complete recovery of Mexican Gray Wolves. Here’s a great webpage explaining what you must do.
(http://mexicanwolves.org/index.php/news/1780/51/ACT-NOW-Submit-Comments-on-the-Mexican-Wolf-Draft-Recovery-Plan)
And thus, make democracy work for wolves.
Now I’m gonna close with a quote from “Dances With Wolves.” At the end, when Lt. John J. Dunbar is in a pow wow with chiefs and elders, and he tells them he’s leaving — and he says:
“I must go and talk to those who will listen.”
And so must we all.
Thanks for listening. Bless your ever-loving hearts, all of you.
Be well.
David J. Forjan
Spokesman for Animals
