Addressing the human dimensions of wolf reintroduction: An example using estimates of livestock depredation and costs of compensation

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Abstract
Efforts to reintroduce the wolf to the greater Yellowstone ecosystem were stalled again in 1991 when Congress rejected the recommendations of the Wolf Management Committee (WMC). I suggest that wolf reintroduction is a difficult policy problem, in part, because the human dimensions of the problem are difficult to assess and manage. Estimates of livestock depredation used by the WMC are analyzed to illustrate how they can be interpreted as incorrect and antagonistic by some stakeholders. Alternative estimates of livestock depredation and costs of compensation are presented. It is argued that what is important about such estimates is the process by which they are developed. Federal agencies working toward wolf recovery need to recognize that wolf reintroduction is a “stalking horse”; for the larger issue of land use change in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Therefore, wolf reintroduction needs to be treated as a major policy conflict. A state‐of‐the‐art environmental impact statement is now underway, but that is not enough. A broadly structured and well‐integrated program of social assessment, public participation, and conflict management is needed to enable wolf reintroduction.