HIGHLIGHTS Children Magazine Responds To Accusations Of Publishing Misleading Wolf Article

HIGHLIGHTS' June 2011 article on wolves, "Bringing Back the Wolves", irritated many LOBO WATCH regulars, and the publication's editor received an avalanche of e-mail - protesting how the article presented the big wolf lie to young readers. Following is a LOBO WATCH response to the very arrogant and snooty response that HIGHLIGHTS sent to some of those who objected to the manner in which the article attempted to make those grade school aged children believe that wolves were doing great things for the Yellowstone ecosystem. The magazine's response follows the LOBO WATCH response.



Dear Ms. Roche;

Following is an e-mailed letter that you recently sent to one LOBO WATCH follower, in regards to the extremely pro-wolf slanted article "Bringing Back the Wolves" which appears in the June 2011 issue of HIGHLIGHTS MAGAZINE.

The magazine's Science Editor, Andy Boyles, assures that all facts were checked with "scientists"... "who have been studying wolves and their role in the ecosystem for many years."

I would love to know who these "scientists" are. Could you or Mr. Boyles please send me their names? I would love to have a few "scientists" who fully disagree with much of what is claimed in the article, or by Mr. Boyles, verify that these are indeed credible "scientists".

You can read a letter that I sent to the C.E.O. of HIGHLIGHTS at the following link.

http://destroyersofwildlife.blogspot.com/2011/05/childrens-highlight-magazine.html

If the "Science Editor" is to refute what is stated in this letter, I want to know the source of his information.

I, and many others, feel that HIGHLIGHTS has stepped across the line, and has done a real disservice to the young readers of the publication. This issue is far from being resolved.


Toby Bridges
LOBO WATCH


Here is the response that some, not all, received from HIGHLIGHTS.


Dear :

Thank you for your e-mail regarding the article “Bringing Back the Wolves,” which we published in the June 2011 issue of Highlights. Like others who have written to us about the article, you disagreed with our portrayal of wolf reintroduction and its consequences. I am sending you a response to the main assertions we have received, and I hope that it will address your concerns.

One assertion is that many of the statements made in the article are not valid. I assure you that the article was written and edited with the cooperation and fact-checking assistance of scientists who have been studying wolves and their role in the ecosystem for many years. Their written reports passed the rigor of scientific peer review before they were published in leading scientific journals. The principle at work in “Bringing Back the Wolves” is that a top predator (such as the wolf) can affect not only its prey population (such as elk or moose) but also the food source of that prey species (trees). This principle has been documented not only in Yellowstone but also on Isle Royale, in Banff National Park, and in marine ecosystems. But science is always progressing and challenging accepted ideas, so I would be genuinely interested in reading any scientific report(s) that refute these findings and the underlying principle.

A second assertion is that we do not know enough about the subject to publish an accurate article about it. It is not my role (nor is it the author’s) to achieve expert-level knowledge on any subject. It would not be possible to reach that level of expertise in the wide range of subjects that editors and authors must work on over time. As stated above, we work with experts who have years of experience studying the subject firsthand.

A third claim is that in the future people will no longer be able to hunt game animals such as deer, elk, and moose because of predation by wolves. Hunting is a time-honored tradition, and we do not intend to undermine it. I suspect that the reintroduction of wolves will affect hunters. There may be fewer large game animals. If everything else were equal, those animals would likely be healthier than those that lived before wolf reintroduction. The game animals may be more wary and harder to locate than before. Finally, as in many predator-prey relationships, the populations of game animals may begin to run in a natural cycle, giving periods of less game alternating with periods of more game. We acknowledge that such changes would present challenges to hunters. We have not yet seen a convincing argument that wolves will eliminate deer, elk, or moose or cause an end to hunting of these animals.

Some people who have written to us about "Bringing Back the Wolves" have threatened to send the article to others who oppose the reintroduction of wolves. Since we publish and distribute more than 1 million copies of Highlights each month, we think many people who disagree with us already have the article. In any case, we are proud of the magazine we publish and accept the possibility that those who disagree with our views may read it.

A few individuals have made plausible assertions of fact that I have not yet been able to verify. I promise to take all civil discourse seriously.

I hope this e-mail clarifies our point of view. We have circulated your e-mail among ourselves, and we recognize that others feel as you do. We will keep your comments in mind as we plan future issues of Highlights.

Sincerely,

Andy Boyles
Science Editor
Highlights for Children


For a "Science Editor", Andy sure isn't up to speed on the wolf issue...and has absolutely no clue how negatively wolves are affecting hunting opportunities. Before wolves, the wilderness areas outside and to the north of Yellowstone National Park offered some of the finest elk hunting in the world...now it is nearly devoid of elk. Yellowstone's northern elk herd, which wintered in this area, numbered 19,000+ before USFWS dumped non-indigenous Canadian wolves in the area...now due to wolf depredation and the total loss of calf recruitment, the herd is now at 4,000 and still dropping. Many other herds in Montana and Idaho have also suffered 80-percent losses to wolves - and without the annual calf recruitment, these herds are getting old, and reaching an age where reproduction is fast becoming impossible. Also, you can rest assured that the article in HIGHLIGHTS fails to mention all the diseases and parasites that wolves carry and spread widely.

If your child receives HIGHLIGHTS...you might want to cancel that subscription.

Toby Bridges
LOBO WATCH

www.lobowatch.com