Wolves pushed as park "stewards" on a tight leash

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By The Associated Press

Story Published: Feb 7, 2010 at 4:44 PM MDT

Story Updated: Feb 7, 2010 at 4:44 PM MDT

BILLINGS - Researchers say small packs of gray wolves introduced to national parks and other sites across the country could curb oversized elk and deer herds that are eating up parklands.

Keeping the predators on target would be a tricky prospect: They breed prolifically, roam hundreds of square miles and easily pick up a taste for cows and sheep.

The proposed solution, outlined in a paper for the journal BioScience: Neuter the wolves, fence them in, fit them with shock collars and add a tracking device so they can be hunted and killed if they get too far afield.

Wolves were wiped out across most of the country last century, letting big game herds balloon from the Adirondacks to the Sierra Nevada. That led to overgrazing in many parks and protected areas. The researchers, led by a National Park Service biologist in the Midwest, propose using wolves as park "stewards" that could the way back to ecological balance.

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