Wildlife group wants wolves, not guns

DENVER, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- An environmental group wants the National Park Service to reintroduce wolves into a Colorado park instead of shooting elk.

WildEarth Guardians argues that the problem in Rocky Mountain National Park is too few predators, not too many elk, the Rocky Mountain News reports. The group, based in Santa Fe, N.M., announced Monday that it plans to sue the park over the plan to use sharpshooters.

About 2,000 elk roam the park, and rangers say they are threatening aspen and willows on the eastern side of the Continental Divide. Rob Edward, WildEarth's director for carnivore recovery, said that since wolves were introduced in Yellowstone National Park in 1995 the tree population is much healthier.

The federal government has dealt wolves a double blow by trying to take the animals off the endangered species list in areas where they have been reintroduced while fighting reintroductions elsewhere.