As the ecosystem's top predator, a wolf's influence is far-reaching and improves the quality of life for plants and animals alike. Wolves became nearly extinct in the conterminous United States in the early part of the 20th century. Very accurate and very positive as time goes by the positive benefits only become more evident. ... the re-introduction of wolves to the park helped reduce the elk population, in turn … Wind Advisory in effect from Monday, 7:00 AM PDT until Monday, 1:00 PM PDT. ... wolves had no effect on the beaver population as they. The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone has provided fascinating insights into the ways species interactions within food webs structure ecosystems. Modern research into the reintroduction of wolves sheds positive light on the animal's influence in its environment. This population decline is the result of extensive hunting for fur, for glands used as medicine and perfume, and because the beavers' harvesting of trees and flooding of … [citation needed] The creation of the national park did not provide protection for wolves or other predators, and government predator control programs in the first decades of the 1900s essentially helped eliminate the gray wolf from Yellowstone. thought recruitment was offsetting the number of beavers. removed by wolves. Kill rates and predation rates of wolves on beavers. This is especially true in the northern range of the park which has developed a very large bear population since the reintroduction of wolves (Barber- Meyer, 2008). When Yellowstone National Park was created in 1872, gray wolf (Canis lupus) populations were already in decline in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. The North American beaver population was once more than 60 million, but as of 1988 was 6–12 million. Population. Prior to the wolves presence, the elk population gathered in large herds along the river banks, grazing away the stabilizing vegetation and trampling the river banks with their massive hooves; banks eroded and clouded the river with silt, impacting all aquatic species such as fish and aquatic insects. Most the negativity comes from people with veiled links to the hunting of Elk. Not sure where you are getting your “hints” from? The wolf population ultimately changed the behaviour and nature of the river. The first survey of beavers in the park, conducted in 1921, reported 25 colonies, most of them cutting aspen trees. Gray Wolf Biology Questions and Answers 1) Why was the gray wolf listed as endangered? Recent science suggests that, while important to restoring Yellowstone Park's ecological health, wolves are not the primary solution. Predator-control programs targeted wolves and their habitat was altered and destroyed as eastern forests were logged and then converted to farms.